What time of day do you feed your dog?

mickmcl09

I've a 13 month old Samoyed and I'm just after getting him down to one feed a day.
When's the ideal time of day to feed him? First thing, during the day or late evening? One dog owner I know always feeds them late in the evening, I would have thought early in the day would have been better. I don't know is the honest answer. What do you do and is there a reason for same?

ppink

I feed ours after their morning walk and again after their evening walk, this is usually 7am and 7pm.
they have now taken to having a snack at lunchtime too:rolleyes:

TooManyDogs

Mine are fed in the evening, after our dinner. I feed them when I'm sure they won't be going out walking again, I'm afraid of them getting stomach cramps

toadfly

TooManyDogs wrote: »

Mine are fed in the evening, after our dinner. I feed them when I'm sure they won't be going out walking again, I'm afraid of them getting stomach cramps

I feed all mine at 7am & 5.30pm.

borderlinemeath

morning and evening, usually about 8/830 when we're having breakfast and again at about 7pm when we're having dinner. It helps that they're not drooling over our food.

anniehoo

TooManyDogs wrote: »

I'm afraid of them getting stomach cramps

Excellent point. Gastric torsion can occur fairly soon after a big meal, so its best to exercise before food or wait at least 2 hrs afterwards.Its also not predisposed to just "big breeds".

boxerly

I feed mine after their morning walk about 9.30 ish and again about 6

TooManyDogs

I partly feed them after our dinner because with my little girl and my niece in the house there is often a bit of leftovers from the day. Spread between 8 dogs it just gives them a little taste of something different each day!

mickmcl09

I assume alot of the posts relate to pups / young dogs, alot are feeding twice daily.
Other assumption I'm making is, outside of common sense, feeding at the same time everyday and not feeding a dog before exercise, there isn't a 'best' feeding time for a dog. Thanks for all the posts guys.

Hal Emmerich

I feed at least twice a day or leave them a bowl of nuts all day.

toadfly

mickmcl09 wrote: »

I assume alot of the posts relate to pups / young dogs, alot are feeding twice daily.

No I have three dogs aged 7,3 & 1. All get fed twice a day and will do so for as long as I'm lucky enough to have them.

Rockery Woman

I have a Rottweiler and I feed him at 6pm. When he was a pup I fed him 3 small meals per day. I feed him nuts mixed with tinned food .

Hal Emmerich

Rockery Woman wrote: »

I have a Rottweiler and I feed him at 6pm. When he was a pup I fed him 3 small meals per day. I feed him nuts mixed with tinned food .

Bad idea to only feed Rotties once. Look up rottweilers and bloat.

axle108

I also feed my dog twice a day, 8.30 and again at around 5pm. Hes 13 months and a large breed, so i'd leave plenty of time before or after a walk. I plan to continue twice daily, as i think its better to feed two meals than one big meal daily.

Bullseye1

Larger dogs should be fed twice a day to prevent bloat. I feed her between 8-9am and between 4-5pm.

anniehoo

Depending on the animal and tbh im just talking about cats and dogs here, you have to remember both species have a glucose curve just like us. i.e we have peaks and troughs of insulin levels depending on how our body processes glucose.

Humans are generally low in the morning, thats why a high energy breakfast is good, it tends to peak at midday,dips again (3pm slump), picks up in the evening (with generally a carb heavy dinner) and a wind down to nightime.

Dogs and cats also have glucose peaks and troughs (fructosamine measurement) and thats why i feel depending on activity levels its better to give adult dogs (>1yr) 2 feeds per day and cats ad lib (graze). Dogs walked morning and eve need it, while cats are generally sporadic. My opinion though

chris139ryan

my older dog(14 yrs) is fed after our dinner, my bull terrier is fed after his morning walk either 6.30-7am then again at 1-2pm and after his evening walk 6-7pm

Zapperzy

Morning and evening. Weekdays about 7 in the morning, weekends a bit later! Evening time around 6. Plain dry food in the morning and then dry mixed with wet in the evening. Small adult dog but regardless of size I would still feed twice a day. Couldn't be good to have all your days food going in in 1 meal.

portgirl123

all my dogs, apart from the st bernard pup,who is fed 3 small meals aday, are fed twice aday. around 7 am and again around 5pm. would hate the thought of my dogs going 24hrs between meals. i find this way as well they aint gobbling down their food and aint always begging cos they now wont be long before its their meal time

boxerly

mickmcl09 wrote: »

I assume alot of the posts relate to pups / young dogs, alot are feeding twice daily.
Other assumption I'm making is, outside of common sense, feeding at the same time everyday and not feeding a dog before exercise, there isn't a 'best' feeding time for a dog. Thanks for all the posts guys.

I had an 11.5 year old boxer who died in December last year who was fed twice a day.Now ive an 8 year old boxer and a 9 month old boxer who are both fed twice a day.Personally I wouldnt feed them once a day,surely their tummys would be starving ??

iguana

I feed mine a small meal in the morning an hour or so before our walk and a main meal in the evening after our 2nd walk. They do get occasional snacks throughout the day, for example I always give them a biscuit before I go out anywhere.

borderlinemeath

iguana wrote: »

I feed mine a small meal in the morning an hour or so before our walk and a main meal in the evening after our 2nd walk. They do get occasional snacks throughout the day, for example I always give them a biscuit before I go out anywhere.

The bribery treat:D
We give these too, partly to ease the guilt of leaving them on our behalf, and partly to distract them from us actually leaving.

iguana

borderlinemeath wrote: »

The bribery treat:D
We give these too, partly to ease the guilt of leaving them on our behalf, and partly to distract them from us actually leaving.

I like to think that it's part of a sound routine that ensures they aren't anxious about being left alone.:D Ie, me leaving is actually a happy time. They also get a bedtime biscuit as they sleep in the kitchen.

borderlinemeath

iguana wrote: »

I like to think that it's part of a sound routine that ensures they aren't anxious about being left alone.:D Ie, me leaving is actually a happy time. They also get a bedtime biscuit as they sleep in the kitchen.

Ha, we give the bedtime treat too, in after the final widdles of the evening and treat when they sit in their bed. Then it's lights out and everybody settles down to sleep! It's a slightly new routine as our original dog now sleeps in the kitchen with our new rescue, whereas she used to sleep in our room with us.

We alwasy tell them to "mind the house" when we're giving the "leaving" treat, so they know we're coming back, although we always get the doleful eyes when we're driving out the gate:(.

lrushe

3 dogs, small medium & large breeds fed once a day between 4-5 except on Fridays when they don't get a meal as such just a large raw bone

Honey-ec

Three boxers, aged 4,5 and 6 and they get fed twice a day - at around 8am and again at around 7pm.

Once a day is a bit unfair on a dog, imo.

FlamingSox

Boxer fed twice daily, first about an hour after her walk at about 11.00 am and the second meal after we eat c. 6/6.30 pm.

Squall19

I feed him in the evening.

My Alaskan Mal/ Sibe mix isn't really into food at all.I can't get over how a 40kg dog gets by on so little food, its crazy

He just eats to survive, my mothers Labrador would eat 3 cups of nuts in a few seconds and is looking for food again in about 15 mins, while my fella eats about 3 cups a day and wouldn't be interested in a Lamb leg after that.No interest at all in food, he just wants to be out in the garden playing with his friends or pulling me on the bicycle.

He only ate twice a day when he was puppy, I don't know how he put on 6 kg in the last year, he is 2 years old now.