A Weekly 'semi' Fast

[KismetKat]

Last week I went to my new dog training school. The recomend not feeding dog beforehand. My dog has her main meal in the morning (fresh meat and vegies) and just a small handfull of dry food at night. She gets 1/4 of a marrow bone after dog school each week.

So I didn't feed her, and as the class start time is quite late didn't get home till near 1pm. Seemed all a bit late in the day to feed her - so just gave her the bone. Then that night gave her the usual handful of dry food.

She didn't seemed fussed by this at all.

Is it a good thing for a weekly semi fast?

btw, she's not overweight or anything.

[Akitaowner]

i feed my boy mornign and night and quite large amounts (hes not desexed so doesnt put weight on) and alway at least once a week i dont feed him. If he hasnt eaten all the previous meal he doesnt get another (unless its off or been at least 2 days) then he gets fresh.

hes none the worse for it and i was told when feeding bone sometimes its good to rest their stomaches one day a week - in the wild animals dont eat everyday. Keeps them tip top and good metabolism rate

[Crysti_Lei]

it is quite healthy to fast a dog once a week.

[morgan]

Did it for years! Well, sort of, on "fast" day each dog just got a small piece of meaty lamb flap - a very small amount compared to their normal daily intake.

[J...]

I feed Darce twice a day - bone for brekky and main meal at night, for two reasons 1) to help keep her metabolism up because she's a bit chubby, and 2) so she has something to do while I got to work (mind you it only lasts her 30 mins at the most!).

Dog training Sundays she misses her brekky bone, she gets treats at school and then a Pal Dentabone or pigs ears as reward on the way home in the car!

I reckon I've heard/read Steve (K9 Force) refer to a fast being good for them, especially with training

[Kavik]

If I am taking Diesel out for the day (training or visiting family or picnic etc) then he doesn't ge breakfast.

[shekhina]

I fast my dogs once a week/fortnight. Nothing wrong with that at all

[Skipy]

Isnt fasting with giving them just a bone to chew on pretty good for anal glands? I heard that somewhere, that if dogs stool is not as hard as it should be (depending on a type of diet I guess) fasting them for 1 day on marrow bone is good..... I am thinking older dogs, puppies still need so much food.

[KismetKat]

My dog is 2.

Thanks for the answers guys. I will now feel NOT guility about skipping a meal for her on Sundays = especially if she gets a bone after dog class.

[KitKat]

Fasting on a big marrow bone isn't necessarily the best idea...why? because the marrow is very very rich and if they get to much it will go straight thru them. Meaty bones such as turkey pieces or lamb flaps etc wouldn't be a problem for example.

[peibe]

My own dogs have a fast day every 7-10 days, never the rescue dogs though

[t-time]

Well in my book - if the dog is getting a bone that day, it's not a fast!

If I'm feeding a bone to my dogs, then that is their meal for the day!

No food = fast. ;)

All my dogs get fasted once a week. They get one meal per day in the morning and if they fuss over their breakfast and don't eat it - no more food will come their way until tomorrow morning

Vast majority of the time, they eat their brekky

KitKat, I have absloutely no problem feeding my guys marrowbones - they get a big one at least once a week.

[ellz]

My guys fast once per week as well. They do tend to drink more when fasting though so I make sure the water supply is up to them and ensure it has fresh ACV in it.

There's a bit of kerfuffled and gnashing of teeth initially, but once they realise that dinner isn't forthcoming they're happy to settle.

On the rare occasion that they won't settle - they'll get a 4 x 2 biscuit to crunch on at bedtime.

[KismetKat]

Kitkat - I get the butcher to cut the bone in 4 so she only gets 1/4 of a marrow bone once a week. I know the marrow is rich but figure she's not getting all that much and that as she spends so long gnawing on it that it must be good for her teeth. I've not noticed anything with her stools but will keep an extra eye out tomorrow.

[KitKat]

I wan't meaning say a chunk of marrow regularly...more along the ideas of a big lot of the stuffonce in a while - the richness can be to much for some dogs if they aren't used to it (same can happen with lamb and roo). And i've seen dogs snaffle the innards of a big recreational bone because of course they love it...only for it to go thru them not long after...tho seems to happen more so if they haven't eaten anything else to slow it's progress

[KismetKat]

kitkat we did the 'semi' thing again today. No nasties after allowing the bone (which she spent about 2 hours with).

[Guest Piximatosis]

Holly has a fast once a week or so... she's prone to stacking the weight on though.

Kaeleigh never fasts... she'll drop 10kg overnight if she misses a meal or even part of one Brody is often the same.

[Peachie]

I dont understand why it is good to fast dogs? I dont feel the need to fast for one day a week or fortnight, so why would the dogs? Yes, i realise in the wild they probably dont eat every day, but these are not wild dogs, they live in our homes with our routines and eat the food WE choose for them.

We have a set routine for feeding time at this zoo, and i would hate to think what would be left in my shoes if i didnt feed a certain blonde greyhound one morning or night.

This is not meant to be arguementative at all - i am certainly no nutritional expert. I am just curious as to the reasoning behind fasting dogs.

[KismetKat]

In my case peachie, the dog doesn't miss it, and works better at "school" on an empty stomach. Also for comps you don't want your dog doing a dump when meant to be performing - no brekkie reduces the need for pooch to do a poo mid trial. I have read that a weekly fast is also a good idea for dogs prone to putting on the kilos.

So no expert here either - but if it doesn't worry my dog, and she works better at school, then why not? I recently got a placing at my dog school fun day competition (for us plebs not up to trialling standard yet) cos the BC who was so much better than all our other dogs (due to the fact that the 2 owners give the poor thing 2 training sessions each training day at different levels), did a poo mid-test.

Didn't all us naughty handlers with relcalcitrent dogs hi-five eah other when that happened!

[ellz]

Most of my dogs fast themselves. At least one night per week they don't touch a feed. I have just helped them along a bit by regulating that and having them all fast on the SAME night. Less food wastage and nobody is carrying on because somebody else still has their dinner in their crate.