Is one feeding a day recommended?

[Tigger-Roo]

I have an 8 month old puppy, Tigger, that's always given us a hard time with his appetite or lack thereof. He's been on 2 feedings a day for quite some time. Since we got him at 3 months, he's been on Nutro Large Puppy, Nutro Natural Choice, and Premium Edge dry kibble. We mix his kibble with canned Nutro Natural Choice wet food in order to get him to eat. Currently, we're feeding 1 3/4 cups of dry kibble with 1/3 can of wet food, twice a day. He barely ever finishes it and it's a constant battle. It seems that he's barely ever hungry for his morning feeding. We feed him at 7am and then around 7pm. Tigger just turned 8 months. He's 45 pounds and looks a bit skinny but not like he's underweight. He was the runt and is a small boy.
Is it ever recommended to feed once a day? Also, any recomendations on healthy things I can add to make Tigger's food tastier? I've tried all-natural salt-free broth and he hated it. It seems as though he eats with his nose, I can barely add some of his Nutro liver treats to his bowl and as long as he smells them, he'll eat. He won't even finish the liver treat bits but just stops eating when he can't smell it anymore. I just read a post that said to try sprinkling parmesan cheese so we're going to try that tonight.

Sorry so long...

Thank you,

 

[gmacleod]

Well I think feeding twice a day is better - especially for a puppy and/or skinny dog. A lot of boxers don't do well at all on just one feed, and tend to throw up bile if their stomachs are empty for too long. But you do have to treat each dog as an individual - and if yours won't eat in the morning, then he's already kind of ending up on one feed (by his own choice, I mean). If you can pursuade him to eat in the mornings, then I do think that is better for him. But if you can't, it's not the end of the world by any means.

As for tempting and healthy things to add to his kibble - you can alternately add things like a little yoghurt, egg (raw or lightly scrambled), cottage cheese, raw or lightly cooked hamburger, raw fruits and lightly cooked veges.

Just a thought - Tigger could just be one of those dogs that is never going to like kibble very much. If you're comfortable with the idea, raw feeding could be an answer for you. Lots of information on that in the BARF forum

 

[Amanda22]

Or could it possibly be that he is allergic to the ingredients in any of his foods? This was our problem with Emma. We had her tested and now know what she can and cannot eat. (Of course, there were signs other than just the lack of excitement over food).

Just a thought..

Amanda

 

[Tulsa-Dan]

With all that stuff you are adding, no wonder he isn't eating more. Stop adding extra stuff to the food if you are giving your dog high quality, human grade food. Give the recommended amounts.

To specifically answer your question regarding once a day feeding, IMHO, ABSOLUTELY NOT. It is not healthy. A puppy should be fed 3 to 4 smaller meals a day, at about 9 mo. to 1 year, you can switch to just 3 per day or 2 per day but NEVER once a day.

Dan

 

[craZ4HERKIE]

I found that when I coddle Herkie over his food...as a pup and now....he waits me out until I put tasty stuff in his food...and I always ending up doing so because I want him to eat.But I tire of coddling him...and he gives in before I do...their natural instincts kick in and they'll eat!Is he getting enough exercise?So now with Herkie...he gets a treat when he eats ALL of his food...and not until then!

And definitely feed him more than once a day....puppies need more than adult dogs!And as GMacleod said...he may just not like kibble...and you may want to look into BARF.Good Luck!

 

[lafsalot]

I recently switched all three of my picky kibble eaters to barf and they love it! BTW, I would most defintely feed at least twice a day. Good luck - Cathy

 

[Tigger-Roo]

2 feedings a day...BARF???

Thanks for all the replies. Firstly, we sprinkled a tiny bit of parmesan cheese over Tigger's dry kibble (no wet added) and he LOVED it. He ate every last morsel only lifting his head once. He even ate very well this morning with a tiny bit of the parmesan cheese. The only time he ate that well was when we ran out of food right before a hurricane and had to buy the really bad brands of dry kibble.
I will definitely keep him on 2 feedings as per all the advice. Is there an adult age when 1 feeding is OK or should I always stick to 2 feedings? Our previous boxer's vet had recommended 1 feeding a day when she was about 2 because she had put on some weight after having her fixed.
On the other hand, I've thought of BARF a few times but it scares and grosses me out a bit. I'm a vegetarian and the thought of my little boy devouring uncooked meat and bones makes my stomach turn a bit. It even scares me a bit. I'm still considering it though. I think I'll start lurking in the BARF forum.
I will also try the suggested natural additives like yogurt and eggs when needed.
Thank you all. This is an amazing source of info.

 

[lafsalot]

I still prefer to feed my babies (including our 13 year old mastiff) twice a day. His metabism has slowed down quite a bit, so I just feed him a little less meat and have increased his veggie mash. Glad to hear that your furbaby is now eating - Cathy

 

[Angie K]

By the sounds of it Maybe He just DISLIKED THE WET FOOD. I feed twice a day 7am and 6pm. My female tends to eat less in the morning only half then goes back around 2pm and finishes up. I feed Preimum Kibble but I wing it on the Wet. Usually its Petsmart Brand. I only add about 1 1/2 tablespoons to each meal. When I tried adding premium wet food neither my female or male liked it. I mix it up by switching off and on with wet food, yogurt, egg, cottage cheese for variety. So I guess they are like us and just like a little JUNK FOOD once in a while.

 

[Tigger-Roo]

loves the wet food actually

Actually, Tigger loves the wet food but I don't want to give him too much of it and would like to eventually wean him off of the wet. I tried on several occasions to feed only the premium quality dry kibble and he would go without eating for several feedings. After many tries, I found that the only wet food that would get him to eat the kibble pretty well was the Nutro Ultra in the white can with orange markings on the label. It looks like human food with chunks of meat, peas and carrots. Even then it wasn't easy to get him to eat and he was just getting worse lately.

Cathy,
How do you make your veggie mash...what's in it??