How Often Should You Feed Your Dog?

Those big ole dog and puppy eyes… They get us every time! It might be at the dinner table and your dog is looking to nom on something that’s on your plate and not their doggy dish. How tempting, but you’ve got to hold back! Out of guilt, you might load up their food bowl. How do you cope with giving in to the temptation of giving your dog everything they want? 

The thing is, we, as dog parents and guardians, need to focus on what our dog needs. Their diet is so tethered to their health that it needs to be handled with the right attention and detail and that comes down to not just how much food you give them, but how many times a day you feed your dog.

So how many times a day should you feed your dog, really?

When you welcome a puppy into your home, they are going through a growth stage so it’s okay to feed them around three times a day, but once they start reading their full dog size (this may vary with breed), you will want to start changing up your daily schedule so that you feed them twice per day: once in the morning and once in the evening. 

Dogs will dig into any food that’s available to them so it’s a matter of getting them into the habit of this morning and evening rotation you have for their dog food. 

PROS OF FEEDING TWICE A DAY

• It establishes a healthy routine and relationship between you and your dog
• You’re able to closely monitor your dog’s eating habits and pick up easily on whether your dog is eating or is not eating
• Regular feeding schedule means healthy bowel schedule

CONS OF FEEDING TWICE A DAY

• None except the process to getting your dog to eat on this schedule

Some time and patience may be needed if your dog is used to eating constantly or if you adopted or are fostering a shelter dog as they may have circumstances they’ve come from that drive them to eat fast or constantly.

Here’s how you can help transition your dog into a two-time per day feeding schedule:

1. Pick your two time slots for the day.
2. For the first time slot (in the morning), set down a bowl of dog food for 20 minutes if not less than 20 minutes. Make sure your dog knows it's there. Better yet, pick the same spot to offer the food each day.
3. After that 20 minutes is up, remove the bowl even if they have not eaten. 
4. For the second time slot (in the evening), set down a bowl of dog food for 20 minutes if not less than 20 minutes. 
5. After that 20 minutes is up, remove the bowl even if they have not eaten.

Following this process will teach your dog that the food is only available at certain times so they better eat up! If you’re going through this transition with your dog, let us know how it goes in the comments section!

This is just a sampling of tips and informational posts we offer at Joyride Harness. You can find more content including tips and tricks and how-tos for caring for your dog on our blog at this section. Feel free to leave a comment with tips you’re looking for!