If you feed once a day, do you feed breakfast or dinner?

[Kimmy & Chewie]

I'm thinking of changing from feeding him twice a day to once a day when my labradoodle turns 1 in a month or so.

But not sure whether I should feed that big meal in the morning or afternoon?

Which is better?

[Trudy Harlow]

I don't know....I've continued the twice a day feedings, except in hot weather when his appetite goes way down, and then I feed him in the morning when it's cooler.

[Cindy M, Zachary & the Frenchies]

Zach is still getting fed twice a day because he is still young, but my other dogs eat once a day in the morning. I would rather they not have a lot of food in their bellies at night, and all the pooping is done before bedtime.

[Kimmy & Chewie]

Thanks Trudy and Cindy for your response.

They're both great ideas. I think if I do feed once a day, it'll be in the morning too (cooler and avoid sleeping with full stomach)

I think that feeding once a day also enables you to feed larger cuts of meats (e.g half or whole chicken) so better in terms of teeth cleaning too.

[Trudy Harlow]

Kimmy, I would add this -- I know a lot of vets who recommend continuing 2 daily feedings.  Easier to digest, you don't have to wait so long before activity (always be careful of bloat!), and a dog that sleeps better at night.  When I do feed my 4-yo GD 2x a day, he gets his 2nd meal in the late afternoon -- never after 6 pm -- so he's pretty well done digesting by bedtime.  He's an active boy, so he needs that 2nd shot of food late in the day.

Whatever you decide, I hope it works for you and Chewie!

[Kimmy & Chewie]

Trudy, that's a very good point!

I'm currently feeding him at 6.30am and 6pm. His bedtime is around 10.30pm. Do you think that's enough time to digest his food before bedtime?

Chewie's very inactive during the day. After breakfast, he sleeps pretty much the whole day. He "switches on" around 4pm and remains active until just before bedtime. I'm  a bit worried about bloat too. Especially after dinner since its during his "active" period.

[Hazel & Chester Wayte]

We are considering transitioning Chester from Acana to a raw prey diet. The once daily feeding is something that I am not sure about. It will be an adjustment. The supplier of raw food website suggests if you feed on a schedule and are late with the feeding one day, then their stomach acid can build up. And they will vomit.

They suggest not feeding on a schedule to avoid that.

I could be late coming home in the winter with a snow storm. My tendency would be to feed him in the morning as it won't be as late. But that would be a regiments 530 schedule on weekdays. 

I also wonder how different their bowel movement schedule is with raw once daily feeding. Chester is home alone through most weekdays. He also turns on around 4pm,like Chewy.

 

What did you decide to do?

[Trudy Harlow]

Paddy generally still eats breakfast most days, Hazel.  I try to estimate his hunger level every day.  Some days, especially in the summer when it's hot, he won't eat as much at his afternoon meal, so he will eat a bigger breakfast.  Other days, he just isn't interested in the morning.  It seems to go in cycles.  Sometimes he will want to eat and eat and eat in the afternoon.  I think it's just whatever schedule works best for you and your dog - your dog will pretty much adapt to your schedule, as long as it's reliable.  I'm home with Paddy all the time, so I'm pretty flexible about his routine.  Because he isn't an avid eater most of the time, I try to offer food when I know he will eat it.  It's just a question of knowing yourself and your dog.

Paddy's bowel movements vary, depending on what I'm feeding him.  I don't think the once-a-day schedule will affect the bowel product so much as the actual food will.  Too much bone, it will be dry and chalky; too little bone, it will be soft and mushy.  If you feed too much rich food, like liver, at one meal, you may get diarrhea.  Paddy competes at Agility, so I try to give him a pretty boring diet in the couple of days ahead of each trial so we aren't dealing with bowel issues while we are competing.

Hope all this helps.  Just do what you have to do, and your dog will go along with the program!