When and How Often to feed

[JaysenB]

Hi guys!!

I just recently adopted a Cairn Terrier by the name of Guinness and he is quite frankly the best dog in the world. 

His previous owners were feeding him every morning and night and as Guinness has been around, I've noticed he doesn't really want to eat on that set schedule, which I have no problem with. He also isn't eating the full amount that the previous owner stated he was eating. I wanted to know if it would be ok to feed him the same amount of food but throughout the day or do they HAVE to be fed strictly twice a day at the same time?

 

Thanks!

[hheldorfer]

Welcome to you and Guinness!

Every dog is different, feeding-wise.  How much food and what type (dry, canned, home-cooked) are you giving him?   Is he getting plenty of exercise (which would affect appetite)?   It may be that Guiness has lost interest in the brand of kibble, he may not be hungry or he may still be adjusting to his new life with you.  

There is no reason he HAS to be fed on a strict schedule.  As long as he isn't overweight (and as long as it will work with *your* schedule) I see no reason why his 2x feedings couldn't be spread over 3x a day.

Post a pic of the little rascal when you have a chance! 

[bradl]

Some dogs do seem to  insist on a schedule (I swear my guys sneak around resetting clocks trying to trick me into feeding them early) yet we frequently hear of dogs who seem to have a take-it-or-leave it approach. Some dogs get by on being fed only once a day while others seem to free feed without incident. I'm not in favor of free feeding dogs myself, but I recognize that's probably more my problem than the dogs'  

[calypso]

Congratulations on Guinness! Are you feeding the same food as his previous home? 

We feed our girls twice a day, and they keep us on a strict timetable, 9 in the morning and six in the evening. Bella in particular lets us know it's time and if we're late she stamps her feet and scolds us. As Brad mentioned in a post about aging Cairns, as her hearing has declined, her volume has increased, so she's imperious and loud. We all like the routine and the set time keeps the girls from deciding they're ready for breakfast at 5AM, and keeps them from bossing us around more than they already do throughout the day.

[beccadiane374]

Tanner gets 1/3 cup of dry kibble about 7:30am and 1/3 cup of dry kibble about 7:30pm.  Times can change based on if we aren't home in the evening at that time.  Our previous dogs were free fed, but Tanner would simply eat everything in front of him and make himself sick (he has actually done this before, his poor belly swelled up and I had to induce vomiting - no fun).

[Hillscreek]

Hello Guiness!

Angus (five and a half) is fed twice a day. He is a chow hound and would eat till he burst if I let hm. So no free feeding. He has never refused food but then he's lived here all his life and is used to what we do.

Guiness may still be adjusting a new life and home OR, which would be very cairn like, figuring how to get you to do things his way. i f he doesn't eat put away his meal till next feeding time. See if that works - it did the trick for me with an earlier picky (not cairn) dog. I had to do it two or three times but he got the message.

[Dempsy's Mom]

Demps and Elsie also eat twice a day.  My daughter only feeds once a day - and they are nice and trim.  They love it when granny comes to visit.   I usually have a snack bag and it is empty when I leave.  She gives them carrots.  Mine won't eat carrots.  

Welcome to cairnhood!  

[Idaho Cairns]

We have one Cairn that is a true chow hound and one that is somewhat erratic in her eating habits.  We feed twice a day--a cup each at both feedings.  Sammi always eats both meals and Bonnie will often pass on her morning feeding and, unless Sammi pirates her food, will eat it in the evening.
Both dogs are a bit overweight--probably due to lack of regular exercise as well as the regular feeding.
Be warned, Cairns can be very persuasive when it comes to demanding food--the wise owner will find ways to avoid the guilt trip the dogs impose on their "masters".

[kieiras mom]

Morning and evening work for Keira . She is a chow hound and would weigh a lot more if i tried to free feed her. Glad to here of another cairn getting a good home. Welcome to  the  wonderful  world of cairns.

[Sam I Am]

Welcome to the most awesome Cairn site. Pictures of Guinness please. 

Rosie the Scottish dumpling has started to go on a diet today. We feed a raw bison pattie (plus other stuff) a day. So for her to lose some weight we are cutting the pattie into quarters and only feeding her 3/4 of the pattie per day instead of the whole pattie.  To make it easier and less messy we are going to feed a smaller amount but three times a day. 1/4 each meal. She isn't impressed this morning...only a  Quarter what  the heck mum?.?

