CockersOnline Forum

Cocker Specific Discussion => Feeding => Topic started by: Nicola on June 06, 2007, 11:34:14 AM

Title: One meal or two? I'm dithering...
Post by: Nicola on June 06, 2007, 11:34:14 AM
At the moment Alfred and Tillibert are on 2 meals a day as they have been since, well, forever. They get their breakfast at around 8am during the week and 9-10am at weekends and dinner at around 6pm all the time BUT neither of them is eating the breakfast (Alfie mince&veg and Tilly Autarky and NatureDiet). They pick at it at best and then lose interest and sometimes just ignore it completely whereas they eat their dinner enthusiastically. They also don't scrounge for food during the day even though they haven't eaten their brekky.

All this is leading me to think maybe I should put them on just the one feed per day but I'm reluctant to do this. I just don't like the idea of them going so long between feeds, but is this just me doing this for MY sake and looking at it from my human point of view when I should really listen to what they seem to be telling me?? I'm really dithering over it. Also, for BARF feeders, how would you feed just one meal per day... mince AND bones at the same time? I'm thinking that would be rather a lot of different things all at once...

So what I need is advice, and plenty of it  :police: :005: 

For those of you who feed once a day - why do you do it? Do you think it makes a difference to the dog? What time do you give the feed at - morning, afternoon or evening? Do you give them anything else during the day (other than some biccies or treats)?Does it affect their 'poo routine'? Do they go fewer times? I've read about some dogs getting pukey on an empty stomach and although both of mine have iron constitutions it's still in the back of my mind and I'd rather not wake up to the dulcet tones of them heaving on the bedroom carpet at night  ph34r :005:

For those of you who feed twice a day - why do you do it? Do you think it makes a difference to the dog? What times do you offer the meals at? And does your dog eat both of them with the same enthusiasm or do they pick at or leave one and eat the other?

Thank y'all!  :D
Title: Re: One meal or two? I'm dithering...
Post by: Magic Star on June 06, 2007, 11:44:55 AM
Nicola, I used to feed Indie once a day, because she was a fussy dog and to prevent her from grazing, as she just used to always have a bowl of kibble and go back and forth all day long taking little bits.  This resulted in her doing tiny and lots of poohs ::)   So I started feeding her just once a day, usually mid afternoon, but she would have natural yoghurt for her brekkie and 4 gray bones for supper!  It solved the problem, she started eating her dinner all in one go and now shes back on two feeds a day, which she clears in minutes ;)
Title: Re: One meal or two? I'm dithering...
Post by: Cazzie on June 06, 2007, 12:20:15 PM
Nicola

I feed all mine once a day,  normally first thing in the morning after their walk. They used to get 2 meals but I was finding that someone was needing out for the loo at 2am or there abouts (the younger ones) or id wake up to a pile on the floor.  >:D

I think though 2 meals are better that one big meal, as id rather eat twice a day than once, but to be honest it hasnt made any difference to mine with one meal.

Also I could feed my lot 10 times a day and theyd scoff it no muckin around with fussy dam dogs in this house couldnt be bothered with it now. They do get maybe a couple of biscuits during the day each, but if i am in the kitchen they are always looking for food. Its a pack thing with them they are all fed together, so if they dont eat it someone else will so as you can gather no one goes hungry in this house and not a morsel left EVER.  :005:
Title: Re: One meal or two? I'm dithering...
Post by: lexi on June 06, 2007, 12:50:54 PM
All my dogs have always had two meals a day. Since they are all so interested in food, I think it's better to not let them go for too long with empty tummies. They also get a few biscuits each before going to bed. Byron and Mac seem to have "iron" stomachs but Holly's is a little more delicate and the bedtime treat seems to prevent her from throwing up bile in the morning.
Since they are all such gluttons, they have at least three things to look forward to each day! :lol:
Title: Re: One meal or two? I'm dithering...
Post by: Helen on June 06, 2007, 12:53:09 PM
i had this with jarv, and i solved it by making his evening meal small so he was hungry by morning and ate his breakfast.  Now I give him 2 meals roughly the same size, tend to make the morning one the more appetizing (tripe etc) and then in the evening he's hungry enough to eat whatever there is served to him

i didn't like the thought of him motoring around all day on an empty stomach (although i'm sure he's fine - just the hoomun thinking he's got no energy reserves)

this works for us, but plenty of dogs are happy on one meal a day
Title: Re: One meal or two? I'm dithering...
Post by: speedyjaney on June 06, 2007, 01:08:36 PM
Sneakin online whilst at work  :005:

Mine get 2 meals a day, each meal half of their daily ration.

