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Feeding Once Or Twice A Day


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Lola's been home for 10 months now. For the first few months she ate ravenously, twice a day. Lately though she's turning up her nose at breakfast so I'm considering feeding her once a day at dinner-time. I'm guessing they eat once a day in the evening at the track.

 

Do Greys do well on one big meal a day? I'm traumatized by my Ridgeback bloating. He was fed once a day in the evening and the vet told us to feed twice daily.

Irene ~ Owned and Operated by Jenny (Jenny Rocks ~ 11/24/17) ~ JRo, Jenny from the Track

Lola (AMF Won't Forget ~ 04/29/15 -07/22/19) - My girl. I'll always love you.

Wendy (Lost Footing ~ 12/11/05 - 08/18/17) ~ Forever in our hearts. "I am yours, you are mine".

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I think most dogs like eating twice a day, but I have heard of several that only want to eat once a day. I have noticed that several of my dogs eat less, or not at all, in the morning when it heats up in the summer. I would also hesitate to feed a senior dog only once a day, unless they insisted. I think the old guys need to eat twice, or even three times a day, maybe smaller meals.

Edited by Remolacha
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I think most dogs like eating twice a day, but I have heard of several that only want to eat once a day. I have noticed that several of my dogs eat less, or not at all, in the morning when it heats up in the summer. I would also hesitate to feed a senior dog only once a day, unless they insisted. I think the old guys need to eat twice, or even three times a day, maybe smaller meals.

 

Lola is only three years old but I agree with your hesitation about feeding one large meal once a day. Doesn't seem healthy. On the other hand, I hate throwing out 1 1/2 cups of food every morning. I guess I could refrigerate it and offer it again at dinner adding in another 1 1/2 cups. <sigh> :dunno

Irene ~ Owned and Operated by Jenny (Jenny Rocks ~ 11/24/17) ~ JRo, Jenny from the Track

Lola (AMF Won't Forget ~ 04/29/15 -07/22/19) - My girl. I'll always love you.

Wendy (Lost Footing ~ 12/11/05 - 08/18/17) ~ Forever in our hearts. "I am yours, you are mine".

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I feed twice daily whether they eat or not. Feeding twice daily is recommended to reduce the chances of bloat, as you mentioned, and also helps reduce stomach upset and throwing up bile in my home. We refrigerate any leftover food from breakfast and offer it for dinner. I have a Greyhound who skips the occasional meal regularly and maintains perfect weight so she does not concern my vet. If she started dropping weight or acting differently I would worry but she has done it since she came home at 15-months-old and is 10 now and still doing it. Incidentally, upping the amount of exercise that my picky dogs get makes them eat more consistently in my home.

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Oddly enough, it is Conner the food whore who doesn’t finish or skips meals in the summer. I usually refrigerate what he doesn’t eat and offer it again at dinner, which he happily eats, no problem.

 

 

 

I feed twice daily whether they eat or not. Feeding twice daily is recommended to reduce the chances of bloat, as you mentioned, and also helps reduce stomach upset and throwing up bile in my home. We refrigerate any leftover food from breakfast and offer it for dinner. I have a Greyhound who skips the occasional meal regularly and maintains perfect weight so she does not concern my vet. If she started dropping weight or acting differently I would worry but she has done it since she came home at 15-months-old and is 10 now and still doing it. Incidentally, upping the amount of exercise that my picky dogs get makes them eat more consistently in my home.

 

When your dogs skip breakfast, and you offer that food at dinner-time, do you add extra to make up for the missed meal or just offer the skipped meal?

Irene ~ Owned and Operated by Jenny (Jenny Rocks ~ 11/24/17) ~ JRo, Jenny from the Track

Lola (AMF Won't Forget ~ 04/29/15 -07/22/19) - My girl. I'll always love you.

Wendy (Lost Footing ~ 12/11/05 - 08/18/17) ~ Forever in our hearts. "I am yours, you are mine".

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When your dogs skip breakfast, and you offer that food at dinner-time, do you add extra to make up for the missed meal or just offer the skipped meal?

 

 

I add some more, but not enough to be a full day's worth of food because I don't want them having to digest one huge meal. If they get too ridiculous with skipping meals I add in some dehydrated food mush to add some calories without having to cram a ton of food into them.

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I definitely have to feed my hound 3 times per day otherwise I can expect a Jurrasic Park sounding stomach and also vomiting with bile. If I am too late with a meal, it is difficult to get my girl to eat especially if she has thrown up already. I would still try feeding your hound twice a day at least, even if there is some dry food being wasted.

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When your dogs skip breakfast, and you offer that food at dinner-time, do you add extra to make up for the missed meal or just offer the skipped meal?

Depends. If he has eaten part of the meal, I add some to bring it up to the usual amount. If he’s left most or all, I might add a little something, some cottage cheese or something like that to “freshen” it up. I don’t try to make up for the missed meal. Even as an old guy, I don’t think it hurts him to miss an occasional meal.

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When your dogs skip breakfast, and you offer that food at dinner-time, do you add extra to make up for the missed meal or just offer the skipped meal?

I didn't feed more at dinner if Diana skipped breakfast. If I had doubled dinner, she'd still be full the next the morning, and would DEFINITELY skip that breakfast, reinforcing the cycle of not eating in the morning, and for her - she needed 2 meals a day. If she skipped breakfast, got that same amount at dinner, and was "peckish" the next morning because she didn't get a full ration the day before - GOOD. You don't like that feeling - then you eat the right amount at the scheduled times. Hard-core, yes, but no healthy young dog ever died from skipping a meal. A senior, or health-compromised dog, totally different response.

 

Diana was quite prone to skipping meals in the summer all her life. Probably 3 meals a week in the summer she just didn't eat. And she was FINE.

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I didn't feed more at dinner if Diana skipped breakfast. If I had doubled dinner, she'd still be full the next the morning, and would DEFINITELY skip that breakfast, reinforcing the cycle of not eating in the morning, and for her - she needed 2 meals a day. If she skipped breakfast, got that same amount at dinner, and was "peckish" the next morning because she didn't get a full ration the day before - GOOD. You don't like that feeling - then you eat the right amount at the scheduled times. Hard-core, yes, but no healthy young dog ever died from skipping a meal. A senior, or health-compromised dog, totally different response.

 

Diana was quite prone to skipping meals in the summer all her life. Probably 3 meals a week in the summer she just didn't eat. And she was FINE.

Excellent advice which I will definitely follow from now on. Thanks, all , for your input.

Irene ~ Owned and Operated by Jenny (Jenny Rocks ~ 11/24/17) ~ JRo, Jenny from the Track

Lola (AMF Won't Forget ~ 04/29/15 -07/22/19) - My girl. I'll always love you.

Wendy (Lost Footing ~ 12/11/05 - 08/18/17) ~ Forever in our hearts. "I am yours, you are mine".

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It can be scary when they dont eat, but once you are sure they are not sick, it just becomes another greyhound quirk :lol

 

Yes...it is just another mind-game they play with us. Needle-nosed weirdos! :ghplaybow

Irene ~ Owned and Operated by Jenny (Jenny Rocks ~ 11/24/17) ~ JRo, Jenny from the Track

Lola (AMF Won't Forget ~ 04/29/15 -07/22/19) - My girl. I'll always love you.

Wendy (Lost Footing ~ 12/11/05 - 08/18/17) ~ Forever in our hearts. "I am yours, you are mine".

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