Hi all! Best wishes for 2018! I was wondering about my feeding schedule with Ema (almost 6 months). I feed her three times a day and always before going for a walk with her. Am I doing the right thing? I know this really works with her pooing/peeing routine, but will it reduce her interest in me, while walking/training? Also, if I feed her and don't take her out will she be able to hold until the next walk? Thanks a million!
I wouldn’t walk a dog for one before or two hours after free running. But, at six months old, we move to two meals a day so that’s easier. Here is our (Guide Dogs) guide line -
Best not to walk Ema before or after eating, I leave it about an hour each way so her body can settle down. There is lots of info on feeding on this forum to search which I found helpful when Maisy was 6 months and ready to eat just twice a day instead of 3. If Ema was younger I would say take her out soon after feeding but by now she should be able to last a lot longer between toilets. She will let you know if she needs to go.
As Mags says, it's normally advised not to feed a dog immediately before (or indeed, after) going for a walk, as it can increase the risk of bloat. Personally, I always feed at least half an hour after our walks, but they have very little in their bowls anyway, so the chance of bloat is next to none. Most of my dogs' food is fed throughout the day in training or enrichment activities such as frozen kongs. If I am going to engage on a longer gundog training session, I will give a bit of food before the session, as my dogs work better when they're not running on empty. But, I wouldn't want them to be full, either: firstly, there's the risk of bloat; secondly, how do you like running around on a full stomach? Eugh!; thirdly, they're less likely to be responsive to food rewards if they're already full.