Jessie Dyson Dustbin would eat 20 meals a day if we offered it but Saffi seems to get full now and again so we just remove the brekki meal for a day or 2 then she is straight back to scoffin it!

Im quite mean tho so they get their kibble , sometimes with water on it, sometimes with veggies but if they dont it then nowt else!

Janey
Title: Re: One meal or two? I'm dithering...
Post by: crazyspaniels on June 06, 2007, 02:08:48 PM
mine get a snack in the morning and there full meal at 5pm, suits them all and they are all greedy dogs and never leave a drop :D
Title: Re: One meal or two? I'm dithering...
Post by: Sheryl on June 06, 2007, 02:32:57 PM
My two would make my life a misery if I didn't give them 2 meals a day but then they are food driven.  Kali especially tends to do the foamy sick (sorry) if she gets left too long without something so for her 1 meal isn't an option.
Title: Re: One meal or two? I'm dithering...
Post by: supaspaniel on June 06, 2007, 03:13:14 PM
My guys have always been on 2 meals aday. They are equal sized meals. And to be honest I really wouldn't get away with one meal aday....they want their breakfast and they want their tea...they do ok on it. I suppose I just never got around to just one meal  ;)
I know loads of peeps that only feed once a day and they all do ok on it too. Matts lot are fed once a day although I did get him in the habit of giving them a bonio or somesort of biscuit in the morning after their walk.

Its whatever suits yours really and if they aren't bothered about one meal in particular then give one meal a day a try...you can always go back if it doesn't work :-\
Title: Re: One meal or two? I'm dithering...
Post by: *Jay* on June 06, 2007, 05:32:00 PM
Two meals a day here. The boys are so obsessed with food that they scoff the lot and by next mealtime you would think their throat had been cut  ::)  Jersey on the other hand needs encouragement to eat - I think she sees it as too much of an effort  ::) During the week, they get their first meal between 7-8am and the second between 2-3pm. At weekends it is anytime between 9-11am and 4-5pm.  They get treats during the day and a gravy bone at bedtime.
Title: Re: One meal or two? I'm dithering...
Post by: Joelf on June 06, 2007, 08:41:27 PM
Our dogs always have 2 meals a day; breakfast at about 6-630am & their supper about 6-630pm.

Spike & the other labs have always fallen on their food like starving refugees but until recently Domino was quite fussy.Now they get yummy bones & chicken wings he can't wait to get his food!! ;)

They get a few gravy bones as treats throughout the day.
Title: Re: One meal or two? I'm dithering...
Post by: Aggie on June 06, 2007, 08:48:41 PM
Because of Pops ours get 3 ( on tablets - so do them both the same)

6am get protein only

7.30am carbohydrate only

6pm kibble JWB

They eat energetically at all times

Before that it was twice a day. When we just had Pops I just used to feed her once in the evening but it didn't really work for her.
Title: Re: One meal or two? I'm dithering...
Post by: pamela on June 06, 2007, 09:58:23 PM
I feed 2 meals a day, Auturky in the morning and usually a little Auturky and meat at around 5pm. Sometimes Ben doesn't really bother much for either meal. He even seems happy getting just biscuits in the morning and an evening meal.
You could always try cutting down one of the meals and see how you get on.
Title: Re: One meal or two? I'm dithering...
Post by: happydog on June 06, 2007, 10:08:58 PM
Fern is fed BARF and I feed her once a day about 5.30 in the afternoon. This is  well after her main run of the day. She has raw mince and veggies first and the bones afterwards. Sometimes I leave the (chicken wings usually) bones for half an hour and sometimes straight after she has finished her mince and veg. She doesn't get many treats during the day either. Sometimes she will get fruit/veg  peelings when i am preparing meals, or a very occasional biscuit or pigs ear.