 

Edited April 14, 2017 by bradl
Delete spurious spoiler tag

[JaysenB]

Good Morning All,

I apologize for the lag in response, things have been a bit hectic with the new move to a new city but Guinness is doing AMAZINGLY well. I have noticed he is starting to not like the food, so I am looking into trying a different kibble. Unfortunately, I don't know the actual type that the previous owner used but I am looking into the proper ones. I've read that Cairn's require a special type of kibble, but I was also considering changing his diet all together, to doing more home made foods. Does anyone have any good recipes? I saw online there is the BARF diet, but haven't read much about it's use with Cairn's.

 

I also have't been able to get a lot of great shots of him since he is usually running around the house. But i have managed a few while on our trips to the local trails. 

[JaysenB]

[Sam I Am]

If you want to try cooking a home made diet, go up to the Resources Tab, and under recipes you will see Rosie's diet. If you do cook make sure you supplements with calcium and vit/mineral supplement. She was raised on this but we did switch to a raw based diet from a Canadian company called Carnivora. We switch between elk and bison, purée our fruit and veggies ourselves, add a vit/mineral supplement plus omega three oil  and she is doing great. The meat has ground bone it already so we don't have to supplement the calcium. We like elk and bison as they are grass fed.

[sanford]

Nice photos of very handsome Guinness! More pix are always welcome here. Food/feeding might be the most popular topic on this site. If you search back in our archives you'll see tons of entries on the subject.

[Toto-lee Cairn]

On ‎4‎/‎12‎/‎2017 at 10:45 AM, bradl said:

. . . I swear my guys sneak around resetting clocks trying to trick me into feeding them early. . .  

My husband swears Rupert, his Weimaraner, listens for the chimes from the clocks around the house, and counts them.

Just yesterday morning, he had left the doggy door open to the laundry room, and at 8:03, Rupert shows up at George's desk, in his office across the house, to inquire about breakfast. 'Dad,' Rupert mouths, 'You're late.  Three minutes so.'

[Sam I Am]

Watch making companies should research and look into the accuracy of our dogs predicting the precise time breakfast and supper is served....I am sure there are few watches so dependable.😋

[Toto-lee Cairn]

My little 'Toto' is 17 weeks old this week, and he eats (3) x day -- breakfast @ 8:00; lunch @ 12:30; dinner @ 5:00, so his meals are spread fairly evenly.  In - between we have playtime, time with Mom, time with Rupert (the Weimaraner), a little 'quiet' time -- usually to reinforce something I am working on that is UNacceptable (biting too hard, too rough, too, too wound-up) and only about 5-10 minutes (long enough for me to get a potty break without him jumping all around, and in-and-out of my underpants).

So far, so good.  He does well on the schedule, interspersing play time and naps (in his crate, in the laundry room), and I'm trying to figure out how to get two walks in during the day.  Can you tell I have little else to do, except 'Toto things?'  I'm retired.  The evening walk, just before bed helps to drain him of those last little spurts of 'Tasmanian devil,' when my husband, Rupert, and I are looking at each other, and going, 'what-the-devil?'

He is happy with his meals -- eats all of the 1/3 cup each feeding of a decent puppy kibble.  I supplement with tiny, bite-sized pieces of carrot, and low-cal soft treats, when I am trying to reinforce all those good dog behaviors we want to cultivate -- sit, down, stay (which is more like 'stay, dammit'), and now at 4 months, which surprised me, the please-stop-humping-me, and the ever-constant, please-stop-biting-Mama.

Edited September 22, 2018 by Toto-lee Cairn
made errors

[Toto-lee Cairn]

27 minutes ago, Terrier lover said:

Watch making companies should research and look into the accuracy of our dogs predicting the precise time breakfast and supper is served....I am sure there are few watches so dependable.😋

When we are away from the house, and are going to be late with dinner, we hold our breath, waiting for the cell phone to ring -- one of them is going to ask, 'Where are you? Do you know what time it is?'

[Hillscreek]

It sounds like Toto is a typical cairn pup living a great cairn pup life with a wonderful understanding family. Eating, playing, napping, challenging, demanding and generally thinking life is for living and living is fun.

Do you have pics to share? We can never have too many.