Last Updated on October 3, 2021 by Dogs Vets
Dog Feeding: How Much And How Often?
Feeding your dog is always a big responsibility. Often, dog owners have questions about the balanced diet of their pet because it is a difficult task to create an optimal one – with all the needed elements for healthy development.
It is necessary to consider the breed, age, and lifestyle of the pet to correctly select and combine all the essential substances that the dog should receive with food.
If you feed the pet incorrectly, diseases of different body systems often occur, and resistance decreases (the body’s resistance to various damaging factors).
Improper nutrition affects the learning ability of the dog and affects the offspring too.
A responsible owner will always avoid such situations and take care of his beloved pet’s interests.
Main principles for Feeding adult Pets
The nutrition of puppies and adult dogs is different. Therefore, as the pet develops, it is necessary to switch to new feeding schemes that correspond to the dog’s age.
“Diet plays a vital role in keeping our pets happy and healthy.
Too much food, and then your dog may become obese and develop many bone and joint problems.
Giving too little food and you will see nutritional deficiencies in your dog”, – says Dr. Sara Ochoa, veterinarian and veterinary consultant for ThePets.net
For pet owners older than 1 – 2 years old, there are specific rules. Basic feeding requirements for adult dogs:
- What suits people may be harmful to dogs. You cannot feed human food from the table, treat it with toxic delicacies, give drinks to try.
- Monotony is suitable for dogs. If you want to pamper your pet, you can sometimes give special treats, but you do not need to come up with various dishes every day. It is better to determine the most suitable products (with natural feeding) or the optimal company for the manufacturer of ready-made feed and adhere to a monotonous diet throughout life.
- You cannot mix branded feeds with natural ones. Change and adjust the diet only if necessary.
- It is not only the quality of the products that is important but also the correct serving mode. Receiving food simultaneously helps the proper production of digestive juices, promotes comfortable digestion, and positively affects metabolism.
- The portion size of the food should be appropriate for the size of the dog. You can not overfeed your pet, even if it begs for a supplement, having eaten a whole portion before that. It is also harmful to keep the dog hungry.
- Be sure to take into account the physiological state of the pet, its age, lifestyle.
- When feeding with natural products, it is necessary to periodically introduce mineral and vitamin supplements into the diet. It is essential to combine and prepare foods correctly.
- You need to monitor the temperature of the feed. Since hot or cold food can damage the pet’s digestive tract, you need to bring the temperature of the feed closer to 30 – 35 degrees, which is slightly lower than the average body temperature of the animals.
- Keep your food and water bowls clean. Wash thoroughly regularly without chemical cleaning agents. The food bowl must be put back in the cupboard on time.
A caring owner should pay attention to how the pet eats: what is the appetite, whether it asks for a supplement or, on the contrary, leaves the part of the food.
It is helpful to evaluate how the dog approaches the bowl of food and what it does after eating to assess the pet’s well-being as informative as possible.
You need to pay attention to any changes to understand how the dog feels and whether it needs help and, accordingly, adjust the diet.
There also must be freshwater freely available and in sufficient quantity so that the pet can drink at any time. The water needs to be changed daily.
It is also helpful to monitor how the dog drinks – whether it is tormented by thirst, or vice versa, whether the pet is drinking enough water.
The frequency of feeding
The number of feedings of the dog per day depends on its age. It can also be affected by particular indications of the veterinarian when necessary for health reasons.
The younger the puppy, the more critical it is to be fed regularly on an hourly basis.
Skipping meals can have a dangerous effect on a puppy’s health, such as a high likelihood of low blood sugar, leading to life-threatening hypoglycemia (low glucose, a vital carbohydrate).
As the pet grows older, the number of times is reduced, gradually transferring to an adult dog’s diet. Depending on the breed of the pet, already by 1 – 2 years of age, they begin to feed no more than twice a day.