I have fed all our (5) past dogs once a day at about this time and have never ever had them being sick through an empty stomach or through eating too fast because I had starved them all day. I do think it important not to feed close to excercise though.   :shades: Dogs aint like us 'oomans  ;)  :D
Title: Re: One meal or two? I'm dithering...
Post by: Nicola on June 06, 2007, 10:18:52 PM
Thanks for the responses guys, I think I might give the 'Freya diet' a go and give them a snack in the morning and then one main meal at around 5pm so we'll see how it goes  :D
Title: Re: One meal or two? I'm dithering...
Post by: Cazzie on June 06, 2007, 10:20:18 PM
Thanks for the responses guys, I think I might give the 'Freya diet' a go and give them a snack in the morning and then one main meal at around 5pm so we'll see how it goes  :D

Or the other way around  :-\ , good idea might do that myself  :blink: , what involved in the snack?  :D
Title: Re: One meal or two? I'm dithering...
Post by: Nicola on June 06, 2007, 10:29:32 PM
Thanks for the responses guys, I think I might give the 'Freya diet' a go and give them a snack in the morning and then one main meal at around 5pm so we'll see how it goes  :D

Or the other way around  :-\ , good idea might do that myself  :blink: , what involved in the snack?  :D

If my two had their way it would be toast with butter, even if they don't want their own breakfast they always want mine  ::)  But because I'm a mean Mum it'll probably be some biscuits, a few dog bakery chicken bones or something as they're quite big.
Title: Re: One meal or two? I'm dithering...
Post by: cazza on June 07, 2007, 07:43:30 AM
My two at the mo are mithering me for Brekky and then again at 4pm once the kids get in from school they'll be mithering for their tea  ::)

They will both scrouge thro the day if they get half the chance as well

I give half the food in morning and the other half in the evening (7.30 / 8am and 4.30 / 5pm)

Hope you get them sorted to what suits you and them  ;)
Title: Re: One meal or two? I'm dithering...
Post by: clairep4 on June 07, 2007, 11:40:37 AM
I thought about putting Bella onto one meal a while ago as she's on BARF but has mini portions as she's prone to, how shall we put it, "cocker-spread"  :luv: :lol:.

She's on BARF so I had the same thing with how to get her a good sized boney meal plus some muscle meat without going over her ration limit, but then someone on here pointed out that they don't have to have the same amount of food every day, you just need to even it out over the week. So she gets her main boney meal in the morning and then a tiny little portion of mince in the evenings with her veg.

I give her half a chicken back (about 90g) 2 mornings a week, breast of lamb (around 120g) twice a week, and then tripe or fish the other mornings, but the chicken and lamb balance out as she should get around 150g per day total, and the chicken back has no skin or fat whereas the lamb does.

Her evening meal is a measly little 40g of mince with some veg but she still lives for it and starts harrassing me at 4.30 for her 6pm feed....

I feel sorry for her as baby half-bro Zorro is as lean as a little beanpole and gets to have 300g every single day, so Bella gets a measly half a chicken back and he gets two big fat chicken wings complete with skin, or she gets two lamb ribs and he gets four, poor little Bella....  :luv:
Title: Re: One meal or two? I'm dithering...
Post by: bluegirl on June 07, 2007, 12:32:13 PM
I feed my dogs twice a day, however if they are fussy on breakfast it is taken away and no tea is given. I start again the day after fresh breakfast is given and tea only follows if breakfast is eaten. Mine know the routine and to be fair tea is much more exciting than breakfast but I won't bend on this one. My dogs aren't fussy and they hardly ever consider leaving any meal, especially my girls. Logan has only gone off food when there's a whiff of a sexy lady in the house.
Title: Re: One meal or two? I'm dithering...
Post by: Nicola on June 07, 2007, 07:19:30 PM
I thought about putting Bella onto one meal a while ago as she's on BARF but has mini portions as she's prone to, how shall we put it, "cocker-spread"  :luv: :lol:.

