Puppy eating schedule

ivysmama · Mar 20, 2015

Hi everyone,

My puppy is almost 10 weeks and has been transitioned to raw since I brought her home a few days ago. She's doing great with the food. However, I'm a little confused as to how many meals and what type of schedule to have her on. I read they should be on 3 meals but I'm noticing she's not finishing her lunch and worried it's because she's so full from breakfast. Which leads me to think if I should break it up into 4 meals instead. She gets 3.8 ounces, 3 times a day. I start her breakfast around 7 am, lunch at 12pm and dinner at 5pm.

How often in the day and on what time schedule did you feed your young puppies on raw?

Jakeyjake · Mar 20, 2015

I don't feed raw so obviously I am no help but [MENTION=377]MaplesMommy[/MENTION] can help you on this subject.

MaplesMommy · Mar 20, 2015

A puppys digestive tract is still immature. They dont digest food as well as a more mature dog does. This is why its recommended to feed a puppy at least 3 times a day. You can spread it out over 4 meals if that works better for your little one.
Since their digestive tract is still immature, they may not have enough time/enzymes to derive all nutrients from the food before it leaves the body, thats why its easier to feed smaller portions,more often

ivysmama · Mar 20, 2015

MaplesMommy said:
A puppys digestive tract is still immature. They dont digest food as well as a more mature dog does. This is why its recommended to feed a puppy at least 3 times a day. You can spread it out over 4 meals if that works better for your little one.
Since their digestive tract is still immature, they may not have enough time/enzymes to derive all nutrients from the food before it leaves the body, thats why its easier to feed smaller portions,more often

Thanks for getting back to me so promptly. I just tried feeding her lunch and she took a few bites. We were up since 730 this morning, she ate three quarters of breakfast and now a few bites of lunch at 1pm.

MaplesMommy · Mar 20, 2015

Could it be that she doesnt care much for the type of meat? Maybe try a different protein source?

My dog LOVES food, so I dont have any experience with a picky dog...Hmm.. Its tricky because she is still a puppy. Usually I would say if its not the protein source thats causing it I would just let her eat whenever she feels like it (of course only if she still gains weight & appears healthy otherwise), but on the other hand loss of appetite 'could' mean that she might have a tummy bug or worms etc.

eeturk · Mar 20, 2015

I have a picky one on raw. I'd say spread out small meals help. If they don't eat put it back into the fridge and try again in a little. For us, we have a major hunger-striker. He'll go on for days. So sometimes I put a squirt of coconut oil and some scrambled egg and mix it together and he eats it.

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davidh · Mar 20, 2015

We don't feed raw, but do feed our pups three times a day, until they are about 6 months of age, then go to twice a day.

ivysmama · Mar 20, 2015

davidh said:
We don't feed raw, but do feed our pups three times a day, until they are about 6 months of age, then go to twice a day.

How many hours should be in between each meal?

davidh · Mar 20, 2015

[MENTION=1185]ivysmama[/MENTION] we feed pretty much the same schedule you do, we feed at about 6:30 AM, at 12:00 or 1:00 PM and at 6:30 or 7:00 PM.

ivysmama · Mar 20, 2015

davidh said:
[MENTION=1185]ivysmama[/MENTION] we feed pretty much the same schedule you do, we feed at about 6:30 AM, at 12:00 or 1:00 PM and at 6:30 or 7:00 PM.

How long after you feed do they need to release?

davidh · Mar 20, 2015

[MENTION=1185]ivysmama[/MENTION] We usually take them outside to potty before the eat, and sometimes they will poop them and sometimes they don't, and if they don't go before they eat, then they usually do shortly after they eat.

ivysmama · Mar 20, 2015

davidh said:
[MENTION=1185]ivysmama[/MENTION] We usually take them outside to potty before the eat, and sometimes they will poop them and sometimes they don't, and if they don't go before they eat, then they usually do shortly after they eat.

Thanks! My Presa who is almost 2 and has been on raw for almost his entire life is the same way. He gets a walk before his meals and only poops once a day. However, it's been a while sine I had a puppy and especially this small. At her age, he was 15 lb so its a bit of a difference. Im trying to figure out how long it takes her to go to the bathroom and everyday it seems different, about 30min to an hour different.

hotrod351 · Apr 19, 2015

the breeder i just got my puppy from was feeding mine twice a day so im doing the same, eight hours apart, 1 cup each time, she seems to be doing fine. feeding her beneful for puppies, thats what he was feeding her so ill stick with it for a while then switch her to nutro natural, which ive feed my pugs for over 20 years with great results.

MaplesMommy · Apr 19, 2015

No offence, but Id highly suggest feeding at least 3x a day. A puppys digestive system is not fully developed yet (comparable to a human baby); they eat,they poop. It happens fast.Your dog may not get enough nutrients because the food is not fully digested at that stage(due to the digestive tract being too short/undeveloped). Most puppies will also loose weight if you only feed them 2x a day, because once again, the food doesnt stay in the body long enough.

Also, Beneful is a horrible food.They were recently all over social media and the news because many dog died or got very sick from eating it.

Just my 2 cents

blushy · Apr 19, 2015

MaplesMommy said:
No offence, but Id highly suggest feeding at least 3x a day. A puppys digestive system is not fully developed yet (comparable to a human baby); they eat,they poop. It happens fast.Your dog may not get enough nutrients because the food is not fully digested at that stage(due to the digestive tract being too short/undeveloped). Most puppies will also loose weight if you only feed them 2x a day, because once again, the food doesnt stay in the body long enough.

Also, Beneful is a horrible food.They were recently all over social media and the news because many dog died or got very sick from eating it.

Just my 2 cents

My friends bulldog was on beneful and she switched to Acana Pork (kudos to me for convincing her to feed high quality) & on the Beneful she was scratching herself so badly she was constantly bleeding and starting throwing up constantly. Come to find out the recalls of dogs dying and getting severely ill.

I also agree 3 times a day, 1/2 cup at each feeding works well for our 5 month old puppy. So 1 1/2 cups per day.

Good luck