# Feeding once a day?



## Suliko (Sep 17, 2011)

We have been feeding Sophie different Orijen formulas since she was a little pup; she is almost 1.5 yrs old now. However, it is the same story every time we change the formula: initially she will “inhale” it, and after a few months she gets used to the food and hardly wants to eat it (unless really hungry). So, we have gone from the beef formula to fish, and now it’s the Red Regional which she seemed to love the most. I actually think she strives best on this formula and her coat has turned beautiful and shiny. However, Sophie doesn’t seem so hungry anymore. She will do the routine: sit in her place and wait until we put the food bowl down, look at us, wait until I give her a command to go eat aaaaaaand she doesn’t go to the bowl! She also gets fresh bones with meat as “snacks” after the long walks, AFTER her dry food dinner. She LOVES that part. 

I am beginning to wonder if Sophie should be fed once a day. Would it be too early at her age? I think maybe the bone marrow fills her up, and she is not that hungry. The bones are not that big though, and we don’t give them every day. We don’t leave the food out if she doesn’t eat it, and usually if she has missed her breakfast, she eats her dinner very fast. 

Does anyone here feeds their V. once a day? Any suggestions and advice would be greatly appreciated! I apologize if this subject has been already covered…couldn’t find it.


----------



## datacan (May 15, 2011)

No to once a day feeding. Feeding once a day may contribute to bloat/torsion. Feeding 3 smaller meals is recommended.

This info is only from what I've been reading. 3 smaller meals are safer.


----------



## Linescreamer (Sep 28, 2010)

She is waiting for the good stuff. Why eat a burger if your going to get a steak in a few hours.


----------



## Linescreamer (Sep 28, 2010)

If you read my other posts you will see I have a picky eater. Copper has 3 brands of dog food in the closet at all times. We just keep switching it up to keep him on his toes. Some days he doesn't eat at all. If he expends allot of energy he will eat whatever I give him.  We also use the Powder supplement and make a gravy with the food. That works and is very good for the dog.


----------



## Suliko (Sep 17, 2011)

*Linescreamer*, sometimes I too think she just wants that meaty bone and will sit there and wait in hopes of getting one. But would she really wait ALL day just for a meaty bone which she doesn't get until she eats her dry food first anyway? She does have a lot of patience and can be very persistent. It is crucial for us not to give in. I am starting to think we might need to slightly change up her eating routine. I don't want the food change to become a habit


----------



## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

Whatever you decide about food, I think one large meal a day is a bad idea for any deep-chested breed, such as the Vizsla. Just as datacan said, the dog's normal caloric intake should be spread out over the course of the day. Two or three smaller meals are much, much safer. Bloat is a killer. That is exactly what my Vet told me years ago. He said you never want to load up your dog's stomach with a large meal, and also, avoid exercising your dog right after eating. 

Peronally, I think Sophie is holding out for those fresh bones with meat!


----------



## Kobi (Oct 26, 2010)

Personally I leave Kobi's food out all the time and let him eat when he feels the need.... this is because ever since he stopped inhaling his food, he got very casual about eating. Usually he eats just once a day. Luckily this is at night so I don't have to worry about bloat. He's only 14 months, so it's definitely worked for us despite his young age.

He looks very skinny, but he's actually the same as his older brother (the breeder kept that pup), and the only one that decides how much/little he eats is himself!


----------



## Aimless1 (Sep 25, 2011)

I've owned 4 dogs, and the last 3 have been on a self feeding program once I switched from puppy food to adult food. All were/are in excellent health and none of them were over weight. I never had a problem with bloat and like Kobi, they generally prefer to eat at night.

When the V puppy arrives we'll go back to feeding both separately until the V is ready to go to adult food, then we'll change back to self feeding.


----------



## datacan (May 15, 2011)

Free feeding is worse than once a day feeding. Just having had dogs doesn't mean you know all about dogs. I had a male German Shepherd, it did not prepare me for a Vizsla. I don't want to load the space with paste and copy but this sums it up pretty well:

"After all, how excited would you be about that lasagna if you had a big bowl of it sitting in the corner all day long? In a dog or cat’s life food is the number-one motivation. Sure, they love rides in the car, going for walks, or getting a visit from the neighbor’s pet. But nothing beats food. A critter with no passion for food is an unhappy critter. A pet should have an unbridled passion for food. They need to look forward to their next meal with anticipation and excitement. This creates the foundation for a well-tempered, happy pet.

