# Feeding times at 1 year old?



## manonhl (Feb 10, 2021)

Hi everyone, 
I have about three posts open at the same time in this brilliant forum, but with my Vizsla approaching 1 year old, I feel it's a critical time and need help 

When he was 7-8 months old we switched to 2 meals a day. The Vizsla Guide book says 10am and 3pm would be good times, but our pup threw such tantrums for food at night we removed the lunch meal instead and gave him his meals at 10am and 5pm. We exercise him mostly at mid day and either early morning or late evening, so there's ample time to digest. 

Dinner at 5 works fine, but breakfast... he cannot wait until 10. We wake up around 8 and he begins crying as soon as he hears us or sees the light of day (problem of long Scottish summer days, with dawn at 4am). He just cries or makes noise on purpose so that we come feed him and he acts crazy. We always just open the garden door for him to pee but he's so distracted he waits at the door for food before realising he has to pee. We just make our coffee and own breakfast before we feed him and make sure he sees that. Sometimes we distract him with play until 10, and sometimes we just give in and feed him before 10. But we think he still associates waking up with breakfast and therefore keeps making our morning **** with whining. 

We used to feed him breakfast as soon as we woke up when he was a younger puppy. 

Has anyone overcome that awkward transition period? Does anyone have a quiet viszla who waits patiently for breakfast?  

Cheers


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## [email protected] (Feb 24, 2020)

Hi there! 

I would be a lot happier if my pup wanted more food! He is skinny and does not care much for his kibble since he got a bit older (21 months soon). He eats, but not as much as I would like him to.

I think that you should find a schedule that fits your pup. Not a schedule recommended by a book. If your pup is hungry, then feed more. Vizslas are higly energetic and burn plenty of calories. They need a lot of food. Also, don’t go by the instructions on the bag - go with what your pup is telling you. As long as you can keep his stool fine and feed more, this is what I would do. 

My pup eats 3 times per day, and frankly, any time he wants a snack he can have it. He is slow to fill up, so whenever he feels like having a treat, he can have one. He rarely asks for anything, though, so most of the snacks just come at intervals between his meals.

I have always fed him almost double the amount indicated on the bag. His routine generally involves on average 2:30 hours per day of intense exercise. Shall he ever start getting chubby, that is when I will cut off his food, but right now he is doing fine with 560 grams of kibble divided in half at breakfast and dinner and a raw lunch (generally beef bones with meat, frozen sardines, a special recipe of meatballs that I found on this forum, or just a mix of meats). 

This is the schedule that worked best for him, after testing. So if he is happy, healthy and has a proper weight and his stool is fine, it is safe to eat as much as he needs and I am fine with it.


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## PhilipL (Sep 28, 2018)

Big Rafa as a young pup was fed three times per day, but by one year old it was down to twice a day and is now normally 10 am and 5 pm, however sometimes he is hungrier an hour either side of those times and either asks for an earlier feed or leaves his food until he is ready to have it, a lot seems to depend on how much energy he has used up beforehand and he usually eats more at the 5 pm meal time than for his breakfast.


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## manonhl (Feb 10, 2021)

Thank you for your replies guys! 
I should have mentioned, I have a tiny Vizsla. He has always been on the small side and weighs only 22kg at 12 months. Has been weighing the same for about 3 months, so maybe reached his full growth, I'm not sure. At the beginning he was completely food obsessed (litter of 10 pups!) and he stole food and ate 3 times a day, basically unlimited. He calmed down with food at 8-9 months. He still gets plenty of snacks (dried sweet potato chews I make, frozen carrots, bones, etc). 

Recently he started rejecting raw food. We couldn't believe our eyes that he would just sniff it and leave it.. he loves eating so much and we think it's healthier! But we found a high-quality kibble as an alternative. It's called Millie's Wolfheart, and it's made in the UK. They don't use any chicken (gives him skin allergies) and they have plenty of variety, but more importantly, it's big, rich kibble which doesn't need to be fed in high quantities. They also specialise their food for pointers and recommend you different varieties based on his breed, weight, sex, and activity level. He had digestive issues for months and months, except with raw food, but no that he doesn't eat it, we found a balance with Millie's. We feed one big cup each time, and his stools are now as good as with raw. Feed too much, he gets diarrhea. Feed too little, he gets constipated. Amazing to witness that quantity does it. 

But anyways, regarding the times, we haven't found a way to let him wait patiently, so might make his breakfast an hour earlier and perhaps give him dinner at 4pm instead of 5pm, I'm not sure... Just can't deal with the whining anymore 😭


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## John N (Sep 11, 2020)

manonhl said:


> Hi everyone,
> I have about three posts open at the same time in this brilliant forum, but with my Vizsla approaching 1 year old, I feel it's a critical time and need help
> 
> When he was 7-8 months old we switched to 2 meals a day. The Vizsla Guide book says 10am and 3pm would be good times, but our pup threw such tantrums for food at night we removed the lunch meal instead and gave him his meals at 10am and 5pm. We exercise him mostly at mid day and either early morning or late evening, so there's ample time to digest.
> ...


"Scottish Summer Days" Yer haen a laugh!


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## rbigarel (Jan 15, 2019)

John N said:


> "Scottish Summer Days" Yer haen a laugh!


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## rbigarel (Jan 15, 2019)

I wouldn’t worry too much about feeding a bit earlier. Our boy Eli is almost 3 and has always been a bit of a picky eater. We fed 3 meals until about a year and now he eats sometime between 7-8 in the morning and around 4 in the afternoon. We have the ability to leave his food out if he doesn’t finish it and let him have his lunch. I know most will say not to do this but many days he will sniff and keep right in walking. I used to worry but after a while I realized he just isn’t like some other dogs I have had and he is super laid back about food. As long as it works for the dog and you. I would be happy with it.


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## Frida010 (Apr 24, 2020)

Fred our 14 month old female gets breakfast between 7-8 AM and dinner between 6-7 PM. She is a very small Viszla and in general eats the serving size as stated on the bag of kibble. She is lean but not skinny.

There are days she decides to skip breakfast, and we leave her kibble out because she’ll eat around lunchtime, or sometimes she waits until dinnertime. In that case, she eats only once. On the other hand, some days she indicates that she wants more than one serving, by hanging around her empty bowl, touching it. We give her an extra serving if she wants it.


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