Be sure to consider the pet’s size – representatives of small breeds are transferred to two meals a day a little earlier than their larger counterparts. Dogs of larger breeds begin to eat 2 times a day from about 12 to 14 months.
This is because small-breed dogs grow faster and are considered adults in a year, while large dogs – up to 1.5 – 2 years old – are still puppies.
Note that as the number of feeds decreases, the size of the portions increases accordingly.
Adult dogs are fed in the morning and evening or once in the evening before bed. The first option is better since, with this mode, the work of the digestive system becomes more comfortable.
Drinking water should not be restricted unless required by a special diet prescribed by a veterinarian.
If the dog constantly leaves the food part, do not force him to eat everything up. It is better to put the leftovers in the refrigerator, and next time give a slightly smaller portion. Conversely, if your pet is always short on food, you cannot rush to refill the bowl immediately.
You need to let your pet digest what it has eaten, and next time increase the amount of food a little.
In such situations, it is necessary to carefully review the diet – most likely, it will be essential to make changes.
If the dog missed a feed for some unknown reason, there is no need to compensate for the forgotten dinner by increasing the next portion or feeding at the wrong time.
Food continues to be given as usual, regardless of the one-time skipping meal.
An automatic dog feeder would be a good purchase. It will give out the exact amount of food at a specific time and call the dog with a special sound.
It is also helpful to purchase an automatic drinker, which will provide your pet with clean, filtered water enriched with oxygen.
Feeding Time
The optimal feeding time for an adult dog is 7-8 am and 8-9 pm. However, this mode can be slightly changed by adjusting to the owner’s schedule. It is essential to consider your dog’s activity and give him enough time to digest and rest.
You can not feed your pet immediately before exercise or immediately after it.
It is especially dangerous for active dogs and large breeds to walk with a full stomach due to the structural features of the gastrointestinal tract (gastrointestinal tract).
There is a great threat of gastric or intestinal volvulus. This condition is life-threatening for the pet and requires urgent veterinary care, often surgery.
You can take your pet for a walk only 3 – 4 hours after eating, not earlier.
First, the dog goes outside to empty himself, and in a shorter time, he will not have time to fill his bladder and intestines.
The dog should rest after action and adjust to a relaxed mood for eating. If the pet is fed once a day, you need to do this in the evening.
Food can be served at 6-7 pm in the evening, then take it out for a walk no earlier than 10 pm.
Advice! If you stick to these schedules precisely, it will help the dog feel good and form a regular habit of going to the toilet exclusively on the street, which will have a qualitative effect on the house’s cleanliness.
Unlike us, evening feeds are more important for a dog than morning feeds. With two meals a day, it is necessary to distribute portions so that at least 60% of the dog’s daily food volume is consumed during the second meal, that is, at night.
People Frequently Asked Questions
Why Dog Not Feeding Her Puppies
If аny situаtiоn where а femаle dоg stорs feeding her рuррies, yоu first сheсk tо mаke sure she dоesn’t hаve а рrоblem with her niррles. Then, deрending оn the аge оf the рuррies, yоu саn helр them by feeding them liquid рuррy fоrmulа оr gоаt’s milk fоr оlder рuррies.
Why won’t my dog feed her puppies?
More answers from real-life experience
There might be аnоther reаsоn she is nоt аllоwing the рuррies tо feed frоm her. My dоg hаd рuррies аnd like yоurs, i hаd nо ideа аbоut this beсаuse it wаs the first аnd lаst time I did this.
There соuld be аnоther issue why mоm dоesn’t аllоw the bаbies tо feed frоm her. My female dog develорed аn infeсtiоn аnd it hurt her bаd enоugh tо аllоw the dоgs tо feed from her. – Ann
More answers:
Yоur dоg mаy hаve mаstitis. It is а bасteriаl infeсtiоn in the teet. It’s very раinful. Yоur dоg needs tо see а vet tо see whаt bасteriа it hаs аnd whаt аntibiоtiс tо use tо stор it. – Lizzyanny
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