In addition to the negative effect on disposition, free feeding is not ideal for the digestive system. Dogs and cats in the wild have long breaks between meals -- far longer than humans who operate ideally on 3 meals per day. These breaks give their digestive system a chance to rest and prepare for the next meal. So, if this is all true, why do some pet foods suggest free-feeding? For the same reason that your shampoo bottle tells you to lather, rinse, and repeat . . . to sell more shampoo. The sad fact is that many pet food manufacturers are far more concerned with the almighty dollar than the health of your pets."


----------



## Linescreamer (Sep 28, 2010)

Suliko said:


> *Linescreamer*But would she really wait ALL day just for a meaty bone which she doesn't get until she eats her dry food first anyway?


Most deffinately. Most Vizslas are smarter then their owners.


----------



## Kobi (Oct 26, 2010)

Datacan, I've seen what a passion for food looks like, it's called the average American. Obese.

I don't think a dog has a "passion" for food as much as that text suggest. Rather, I have read (and it seems to make sense), that a dog's tendency to get excited about food is due in part to the instinct that, in the wild, they don't know when they are going to eat. Thus, they eat as much as possible and as quickly as possible. That's the way Kobi USED to be, until one day, he just stopped eating that way. That's when I resorted to self-feeding to make sure HE could decide when he had had enough food.

9 times out of 10, when someone seems Kobi for the first time, they comment on how skinny he is or how he must not get enough food. If he eats more because his food is constantly available, that's fine by me, because he's certainly not fat. I don't think the amount of food he consumes has gone up any since I've given him access to his food at all times (when he's not crated).


----------



## Matt (Sep 4, 2011)

I would feed her 2-3 times a day. Put the bowl down, give her the command to eat. If she doesn' eat I would put the bowl away and give it back to hear at the next meal time. If she's hungry enough she'll eventually eat. I would skip the meaty bone part for a while to see if it works.


----------



## Suliko (Sep 17, 2011)

Thank you all for sharing your experiences and advice. I have always been a bit skeptical about once-a-day feeding schedule, but didn’t know if it was common or not. Free-feeding is not a choice for me mostly because I believe the owner should be the one who controls the dog’s food resource. I’m old school 

This is what I have decided to do. It will still be two meals a day – morning and early evening. Since we have always fed Sophie before (about an hour or so) she goes for her walk, we will now be feeding her after the walks. I think that’s the way it should be to begin with. But we initially did the feeding before walks to minimize the foreign object intake while out and about in the woods. As many V. pups, she used to eat everything – rocks, dead rodents, mulch (favorite!), grass, mud etc., and for the most part it actually worked. She has outgrown that stage now and only chews on grass and mulch once in a while. 

This morning was her first after-the walk meal, and she ate like there is no tomorrow. I’ll see if this works long-term and keep you updated


----------



## Matt (Sep 4, 2011)

Yaaay sounds like you guys are making progress  And I totally agree that the owner should be in control of the food source. 

Btw what does fre-feeding mean? Sorry I just moved to the US from Germany and never heard of that before.


----------



## Kobi (Oct 26, 2010)

Matt said:


> Btw what does fre-feeding mean? Sorry I just moved to the US from Germany and never heard of that before.


Basically, leaving a heaping bowl of food somewhere the dog can access it at anytime and eat as much or as little as he wants. At least that's the way I do it 

Only activity required on the owner then, is to fill the bowl before it gets empty.


----------



## Matt (Sep 4, 2011)

Thanks! 

Wow I don't even wanna imagine how overweight my dog would be if I would do that ;D


----------



## Kobi (Oct 26, 2010)

Matt said:


> Thanks!
> 
> Wow I don't even wanna imagine how overweight my dog would be if I would do that ;D


I originally did it because I was concerned Kobi wasn't eating enough. He is not gaining weight using this method, though.

I WOULD try to fatten him up, but he's the exact same size as his older brother who lives with the breeder. They have the exact same parents, so I don't think anything is necessarily wrong with him for only being 48 lbs. I know other owners on here (Linescreamer) have even smaller males.

Here's a recent pic: https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/bI7zvFpnRo-MiyhQsHFEqDbdn4crRC-2KUeB-tUCtF4?feat=directlink


----------



## Suliko (Sep 17, 2011)

*Kobi*, he's such a cutie!!  He does seem a bit on the leaner side, but I'm sure he'll fill out over time


----------



## Aimless1 (Sep 25, 2011)

datacan said:


> Free feeding is worse than once a day feeding. Just having had dogs doesn't mean you know all about dogs. I had a male German Shepherd, it did not prepare me for a Vizsla. I don't want to load the space with paste and copy but this sums it up pretty well:


One thing we can certainly agree on is that owning several dogs does not make one an expert. However, finding something penned online does not make if true nor factual. You're entitled to your opinion and welcome to do what works for you and your companion. Before going to a self feeding program I checked with my vet who fully approved provided we didn't end up with over eaters. This has since been confirmed with two other vets. I've certainly found several strong opinions on both sides of the subject online but have yet to locate any factual scientific information which would show this method of feeding to be harmful. My limited personal experience shows that it works well for me and my canine companions, but YMMV.


