Re: When should a puppy go to two meals a day? With regards the one meal a day...... My OH's old dog just had the one meal, but my understanding (and I may well be wrong, of course) is that a smaller meal twice a day reduces the chance of bloat which is common in labs and deeper chested "larger" dogs. I'm not sure the feeding amount is as important as the no exercising on a full stomach, or both equally relevant. And I assume that the drip-feed technique would actually reduce the risk of bloat, but I can't recall whether we have discussed this before.
Re: When should a puppy go to two meals a day? My Daisy, at 15 weeks is still getting 3 meals a day - 5:30 AM, 2:00 PM, and about 7 PM. My older dogs both get 2 meals a day, and I try to make the later one as late in the day as I can manage. My 14 year old Lab, Molly, seems to get an upset tummy if she has to go for more than about 12 hours without a meal. She'll vomit yellowish foam if I try to make her go too long between meals (Daisy did this at night, too, when her 3rd meal was too early in the day). Waaayyy back when I first had puppies, I remember a vet telling me that the foamy vomit was from having an empty stomach, and to feed the puppy at least a small meal an hour or so before bedtime. It seems to take care of the problem. Once I'm back to work this fall (I teach secondary math), all three dogs will be back on the workday schedule of 2 meals at roughly 5:30 AM and 4:30 PM. Daisy will be 4.5 months by then and will certainly be able to handle larger amounts. They'll all get a bedtime snack around 9 PM to tide them over till breakfast. They do all insist that I'm starvng them, but I'm hard....
Re: When should a puppy go to two meals a day? I am still feeding my 10 month old boy, Crosby, 3 times a day. He has had digestive issues his whole life, plus he eats VERY quickly. When I have tried twice a day, the larger amount, eaten so quickly, has caused him to regurgitate his meal. Plus, like another poster mention, the more frequent meals of smaller amounts, may help prevent bloat! He certainly knows when it is meal time and lets me know as well!!
Re: When should a puppy go to two meals a day? Hi, Buddy is still on 3 Royal Canin meals at 10 months- I prefer to give him smaller amounts more often as he bolts his food. He also has a daily Kong and chew.
Re: When should a puppy go to two meals a day? For dogs that eat too quickly you can try an anti-gobble bowl which has bumps in it that the dogs have to eat round which slows them down. An alternative is to put rocks in their bowls but be careful to choose stones they can swallow by mistake (or on purpose : ). You can also try scattering their meal on a tray
Re: When should a puppy go to two meals a day? I put half of his meal in a Kong Wobbler.....it takes him about 5 to 10 minutes to get all the kibble out of that and then the other half goes in a bowl. That way he doesnt inhale his one cup of kibble in less than three seconds! The Wobbler is great and it also gives him a challenge. Seems as though going from three to two meals a day is up to each of us and our puppies! Thanks all.
