when and how often to feed a dog

[DeerHarvester]

Once a DAY a man.  My dog will ration himself and leave food in the dish most of the day.  I could leave a garbage can of food out and he wouldn't over eat.  He is a Lab and they generally will over eat if you allow them. 

[Schmalzfam]

We feed our dogs twice a day. Once at 4:30am and then again at 5pm or so.
The feeding in the morning is early enough to settle by the time we hunt that way we don't have to worry about bloat. We have also always watered their food down with warm water, to help as well.

Also, I have been known to bring little energy snacks for them as well.

I never feed a meal after hunting, running or anything that has taken a lot of energy.

I know people who feed once a day and that is their choice. I would worry more about bloat when feeding once a day. If a dog is hungry they eat fast and they are generally fed more, if only feeding once a day.
But, I don't think poorly of people who feed once a day. We just feed twice.

[Elliott]

thanks

[bow4elk]

All my labs were once a day eaters, 2 cups of dry, high quality food (high protein) around 5 PM.  They shouldn't be crapping 35 times a day.  If they are, your food is full of rice/corn filler and that just sails straight through them.

[benbo30]

All my labs were once a day eaters, 2 cups of dry, high quality food (high protein) around 5 PM.  They shouldn't be crapping 35 times a day.  If they are, your food is full of rice/corn filler and that just sails straight through them.

so lamb and rice is not good, the food i feed my labs is diamond plus nautral, lamb and rice,  no corn at all, is rice not good i knew corn wasnt but i didnt hear anything about rice

[bow4elk]

I should have been more clear.  There's nothing wrong with lamb/rice or corn, just remember that the higher the protein content, then better quality food, in general.  Rice/Corn is more or less "filler" and you'll notice your dog(s) pooping a lot more with foods containing higher % of rice/corn.  Dogs are carnivores so it's good to provide them a high protein diet.  Hope this makes my last post more clear.  I'm no expert on breeds and diets - just sharing my experience with many years of owning labs.  Every dog is different too so consult your vet if you have specific questions about what to feed and how much.  For example, "Free feeding" is common for many dogs, which is just leaving the food available all the time and the dog will regulate.  I have not had labs that follow this routine.  One female yellow lab we had got the lid off our food container (metal garbage can) and gorged herself into a bloated mess of burping, gassing, and groaning.  I estimated that she ate about 2 gallons of dry kibble.  Her gut was HUGE and I was a bit worried about her.

[benbo30]

ok i think that makes sense the more protein the better , yea i only feed my 2 labs once a day as well around 4pm, as well as my wifes chihuahuas

[bow4elk]

We have two hilarious French Bulldogs now, and though I said I'd never own a "little" dog, I gotta say these little guys are GREAT!  Super low maintenance and funny as hell critters.  They are dainty eaters and seems to take all evening to get through the 2/3 cup, once a day.  They hack and burp their way through it.  Total train wreck event that I never get tired of watching 

[benbo30]

yea i only have to feed my chihuahuas about a half a cup a day

[M_ray]

I have a 14 year old Yellow lab and a 1 1/2 year old Choclate lab and I feed them once a day in the evening. The pup got twice a day feedings when she was under 1 year and I would throw a little to the big guy to be fair but I found he started to get over wieght so I stopped that. Now that the little girl is over a year she seems fine with her wieght at 1 feeding a day allthough like Jakelope's dog if I poured out the whole 40 pound bag she would eat till she popped!

[ICEMAN]

ok i think that makes sense the more protein the better , yea i only feed my 2 labs once a day as well around 4pm, as well as my wifes chihuahuas

Didnt feeding the labs your wifes dogs make her upset? 

[benbo30]

ok i think that makes sense the more protein the better , yea i only feed my 2 labs once a day as well around 4pm, as well as my wifes chihuahuas

Didnt feeding the labs your wifes dogs make her upset? 

  that would be great

[Sportfury]

I should have been more clear.  There's nothing wrong with lamb/rice or corn, just remember that the higher the protein content, then better quality food, in general.  Rice/Corn is more or less "filler" and you'll notice your dog(s) pooping a lot more with foods containing higher % of rice/corn.  Dogs are carnivores so it's good to provide them a high protein diet.  Hope this makes my last post more clear.  I'm no expert on breeds and diets - just sharing my experience with many years of owning labs.

I agree with bow4elk on the grain "fillers". Here is a the reply I posted for Robb92 in another thread about his dogs sensitive skin:

My boy had the same problem. It always seemed like he was getting hotspots that he would pick on constantly. I tried a few things, but if I stopped they came back right away. I started doing a lot of research and one of the constants that came up was feeding your dog food that had grains in it. It seems a lot of dogs have reactions to the grain. I decided to switch over and found this placed called the dog bakery that only has natural dog foods. They had a ton of samples for each food and I ended up taking home a whole shopping bag full. I ended up choosing one called "Taste of the Wild". They have three flavors that my dogs love. My boy has shown marked improvement. His coat is much nicer, he has filled in, and he does not get those hotspots anymore. Another plus is he does not each as much anymore and his scat is much firmer. One down side is the food costs about three times more than buying a bag at the local Wallymart, but I think my hunting partner is worth it. It would defintely be worth checking out.

[rasbo]

ok i think that makes sense the more protein the better , yea i only feed my 2 labs once a day as well around 4pm, as well as my wifes chihuahuas

Didnt feeding the labs your wifes dogs make her upset? 

  that would be great
[/quote} Did the chihuahuas burn on the way out..I yi yi yi

[benbo30]

I should have been more clear.  There's nothing wrong with lamb/rice or corn, just remember that the higher the protein content, then better quality food, in general.  Rice/Corn is more or less "filler" and you'll notice your dog(s) pooping a lot more with foods containing higher % of rice/corn.  Dogs are carnivores so it's good to provide them a high protein diet.  Hope this makes my last post more clear.  I'm no expert on breeds and diets - just sharing my experience with many years of owning labs.

I agree with bow4elk on the grain "fillers". Here is a the reply I posted for Robb92 in another thread about his dogs sensitive skin:

My boy had the same problem. It always seemed like he was getting hotspots that he would pick on constantly. I tried a few things, but if I stopped they came back right away. I started doing a lot of research and one of the constants that came up was feeding your dog food that had grains in it. It seems a lot of dogs have reactions to the grain. I decided to switch over and found this placed called the dog bakery that only has natural dog foods. They had a ton of samples for each food and I ended up taking home a whole shopping bag full. I ended up choosing one called "Taste of the Wild". They have three flavors that my dogs love. My boy has shown marked improvement. His coat is much nicer, he has filled in, and he does not get those hotspots anymore. Another plus is he does not each as much anymore and his scat is much firmer. One down side is the food costs about three times more than buying a bag at the local Wallymart, but I think my hunting partner is worth it. It would defintely be worth checking out.

were is this dog bakery at , i want to feed my dogs good food, right now i am feeding them diamond plus .....lamb and rice