What time is your dog's last feed?

zebidee1

Harley (our 3 year old lab) suffered from quite serious colitis since he was a tiny puppy which meant he needed to be fed small meals 4 times a day, rather than larger ones once or twice a day.

His colitis has been under control and settled for quite some time now and the vet reckons we can try him with 3 meals now instead of 4.

His mealtimes were always around 7.30/8am , 12.30/1pm, 5.30/6pm and then 'supper' lol at 9.30/10pm.

I'm happy to feed him 3 times instead of 4 but am not sure of when would be the best times iyswim?

soupdragon10

You could try keeping his first meal at 8 and then moving the next two an hour or so later, maybe giving him his last meal no later than 7 ish so that he's not sleeping with a full tummy.

gone4gold62

i would feed him 8.12 and 4 imo doesnt really need supper ,but you know your dog ,

lostinrates

Ours have an early last feed between 4:30 and 6pm...depending on what's happening here (their routine is the same, but somedays take longer than others. ) This leaves them enough time to go out to the loo if we are going out or having guests for the evening and to be not hungry when we have our supper. Really though it fits around their digestion ....we find this means a poop at about 10:30/11.

In the summer, however, when its very hotter, we feed them much later, out of the heat of the day which can mean they want to be let out through the night.

alleycat`

GH-X.

Two meals at 8am (approx.) and 5pm (approx.).

I say approx. as he has a tendency to behave like he has never had a feed in his life and starts to whine about food around 7am / 4pm.

We don't feed him later than 6pm otherwise he barges in at 3am demanding to be let out to go to the Loo.

I suppose on the positive side I don't need a clock as i have the time keeping dog (gets confused about GMT/BST mind you).

He also often gets something random at lunch time to keep him feeling involved (Apple, Carrot or a couple of Bonios).

In your case i'd do as soupdragon said and push the middle two meals backwards and bin the last meal of the night.

zebidee1

soupdragon10 wrote: »

You could try keeping his first meal at 8 and then moving the next two an hour or so later, maybe giving him his last meal no later than 7 ish so that he's not sleeping with a full tummy.

That's somewhere along the lines of what I was thinking.

gone4gold62 wrote: »

i would feed him 8.12 and 4 imo doesnt really need supper ,but you know your dog ,

The colitis means he needs spaced out and regular. I think the gap between 4pm and breakfast the next day would be too long.

I thought maybe his last feed should be between 7pm -7.30ish.

Eventually we'll be looking to feed twice a day but that's only if moving him to 3 meals is a success first.

ka7e

Dogs usually sleep well on a full stomach! In the wild, most animals will rest to digest a meal. They certainly shouldn't be exercised within an hour of being fed, especially large breeds, as it can lead to "bloat".

If regularly spaced meals are really important, why not feed every 8 hours (as long as it fits into your timetable) at 7am, 3pm and 11pm?

I have a Sheltie who is not very food orientated and is fed AFTER walks, roughly 10am and 10pm with a small handful of dry food at 6pm when we sit down for tea.

puddy

crikey, ours gets breakfast and dinner. he is a collie, only has about an hours exercise a day and has a bad leg and back so needs to be very slightly underweight and not excessively exercised. he has measured portions and it looks hardly anything. the vet is well pleased though as he lost half a STONE due to our work!! I thought she meant half a kilo. I'd love to lose half a stone!

puddy

oh, reading the other replies, i also forget sometimes that he gets an apple a day and some pickled onions or a tomato. i am trying to stay away from treats but he likes those and i feel that they must be low fat and low carb so he should be ok

Kinski

Arran is fed twice a day at 7am and 7pm, he also gets a few bits of kibble before bed otherwise he chucks up during the night. Abby has kidney failure and has to have 6 small meals a day the first is at 7am and the last is about 10pm.

lostinrates

puddy wrote: »

oh, reading the other replies, i also forget sometimes that he gets an apple a day and some pickled onions or a tomato. i am trying to stay away from treats but he likes those and i feel that they must be low fat and low carb so he should be ok

Mine get dog safe leftovers in their meals.

I did forget that ours have their ''bed time biscuit'' a bonio. This is not to fill their tummies but because it marks a routine for them. Its differnt to thei other times they go out for a piddle because after the bedtime biscuit they will be alone for the night. The only problem with this is they ask to widdle in the evening when they don't need to...then come in,sit down and ask for their bedtime biscuit and for us to go to bed :rotfl::rotfl: