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!

Are you rewarding your dog or bribing him?

Do you know the exact difference between bribery and rewarding? 

Lots of people don’t!

And if you’re new to Brilliant Family Dog, it may be an area that puzzles you.

It can be so annoying when someone sees you reward your dog with a treat, then snootily says, “I don’t BRIBE my dogs. I expect them to do what I ask …”

So I thought that if you already understand this concept, I’d equip you with the science behind it all, so you can respond appropriately to this sort of comment.

If you can be bothered, that is! Some folk are better left to stew in their own ignorance as they absolutely won’t listen to you.  

They’ve made up their mind and don’t want to be confused by the facts.

Though I’m always sorry for their dogs …

And if you don’t understand it, then here you go! This will explain this mystery for you.

Bribery vs Reward

When you go to work, does your boss BRIBE you to work?

Or does he REWARD you for work done?

You make a choice whether to turn up to work or not.

• If you do, you get paid.

• If you don’t, you don’t!

Simple!

And it’s just as simple for our dogs.

We give them a choice: Will you do this thing?

• They do it, and get paid.

• They don’t do it, and they don’t!

Just the same!

There is no “commanding”, “ordering”, shouting or yelling. The only difference is that they won’t get the sack as you would if you didn’t turn up to work!

They have another chance to earn that reward next time you ask.

Let’s look at the science behind this!

Quick glossary:  

A CUE is what we say or do to elicit the action we want. So there are vocal cues, physical cues, environmental cues .. It’s not a “command” because - well we don’t “command” our friends.

A MARKER is what you do or say to tell your dog he’s got it right, like Yes, or Good boy.

A REWARD is whatever your dog finds rewarding and is appropriate at that moment, e.g. treat, opening the door to the garden, going for a walk, cuddles, running and chasing, etc. It has been proven beyond any doubt that a response that is rewarded will strengthen and become automatic.

The thing to remember is the sequence. It’s

CUE - MARKER - REWARD.

“Sit. Yes! Here’s your reward.”

Not

REWARD - CUE!

We don’t need to wave food around their noses.

We don’t need to hold food up in the air for them to sit, or on the floor for them to lie down.

(Of course, a little help is sometimes needed to get dogs to lie down when you’re first teaching them a down. Some find it quite challenging. And guidance with food can get them started so they say, “Oh, I SEE! That’s what they want!”)

The exciting thing about all this is that over time, the CUE becomes the REWARD!

Wossat? The CUE becomes the REWARD?

Magic! ✨ 💥

Want to reward me with a coffee, so I keep giving you helpful articles?

Let’s look at an example

What happens when you pick up your dog’s lead?

Excitement? Anticipation of a walk?

The lead is the CUE - it’s a physical cue - and the WALK is the reward.

Your dog knows, from constant repetition, that that’s how it goes.

And it’s not long before picking up the lead becomes the reward in itself! Hence all the lepping about when you touch the lead.

And of course this cue can travel backwards, till you just thinking it may be walk time is enough to get them going!

This is why your dog will SIT on CUE without need for a MARKER or a REWARD.

They’ve got it. They know this gig.

The pleasure centres of the brain light up when they hear the word SIT. It’s been conditioned to mean good things.

Though if your SIT starts to become hesitant or slow or sloppy, then it’s time for a return to training with

CUE - MARKER - REWARD

Can you see now, how you may respond to someone who suggests you’re using bribery? (That’s someone who’s honestly asking and is prepared to listen! You don’t want to waste your energy trying to convert the snooty, bossy, ones.)

And can you see now, if you didn’t get it before, what an incredibly powerful tool this is?

A-a-a-a-nd, why your dog may always do something when you do something? It’s because in some way he’s been rewarded for doing it, even it’s something you don’t want.

Example?

• Dog leaps about barking at the door.

• You leap about barking at him.

• Wheee! What fun! That’s a great reward!

Have a think about this as you go through your day with your dog!

They’re cleverer than we think.

And to learn more about how to reach your dog’s mind and get him on the same side as you, watch this free Workshop on getting your dog to LISTEN!

Time to get some action with your dog!

I came across this brilliant essay the other day.

It’s a great reminder for us who are always busybusybusy!

