Feeding Times?

[Guest OhCatastrophe]

So the dog I had before Cleo I free fed because she would just eat what she needed then stop.. and graze all day..

Well now I'm Schedule feeding Cleo and it's been going good but I'm now out of High school (Graduation is tomorrow!!!) and I don't wake up at 7 anymore.. What are some good feeding times? Do they/should they be 12 hours apart? I'm just kind of new to schedule feeding and not sure what is good or what I should to...

 

Also I never knew how aware of time dogs were until I got Cleo... She always reminds me like 30-40 min before feeding time!! so weird!!

[Sambuca]

I feed the dogs when I wake up and before bed. So 8am-1pm and 10pm-1am. Whatever works for me. They adjust and survive. I try to vary it a bit regularly so they don't get to set on time. It keeps them more flexible and they don't have issues if my schedule gets completely off.

[Hubcitypam]

I'm with Sambuca. I was a bartender by trade so we wake up around 10 or 11. Dinner is about 12 hours later - I have to keep to a sort of schedule because of Poodle's insulin shots. I free fed successfully for years before Poodle became diabetic and will go back to it when Barkley is an only dog.

[Guest OhCatastrophe]

Thanks guys thats very helpful!!!

[spottydog]

8am and 5pm here, cookies at bedtime, before they go out to pee, or they won't do their business and just focus on getting back inside.

[OwnedBySummer]

9am and 6pm here, cookie at bedtime, some treats during the day. But the times aren't written in stone and she's flexible with that.

[FluffyDuff]

My husband and I work 2nd/3rd shifts so our feeding schedule for Frostie is 11am-1pm and 11pm-1am. He also gets a dentastick at 930pm and a treat or two for when he goes outside to do his business!

[Gryffenne]

Over the past 8 years, Sammi has dealt with many different schedules. School schedules, my working nights, Summer vacation, my working days, etc... While she felt breakfast was ZOMG THE MOST IMPORTANT THING EVER, to me, it was her potty times that were more of a concern. Now, Sammi will sleep until 10am+ as long as DH or I remains in bed. She wasn't always like that.

 

When she was younger, you could set a watch to her. School days meant breakfast was at 7am, potty was right after. Weekends, unfortunately, meant that as well But once summer vacation came, I started moving her to more of a desirable time frame since the majority of the time I was working 10hr nights at the casino.

 

How I moved her food & potty times was one of 2 ways:

 

Method #1, Alarm clock conditioning. Worked well in reverse, too -- If Sammi was used to an alarm clock going off- like for school or day shift-- Alarm is set for 15 minutes past the "normal" time. I don't get out of bed til that alarm goes off. Day or so later, 15 minutes more. And so on.

 

Method #2, used when I had a sudden schedule change (ie going from days to nights at work) or when an alarm clock isn't something she was used to--7am *poke poke whine poke whine* I'd tell her to lay back down and roll over. If she is just wanting food, she would usually curl back up on her bed. If it was potty time, then she would remain insistent (and sometimes, she tried the same act for food.. BUT...) if she wouldn't lay back down, then I would note the time, pet her for a few minutes, get up and slowly move to getting my shoes on and grabbing the leash and a bag. Then hook her up. No rush, no real fuss. Take her out, no walk... just do your thing and back in the house & I'd lay back down. So even if she didn't have to really go, but tried thinking if I was out of bed I'd feed her then, no such luck. Once the time I decided on for breakfast to occur arrived, then I'd feed her and take her for her walk. She eventually realized that breakfast wasn't happening just because she woke me up.

 

As for Dinner, I try to keep the 2 meals 12 hours apart, but sometimes Dinner is less than 12 hours after Breakfast. Daytime time distance seems to concern Sammi more than Night time. ANd yes, they know time very well. Just wait til you go through daylight savings!

Edited June 6, 2014 by Gryffenne

[Fruitycake]

We divide the food portion for the day into 3 meals: breakfast right before leaving for work (around 7:30 AM), dinner around 5:30 or 6 PM, and final meal at 9:30 or 10 PM. It makes Monty a reliable alarm clock on the weekends (very common when feeding meals any time!), but it works for us.

[Guest Celestrina]

Usually around 8-9am and 5pm. Morning is flexible, but dinner must be at 5 on the dot. DH usually gives her some treats in the evening between 7-9.

[Guest Roc]

My boy's schedule is: 6am, 12pm, 4pm & 7pm

[Guest OhCatastrophe]

I decided upon 7am (mom feeds 1 1/2 cups) 1pm (1 cup) and 12pm(when I sleep, 1 1/2 cups). I was doing the when I wake up then when I sleep but part way through the day she'd get sick and throw up bile.. Upset tummy from no food :/

[Feisty49]

Dogs adjust and even change their own schedules.

 

When Annie eats breakfast (and she goes off b'fast for a week or so about once a month), she eats about 6:30 AM. Supper is about 3:30. Yes, that's very early, but she starts pushing for supper at 2:30 so over the past 3 years since adoption, I went from feeding her at 4:30 to 4:00 to 3:30. So she goes from 3:30 PM until 6:30 AM the next morning, and she's fine. She does get treats during the day.

[Guest roweboy]

As a newer GH owner, I'm glad to read about free feeding for some. I free fed most of my dogs previously unless they were insatiable and needed restrictions. Then when I was researching greyhounds, free feeding seemed to be discouraged.

 

When we first got CJ, I had no idea if he was a grazer or a gobbler. I fed him breakfast, lunch (I work from home) and dinner at roughly the same times. I didn't want to overload him with one big meal for fear of bloat. However, as he's adjusted, he often has little interest in breakfast and will eventually eat his food from it later in the day. Sometimes he likes a bowl of dry food right before bed. Turns out he's not hugely food motivated and definitely a grazer.

 

My daughter says I spoiled him by adding "yummies" to every meal so he turns his nose up at dry kibble. This may be true, so I'm leaving dry food out more often and figuring when he's hungry he'll eat it. I do try to give him one meal a day with raw chicken or something extra tasty because I mix a supplement in with it (Missing Link). He gets a large, frozen turkey neck once a week for his teeth. Sometimes that upsets his tummy but he loves it and his teeth look amazing. He gets a large Milk Bone before bed and a dental chew bone during the day. His weight looks good now, too.

[Brandiandwe]

Mornings are more flexible - anywhere from 7 ish to 9.30 depending on whether I sleep in. Evenings are usually at 7 - 7.30.

[Guest mhastyy]

I feed Sim at 8 every morning on the dot, even though some mornings she wakes me up at 6 am acting like she's about to starve. Her evening meal varies some. Usually I feed her in the evenings between 7 and 8.