Dog Feeding Schedules - how important are they?

I’ve had a couple of people recently looking for help with their puppy because it was screaming all night. On enquiry, I’ve found that the (so-called) breeder - “Greeder”, I’d say - told them to feed 2 meals a day.

Two meals a day, for an 8-week-old small breed puppy!

Totally ridiculous - in fact, cruel.

Can you imagine feeding a new baby twice a day and expecting peace and harmony in the home?

So, while explaining this to the reader - who was of course not to blame but doing their ill-informed best - I was thinking about feeding schedules in general.

They are not set in stone!

 Feeding can, indeed should, change over the dog’s life.

Let me give you some examples.

My usual schedule with a young puppy is to start with 5 or 4 meals a day, gradually dropping to 3 at 12 weeks, then 2 at 6 months, then dropping to 1 meal a day at 9 months or a year or two (depending on size and make-up of the dog).

My dogs also get training treats throughout the day, and have access to meaty bones and healthy chews. Clean water is, of course, always available, in a clean container.

I have four dogs:

🐶 Lacy, English Shepherd, 14

🐶 Cricket the Whippet, 13

🐶 Coco Poodle, 10

🐶 Yannick, Border Collie, coming up to 2

And they all have a different feeding regime (they all have a big raw dinner):

🐾 Lacy - gets a small breakfast as she’s old

🐾 Cricket - started having panic attacks in the morning. Never after lunch. So I started feeding her breakfast - no more panic attacks

🐾 Coco - gets a tiny breakfast - he’s small and inclined to put on weight

🐾 Yannick - I stopped his breakfast at a year and he rapidly became thin, so he’s back on it, and doing nicely.

Plus treats, bones, etc as I feel the urge, and scatterfed kibble in the garden at lunchtime (this is a sure way to get Cricket to go out to relieve herself on wet days!)

So you can see it’s not a “one-size-fits-all”.

You need to observe your dog, view her with a stockman’s eye, check she is neither too fat nor too thin.  

And if you want to give me a treat for all the info I give you freely, here’s your chance!

How can I tell if my dog’s weight is right?

It can be hard - especially for the novice dog-owner - to assess your dog’s condition. You see him every day! These things can creep up on you.

Here’s an excellent chart to guide you:

If your dog has a dense coat which masks everything, you’re going to have to get in with your hands and feel your way round his body.

This is something you need to do regularly anyway - to hunt down parasites, injuries, strange lumps and bumps.

I find the shortcut ways of finding whether a dog is too fat are these:

1. Ribs: you can feel them easily but not cut yourself on them.

2. Pin bones (top of pelvis): easy to find but nicely covered.

3. Neck: the skin should be loose round the neck, no fat rolls or thickness.

If you make these observations - seeing and feeling your dog - regularly, you’ll be able to adjust his intake up or down as needed.

Always remembering the quality of the food you give!

Here are some useful feeding resources for you:

Is raw feeding safe for my dog? Let’s get to the Bare Bones

What food can I give my dog?

Beware the deadly mince pie! Christmas hazards for dogs

“My dog doesn’t like food”

Keep your dog and your Christmas food safe!

Dog feeding frenzy!

I'm not spending good money on a DOG!

How much should I feed my dog?

What can my dog chew?

What are the most effective dog treats?

And once you’ve got his outsides right, you can focus on what’s inside your dog’s head, with our free Workshop which might just change everything about how you interact with your dog!

Dog feeding frenzy!

There’s a tremendous amount of nonsense around, about how to feed dogs.

Some people are on crusades to promote their own favoured way of feeding, and belittle anyone who doesn’t agree with them.

Most of us don’t have time to delve too deeply, and dish out the same food, day in - day out, for years. (Imagine that if it were you! Even boarding school’s not that bad!)

But if you want the best for your dog, a long, healthy life, good teeth, and few vet visits, it’s something you should spend some energy on.

So what SHOULD you feed your dog?

There’s such a vast array of commercial dog foods available, most of them claiming they’re the best thing ever, and some just relying on being dirt-cheap.

Without being a canine nutritionist, how can you know what will suit your dog?

I can recommend you pay a visit to a site actually run by a canine nutritionist - www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk. And don’t worry if you live outside the UK. Many of these commercial foods are available universally. The big petfood manufacturers are huge international concerns. And there’s actually a page where you can copy in the ingredients of your chosen food if it’s not listed, and you’ll get an assessment of that.

Your chosen food doesn’t have a detailed ingredient list? Move on. If they’re too ashamed to tell you, get something better!

And to get the lowdown ‘from the horse’s mouth’,

How about asking your dog?

Yes! Ask your dog!

She’s bound to have strong views on what she likes and what’s “Meh”. Not only that, but she’ll have opinions on how she likes her food delivered too.

Here’s what Annie’s owner, Laura Kelly from Best Choice Dog Training, offered her.

You can see there was a fair variety. You could also add in egg (raw or cooked), cheese (cream/cottage or hard), broccoli and other fruit and veg (preferably pureed so the dog can actually digest them), goats’ milk or whey, fermented goats’ milk products, coconut oil, leftovers (of proper meals, not pizza and chips!), tinned sardines … most things!

This can be fun to do, and you may be surprised by your dog’s choices - Annie’s owner was! The kibble definitely came last.

Is this something you’re going to have a go at? Do tell us in the comments below what you will offer!

Has it always got to be in a dog food bowl?

You can be imaginative about the vehicle you offer food in.

To get an idea of what I’m meaning, take a look at Benson here, patiently waiting to be let loose with his array of goodies for amusement during the day.

He has a snuffle mat with treats buried in it, a variety of wobble-balls he can bat around with his nose to release their treats, and a food-game with hidden compartments.

For most of these containers, you’d need hard food - kibble. Though you could certainly put soft food, cooked or raw, in the sliding compartments.

Slowing down feeding

These are great to keep your pup amused while he’s eating, and to spin out mealtimes - specially useful for dogs who tend to hoover their food. Apart from the lack of enjoyment, there’s also a danger of gut complications for some fast-feeders.

Archie Spaniel didn’t wolf his food that much, but look at this brief video to see the difference in his engagement between hoovering it up from his bowl and actively hunting it down!

Slowing down Puppy feeding

By the way, for English readers, here’s a load of money off a super food I regularly use and here’s another where you can get a big discount using this link - they provide high-quality fishy treats and foods, which are firm favourites with my crew!

To learn more about what to feed your dog, and to dispel more myths (I love myth busting!) check out this post.

And for more about asking your dog things, instead of telling him … watch our free Workshop here, on getting your dog to LISTEN.