⏰ We have such great plans …

⏰ We’re going to do such marvels …

⏰ But we just have to get [insert distraction here] done first …

That wouldn’t be you, would it, by any chance? ;-) It’s definitely me! 😳

Christmas looms over us

I know we’re all busy around Christmas.

But look! The New Year is just round the corner!

What are you going to actually DO this year?

What will you look back on in December 2025 and say, “I DID IT!”

Read this essay below, and then tear up your To-Do List which contains all the things you think might be nice to do and that you know in your heart of hearts you never will do, and decide what’s important to you.

And do that.

[Thanks to Strangest Loop for that!]

In the meantime, enjoy doing your thing - and if it includes your dog, hooray!

He’s waiting for you …

See you next year.

And if you’ve enjoyed everything I’ve given you over this long year and fancy a little gift for me …

HINT: I drink a lot of coffee! ☕️ 😊

What does my dog see?

On a walk with a non-dog-owning friend recently, my dog froze and stared intently ahead.  

We could see nothing.

So my friend asked, “What’s he staring at?”

This prompted a little dissertation on Vision in the Dog! Perhaps she wished she hadn’t asked by the end of it - but as a multi-cat-owner she was actually very interested. 😊

Dog Vision

The first thing to note is what colours dogs can see.

For us, colour is possibly the first thing we notice. For dogs it has far less importance.

They do see blue and yellow, but the colours aren’t strong. This means that a red toy in green grass is very hard for them to find visually - this is why you’ll see your dog hunting with his nose to locate the item.

Blue or yellow or white or black are much more likely to be spotted by them.

Incidentally, this is why sheepdogs are traditionally black and white. These “colours” are easy to spot at a distance, for us as well as the dogs. Border Collies come in many colours, but bright blue and yellow have not yet appeared as variants!

Altogether the dog’s colour vision is pretty murky.

So what DO dogs see?

Dogs are hunters. And as such, they are attuned to movement. That’s what they see!

We can look at a beautiful vista and see trees, a lake, sky, clouds, grass in the foreground …

Dogs see a bunny twitching his whiskers under a distant tree; a bird landing on a branch; some leaves disturbed by wind or a tiny creature; a grazing animal lifting its head in the field …

As hunters, this is what they need to be able to spot!

Also, dogs are crepuscular.

This means they are most active at dawn and dusk - when their prey is also most active.

Their eyes are adapted to see well in low light. They have something called Tapetum lucidum which reflects what light there is in the eye, and enables them to see well in the dark.

Interestingly, my Border Collie Rollo was afraid of the dark - he couldn’t see well at night. And this is because his eyes were partly blue and he didn’t have this layer of reflective cells behind the retina.  

Dogs’ eyes are perfect for their purpose

So you can see that while dogs’ vision is very different from ours, it’s perfectly suited to what they were designed to do.

Of course, scent is incredibly important too, and 30% of the dog’s brain is devoted to this.

How can you utilise this knowledge now to work with your dog?  

• Find out which colour toys suit him best, close up and at a distance

• Observe what he’s likely to be looking at, rather than say he’s staring, or barking, at nothing. Just because we can’t see it, doesn’t mean it isn’t there!

• Encourage him to use his nose, with scent games, hide and seek, and so on. He’ll find this tiring and most satisfying.

By the way, to tell which animals are hunters and which are prey, follow this nice rhyme: 

Eyes to the front, hunt! Eyes to the side, hide!

It applies to birds as well as mammals.

Sea creatures not so much - the shark has eyes on the side of its head and cannot see immediately in front of its face. But they hunt largely by scent, and close in with a Tapetum lucidum ten times stronger than a cat’s - so they really can see well in deep, dark, waters.

Think of some predators now - cats, small and big; dogs/wolves/foxes - all canids; bears; hawks, owls, vultures; frogs, lizards, some snakes.

And prey - mice, rabbits, all small furries; songbirds; fish.

And for a great way to use your dog’s visual ability, teach him a fantastic retrieve! Here you go: 

Fetch It!
Teach your Brilliant Family Dog to catch, fetch, retrieve, find, and bring things back! (More Skills for a Brilliant Family Dog)

RESOURCES:

Color vision in the dog

Vision in dogs

Can your dog bounce back?

