How many times to Feed?

[Neyland]

My boy just turned 6months about a week ago. I have always fed him 3 times a day because my work schedule allows it. I have read that you can go to two times when they are no longer interested in lunch......ain't gonna happen with Neyland. He is a garbage dispencer! Is it bad to feed him 3 times a day here on out? Also.... Feeding him NUtro and they recommend no more than 5 cups a day. I go over a little sometimes but he is not fat...BIG (65lbs yesterday) and you can still see back ribs, muscles tone in legs, etc.. Stools are healthy and not overabundant. Do any of you waver from the recomended portions? Thanks for the help.

[TR Young]

Don't go by what the bag of dog food says. If you are feeding a high quality food, you should probably be feeding 4 cups MAX a day; 2 cups in the morning and 2 cups in the evening. It sounds like your boy is pretty healthy, although 65 pounds at 6 months seems just a little large to me. Not extremely large, mind you, but just a bit. How large were his parents? Their size and input from your breeder would go a long way to helping you determine an approximate for your pup.
As for him being a 'garbage disposal', most dogs will eat as much as they can. It's our duty to make sure that they are eating the PROPER amount. They would have us believe that they are hungry all the time! Don't let them fool you into over-feeding. A good food schedule will go a long way in your dog's healthy living.
Keep us posted!

[Neyland]

Thanks for the reply TR Young. Neyland's mom was about 105 to 110 and his dad was (I know this is LARGE) 135. Both parents are extremely healthy OFA (hip tested and so were grandparents) certified. Dad does field trials and is a farm dog at heart. I know the breaders well and although the dad was large I know for a fact with lineage, etc. that he comes from strong blood lines and responsible breaders. Neyland looks big but not too big. He does however feel as though he is made of lead. I make sure not to overfeed though. He is getting neutered next Friday so I will touch base with my vet as well. Thanks again.

[groupieindenial]

Dogs have fast digestive tracks, but do slow down as they get older. I still would feed 3x/day until about a year. He'll get more nutrients if fed more often in smaller quantities, instead of excreting excess food fed in one sitting. I fed puppies up to 5-6 months 4x/day, then up to a year 3x/day, now my boy who's 2.5 gets fed 2x/day. I'll never ever feed him his whole daily rations in one meal for the day.

[hokisteph5]

Originally Posted by TR Young

Don't go by what the bag of dog food says. If you are feeding a high quality food, you should probably be feeding 4 cups MAX a day; 2 cups in the morning and 2 cups in the evening.

I've only ever fed 2x a day and early on it was a total of 4 cups a day. Now that they're not puppies anymore, they amount they get varies. Most of the time it's 2-3 cups a day total.

[brunie's mom]

You can keep feeding him 3 times a day, or go down to 2 times per day.

You could also get him on a better quality food. Nutro is a middle of the road type of food...not bad, but not great. You could do better.

If you move up in quality ( a food with less grains, and a food that contains human grade meats,etc.) you will need to feed even less. Most of the top quality foods are much denser and higher in calories per cup. Most often the pup/dog will poop less too....so there is less to clean up.

Read some of the threads on this forum. Most often the most popular foods recommended here are : Innova, Canidae, Healthwise, California Natural, Wellness, Timberwolf Organics, Natural Balance,etc.

Gina

[TR Young]

Originally Posted by Neyland

Thanks for the reply TR Young. Neyland's mom was about 105 to 110 and his dad was (I know this is LARGE) 135. Both parents are extremely healthy OFA (hip tested and so were grandparents) certified. Dad does field trials and is a farm dog at heart. I know the breaders well and although the dad was large I know for a fact with lineage, etc. that he comes from strong blood lines and responsible breaders. Neyland looks big but not too big. He does however feel as though he is made of lead. I make sure not to overfeed though. He is getting neutered next Friday so I will touch base with my vet as well. Thanks again.

Well it sounds to me like you are doing the right things and have a good rappore with your breeder, so keep up the good work. One word of caution; veterinarians tend to get kick-backs from certain food suppliers such as Iams or Hill's Science Diet, etc. If your vet happens to make a recommendation to you for a certain food, PLEASE be sure to do a search here on 'good foods' or 'proper nutrition' or something like that and make CERTAIN that the food that your vet recommends is a quality food. I can't make up your mind for you on what to feed your dogs, and from your original post I know that you are feeding Nutro (which is a good food); I just want you to be well-armed when it comes to making your own decisions on nutrition for your dog.

The foods listed by Brunie's mom are great foods; I would highly suggest you take a look at these.