.....

I feel sorry for her as baby half-bro Zorro is as lean as a little beanpole and gets to have 300g every single day, so Bella gets a measly half a chicken back and he gets two big fat chicken wings complete with skin, or she gets two lamb ribs and he gets four, poor little Bella....  :luv:

Aww Bella Tilly says she totally sympathises with you cos she is prone to getting a wee bit podgy around the middle too and her annoying lil'bro is also a skinnymalink without a single ounce of fat on him so when they're getting their morning biscuits he has 4 and poor Tills only gets a measly 2 (I break them in half to make it seem like more for her  :005:).

Despite his skinniness though Alfie's still such a big, chunky boy he gets Bella and Zorro's rations combined every day plus treats and still never puts on any weight  :o  :005:

We've started today with the new plan so they had some (large!) Dog Bakery barbecue bone biscuits each for their breakfast then their main feed at 3pm after their big lunchtime walk. They've just been for their individual evening training sessions and are now happily snoozing so they'll get some tuna bread at bedtime and that will be them for the day.
Title: Re: One meal or two? I'm dithering...
Post by: Cazzie on June 07, 2007, 09:21:25 PM
Tuna bread  :-\ Tell me more  :D
Title: Re: One meal or two? I'm dithering...
Post by: cazza on June 07, 2007, 09:31:07 PM
I'll bring the recipes down on sat Cazzie  ;)
Title: Re: One meal or two? I'm dithering...
Post by: Cazzie on June 07, 2007, 09:32:04 PM
I'll bring the recipes down on sat Cazzie  ;)
Great thanks Cazza  ;)
Title: Re: One meal or two? I'm dithering...
Post by: Nicola on June 07, 2007, 09:38:03 PM
Tuna bread  :-\ Tell me more  :D

Tuna bread recipe from Willow's Kitchen...

1 tin of tuna in oil (if you have brine, drain it and add some oil or water to the mix)
80g plain flour
1 egg
sprinkle of garlic powder

Put the tuna, garlic powder and egg in a bowl, mix with a spoon. Then add the flour gradually until it all binds together (add less or more flour as you need).

Pour onto a microwaveable plate and put in the microwave for 4 minutes, turn onto a wire rack to cool and cut into small training sized cubes.

Or if like me you don't have a mike then pour the mix onto a baking tray and bung in the oven at 200 degrees until it is slightly crispy at the edges and springy in the middle like a cake. I also double up on the quantities and make a big batch all at once and freeze some of it so 2 tins of tuna etc.

Once you've cut it up you can put it back in the oven again and crisp it up a bit, this makes it easier to carry around and you can also use sardines or any canned fish instead of tuna. My two love it, it's healthy and low fat, doesn't stink like liver cake and even I can make it  :005:
Title: Re: One meal or two? I'm dithering...
Post by: happydog on June 07, 2007, 09:38:13 PM
Tuna bread  :-\ Tell me more  :D
Theres a recipe here too Cazzie  :D. Scroll down the page.

http://www.itsaspringthing.co.uk/willows%20kitchen.htm

Ooops  sorry Nicola. Have just duplicated!  ::)  :005:  ph34r  :embarassed:
Title: Re: One meal or two? I'm dithering...
Post by: Cazzie on June 07, 2007, 09:47:42 PM
Gosh thats fantastic thanks, im going to make that tomorrow  :shades:, we are always baking here for the day care dogs Oh and mine of course they love it, must get some wee aprons and chefs hats for them  :005: . They like to all lick the bowls and spoons after  :005:
Title: Re: One meal or two? I'm dithering...
Post by: Shelley on June 07, 2007, 10:06:25 PM
I used to feed mine twice a day until a couple of weeks ago. They were faffing about with there food so much I now feed them once a day at about 4pm.