It’s a mark of resilience if your dog can look at something he previously found worrying, say “Ho-hum,” and move on.

This is what’s happening in this image above.

Yannick is very worried about strange dogs. Here at this lovely beach we had plenty of space to study the three people and two Shepherds (one a bouncy pup), decide they were not dangerous, and move on.

You’ll see below the moment he decided to turn away.

By the way, this is Leslie McDevitt’s brilliant Look at That! which is a lifesaver for reactive, shy, anxious, “aggressive”, dogs. You can see a video of it in action here. It’s something we teach in From Growly Dog to Confident Dog (see the free introductory Masterclass at the bottom of this page!).

Not just reactivity

But this bouncebackability is not only useful when you’re out with your anxious dog.

Some dogs LOVE working, and can do long training sessions and want more.

Some - the super-sensitive ones, perhaps - worry terribly if they think they’ve got something wrong. Then they’re likely to switch off, zone out, abandon the session.

This is not bad or wrong - it’s just a demonstration of their level of worry!

So building up your sessions from tiny to very slightly longer is the way to go here.

When I say ‘tiny’ I mean maybe two repetitions, for two treats.

‘Very slightly longer’ may be five repetitions, for five treats.

And you’ll have to find a way to reassure your dog that when he makes a mistake it’s all simply part of the learning process and you can work through it together.

Resilience is built up slowly, over time.

It’s not a one-off transformation

Look at That!

Here’s where Yannick decides that the dogs he was watching are no threat to him and he doesn’t have to bring out the big guns to make them go away! He simply turns away.

As you’ll see, DISTANCE is a big part of the success of this technique. Nobody can look away from an apparent hazard if it’s nearly on top of them!

Could you look away if a person seemed to be advancing towards you with a weapon?

Giving your anxious dog plenty of space - and in this case the dogs were crossing our path and not heading straight towards us - will enable him to make a sensible decision.

And the beauty of this is that the confidence this brings will build and build, till your previously erupting reactive dog is able to manage the sight of an oncoming dog quite close up.

Softly, softly, catchee monkee!

As the coach of one of our tennis stars, who confessed to being a perfectionist, said: “If you're going to be a perfectionist, be perfect at bouncing back!”

Lots more help for you in this free Masterclass for Growly Dogs

Dog thieves beware!

A new Pet Abduction Act law has come into effect from Saturday August 24 in the UK. Under the Pet Abduction Act 2024, anyone found guilty of stealing a pet in England or Northern Ireland will face up to five years in prison, a fine, or both.

HOORAY!!!!!!! 🎉

Up to now, animals have not been considered sentient and theft of an animal would be treated as theft of any other property, like a bike or a teapot.

The government says that “The new law recognises that cats and dogs are not inanimate objects but sentient beings capable of experiencing distress and other emotional trauma when they are stolen from their owners or keepers.” 

Here are some useful references:

Are dogs sentient beings?

Pet Abduction Act 2024

Pet Abduction Bill becomes law

Protect your pooch (good advice, but needs updating for new law)

Puppy smuggling & dog theft

New law affecting dog and cat owners

How to prevent theft

Don’t make it easy for the thief

• Microchip

• Have recent photos

• Secure your property

• Train your dog to recall, or keep him on lead

• Don’t chatter on social media - especially if your dog is a small dog attractive to puppy farmers

• Always know where your dog is, and keep your eyes on him!

Imagine your dog is a wallet stuffed with money. Would you leave it on view and unattended in your car, your garden, on the ground outside a shop??

Isn’t your dog more precious than that wallet?

I’ll look forward to hearing about the first successful prosecution of these vile people. The only snag is that at present the prisons are overflowing, so custodial sentences are not easily given. Though many people get suspended sentences that may prevent repeat offending.

Not in UK?

Here’s your chance to start campaigning in your country, with evidence that these laws exist elsewhere!

Need to brush up your recall?

Here are two ways for you to do this:

If you've gained value from my content or downloaded a free resource, and you'd like to show your appreciation, here's a simple way to support me! Thank you for helping keep me fueled and inspired! Coffee is my creative fuel! 😊