----------



## datacan (May 15, 2011)

I spent hours trying to find reasons to free feeding animals and could not find real scientific basis for it. Even pet rabbits should not be free fed. I did not need this info . We have a cat, a dog and discus fish. 
The most common argument for free feeding is "I did it before and my dog/dogs were happy"

Caloric intake must equal caloric output to keep weight even (adult animals - humans included). Best case scenario. 
Most animals eat until full. 
One could free feed a low calorie poor tasting diet all day and archive the same result. But, fat sometimes deposits on the organs (liver, heart, kidneys) and the animals (humans included) show little or no external sighs of obesity. This likely happens in stressful scenarios.

Just to be clear, free feeding means letting the dog eat as much as it wants whenever it wants regardless of food's caloric value.
If I did that pretty soon I could just roll my dog around instead of walkling him. Yeah, Sam (our V) is a garbage can - eats most things all the time. Eat fist, worry about consequences later mentality. 
http://www.5stardog.com/dog-food.asp


----------



## Kobi (Oct 26, 2010)

For what it's worth, I don't really think that free feeding is the best way, just what works for us. I thought the suggestion that a animal that doesn't have a "passion for food" is unhappy was silly. The only creatures on earth that have a "passion for food" are humans, and look at us!

I'm sure free feeding can be very bad for some dogs, especially depending on what they eat. Kobi has quality food (Blue Buffalo Wilderness) that he likes, but he'd probably have to really pig out to gain weight.

If the only thing our pets had to look forward to was us putting food in their bowl, they'd have a pretty sad existence


----------



## Aimless1 (Sep 25, 2011)

Obviously we'll have to agree to disagree 

Checked the source at the bottom of your post. Without reference to authors or studies it appears to be a site that offers opinions but not facts. Factual information regarding the number of feedings or the time of the feedings is difficult to come by. Not conclusive, but rather the fact that it accepts self feeding as a viable and equal means of feeding, you might want to read Animal feeding and nutrition By Marshall H. Jurgens. I mention this as I have yet to see an animal nutritionist opposed to self feeding.

Again, we can both agree that caloric intake must equal caloric output, and we further agree that the quality of the ingredients matter. Some dogs can not adjust and will become obese with free feeding. Others will thrive. Glad that yours are doing fine with the methods you've chosen.


----------



## datacan (May 15, 2011)

Anyhow, if I was to free feed I would keep track by recording the amount of kibble my dog consumes/24 hours.
I would ration 2 cups and see how long it takes the dog to consume the kibble and add more once he finished. Of course, it depends on activity levels, time of year and health condition. But at least I would have a rough idea how much kibble and how many calories my dog consumes. I just like to measure things. 

We had an obese cat and just because we followed the feeding schedule printed on the bag. Most suggested feeding schedules found on food bags are pretty well researched by the manufacturers. At least, thats what we thought. It is a lot harder and dangerous healthwise to lean them out. It took us 2 years of continuously monitoring.

Anyhow, Sam is on this food
http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/dogformulas/VenDog.html

Somehow, Blue an even Orijen gave him the runs even after a month. 
I also believe bloat becomes a health risk after not prior their first birthday. Older dogs are at much higher risk.


----------



## Aimless1 (Sep 25, 2011)

Good advice about making sure your pet does not over eat ... and no one wants a pet who doesn't eat enough either.

Every time I get a new companion I always rethink my dog food choice. Thanks for the tip on Natural Balance. I've also been checking Blue & Orijen. After reading some of the posts here I'm beginning to wonder about Eukanuba, which was a premium food when it first came out and I preferred it to Iams, Eagle and Science Diet, the other leading contenders at the time.

Obviously we're both carefully considering how we take care of our dogs. In this case we reached different conclusions.


----------



## datacan (May 15, 2011)

Just had to add: Eukanuba was sold to P&G. Hence the apparent fall in quality.
Iams has corn listed pretty high in the ingredients list. Sam was originally on this because everything else gave him the runs. 
We were so desperate at one point even tried to cook for him. Barley and meat with veggies.


----------



## Suliko (Sep 17, 2011)

Happy to report Sophie has regained her appetite in just two days and gladly inhales her food again every single mealtime! She had me trained real good....smarty 8)


----------

