Feeding

[Zoey in Maine]

Hi All and Happy Holidays

Just curious about the amount of food I should be feeding Zoey now that she is 5 months old. I remember hearing way back when that 5 months is the magical age to cut back on the feeding?

She is currently eating 3 times a day --- 1/4 cup. I think I remember hearing around the 5 month stage you should cut back to twice a day?

Any insight would be appreciated. I will of course wait for the New Year

Thanks

[kayharley]

I'd cut back to twice a day now. Watch her weight and then you can figure out how much is too much or not enough.

Feeding our Cairns has become a major ordeal for some of us (me included, )....what to feed, how much to feed, what to add....UGH!

I think the bottom line is how they look, act, their weight, health, stools.....

[Zoey in Maine]

Thanks === She is actually at a very good weight at the moment or at least appears to be. I am new with the Cairn Breed. Which is why I wondered if I needed to cut back or not, but it seems "food" "feeding time" or even the mention of "food" has become the focus around here.

Its hard to tell if she is "really hungry" or just food focused -- for food sake not hunger.

Does that make sense?

Anyhow --- happy holidays to all you cairn families out there

[Milopup]

It makes perfect sense - even after he has just eaten, my pup will act like we havent fed him in a week if he gets offered more food or treats. He just loves to eat. :) Funny enough, he isnt so picky with his treats (even those he "finds" on his walks), but with his food he is very very picky.

[Eliz222]

I would go with feeding twice a day now too. My two told me they needed a change when they stopped eating all their food at each feeding. Finch, who is usually a piglet, would even stop eating all her food when I fed her too much.

[Milopup]

Related to this, I am wondering when to move from two feedings a day to one feeding a day. What are the health advantages to feeding once a day??

[Eliz222]

Milopup, I started feeding mine once a day when they were about a year old. I think it's a personal decision whether to feed your dog once or twice a day.....it all depends on your dog and your schedule. For us it's easier to do once a day and my dogs seem fine with this. Mine get the same amount of food...just once a day instead of 1/2 in the morning and 1/2 in the evening.

[Milopup]

Besides the schedule thing, are there any health benefits for the pup? We dont mind a little inconvenience, but we wonder how the one a day feeding affects the pup's health, as well as his poop schedule.

Thanks.

[savannahsmom35]

Savannah actually decided when we were going to stop the feedings. When she was about 5 months old, she stopped eating her food in the middle of the day and she stopped going potty when we took her out. That is when we knew that we didn't need to go home at lunch. A few months later, she stopped eating her meal in the morning. She is now fed once a day (when we eat). As soon as we start cooking, she starts begging but we don't feed her until we eat (keeps her from begging).

[Milopup]

Bosco is 2 years and 2 months old, and he still loves his pee/poo walks in the middle of the day, and still cleans his bowl in under 2 minutes both morning and night. Guess that means he should still be fed twice a day?

[Catfish1]

We feed Fergus 1/2 a cup, twice a day. We changed from three times a day when he was six months old. Actually we changed because he wouldn't eat his mid day meal. Now that he is almost a year (Jan 12) he seems much more interested in food than he once was and he does act like we're starving him at times. His weight appears OK though, so we probably won't change amounts or frequency for now.

Fergus & Alf

[Darcy's Folks]

Darcy still gets 3 meals a day. She's SO food driven, I can't fathom seeing her NOT want to eat a meal. We feed her breakfast & dinner in association to our own meals. The third is a very small amount (a 1/4 of a dixie cup) that she is given by whoever is the last to leave in the morning for work. And for some reason she's more calm when we leave if we give her the food. Whatever works!

[hallswel]

Mine are fed twice a day. 1/2 cup each. I asked my vet if twice or once a day was better. She asked me if they are doing ok and is there a reason to change them to once a day. So we stuck with twice a day.

[Marge]

Bear's breeder had already switched him to eating two meals a day before we brought him home at 10 weeks. She had him on a 7am and 5pm feeding schedule. Interestingly, that's exactly the schedule we have fed our other dogs on for years. We were able to just continue what she had started with Bear. He is now 6 months old, and we feed him about 1/2 cup of Canadae each meal. I also use the same kibble as treats for training as all the treats I have tried so far haven't agreed with him. If he has had lots of kibble in between meals, I give him less at meal time.

My vet and the breeders we have worked with have all recommended feeding twice a day. When we used to feed our Golden Retrievers once a day, they were ravenous and tended to be overweight. By feeding twice a day, the vet said it was easier to cut back on the amount of food. It worked for the goldens as they lost the weight they needed to a lot easier. I will stay with the twice a day feedings.

MAKE it a GREAT day!!!

Marge