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  • Questions About Establishing Puppy Feeding Schedule

    So my family and I just brought home our 9 week old brindle puppy. My plan was to feed him 3 times a day, breakfast, lunch and dinner, which works out well with our family schedule. However, the few times I fed him, I was actually surprised that he did not 'devour' his food after I put it down for him, despite the amount of energy he seems to be exerting.

    The breeder told me that the puppies were open fed during the day and his eating habits since we brought him home definitely confirm this. So my questions are as follows...

    1. What are some methods I can use to efficiently get him out of his 'open feeding' habit since I would rather not leave his food out all day (which will help with potty training since I will know when he eats)?

    2. Should I keep water out for him all of the time or only when I feed him (which will also help with potty training)?

  • #2
    Put his food bowl down, leave it down for 15-20 minutes, then take it back up until his next meal time. He will quickly learn that he needs to eat when there's food. Water should be available at all times for him. I did take up water at about 8:00 at night to help with potty training, but I also put the bowl down for him at 9:00 and 10:00 to see if he wanted any, and then took him outside shortly after. Once he was doing well with potty training I left water out at all times.
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    Chaucey
    Asaah ~ xxx Asaah LaLa, CGC, registered therapy dog

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    • #3
      You might also try giving him a little affection before meals. Mira wouldn't eat unless she felt good and I really thought there might be something wrong with her at first, but she was like that her whole life and I think it was overall a good thing as regards bloat probabilities.
      sigpicLisa
      Missing Mira (7/15/03-12/17/13)

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      • #4
        Originally posted by jmciver View Post
        So my family and I just brought home our 9 week old brindle puppy. My plan was to feed him 3 times a day, breakfast, lunch and dinner, which works out well with our family schedule. However, the few times I fed him, I was actually surprised that he did not 'devour' his food after I put it down for him, despite the amount of energy he seems to be exerting.

        The breeder told me that the puppies were open fed during the day and his eating habits since we brought him home definitely confirm this. So my questions are as follows...

        1. What are some methods I can use to efficiently get him out of his 'open feeding' habit since I would rather not leave his food out all day (which will help with potty training since I will know when he eats)?

        2. Should I keep water out for him all of the time or only when I feed him (which will also help with potty training)?
        Offer the food at your designated meal times and only offer it for 10-20 minutes. It helps to do this in somewhat of an enclosed area (ie crate or kitchen) to cut down on distractions so they can notice the food is present. Once the 20 minutes is up, take it away and do not offer food again until the next meal time. Also, do not give treats outside of training sessions until you have established meals.

        I keep water available to my dogs at all times, even overnight with puppies. It can help with potty training to take water away overnight but if potty training is going well, its usually not necessary.
        *Jennifer*
        Member GDC of Mid-Florida
        sigpic

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        • #5
          Thanks! I have just started this practice based on your advice.

          It will be interesting to see how long it takes for him to pick on his new eating schedule. He definitely looks healthy when we brought him home, but he is definitely not eating as much as I would have expected.

          Out of curiosity, I have been feeding him in his crate to assist with crate training. So far the door has been open. Should I close the door to the crate when it is feeding time or just let him come & go when he wants during the 15-20 min feeding period. I suspect that if I close the door on the crate while he is eating, he will forget about the food and start crying - and also make a mess of his food in his crate out of protest.
          Last edited by jmciver; 08-28-2016, 12:22 PM.

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          • #6
            Originally posted by jmciver View Post
            Thanks! I have just started this practice based on your advice.

            It will be interesting to see how long it takes for him to pick on his new eating schedule. He definitely looks healthy when we brought him home, but he is definitely not eating as much as I would have expected.

            Out of curiosity, I have been feeding him in his crate to assist with crate training. So far the door has been open. Should I close the door to the crate when it is feeding time or just let him come & go when he wants during the 15-20 min feeding period. I suspect that if I close the door on the crate while he is eating, he will forget about the food and start crying - and also make a mess of his food in his crate out of protest.
            I always closed the door so Finn would stay in the crate and focus on eating. Otherwise he could walk away and get distracted. I gave lots of treats in the crate and also left the door open and randomly threw treats in there throughout the day for Finn to find. I think if you make the crate a good place to be, you'll have a crate trained puppy very quickly.
            sigpic
            Chaucey
            Asaah ~ xxx Asaah LaLa, CGC, registered therapy dog

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            • #7
              Originally posted by jmciver View Post
              Thanks! I have just started this practice based on your advice.

              It will be interesting to see how long it takes for him to pick on his new eating schedule. He definitely looks healthy when we brought him home, but he is definitely not eating as much as I would have expected.

              Out of curiosity, I have been feeding him in his crate to assist with crate training. So far the door has been open. Should I close the door to the crate when it is feeding time or just let him come & go when he wants during the 15-20 min feeding period. I suspect that if I close the door on the crate while he is eating, he will forget about the food and start crying - and also make a mess of his food in his crate out of protest.
              In an effort to create an enclosed space, I would close the crate door during meal times. He may pitch a fit at first and miss a meal due to it but he will learn.
              *Jennifer*
              Member GDC of Mid-Florida
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              • #8
                Originally posted by oceanbluedanes View Post
                In an effort to create an enclosed space, I would close the crate door during meal times. He may pitch a fit at first and miss a meal due to it but he will learn.
                I have been thinking about doing that. In the two days we have had him, it does not seem like he is eating enough, even though his energy level seems fine. The recommendation on his kibble is 3 cups a day based on his age and weight. I have not measured exactly, but I would venture a guess he is eating around 2 cups max.

                His first vet visit is today so we will see what the vet has to say as well on the topic.

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by jmciver View Post
                  I have been thinking about doing that. In the two days we have had him, it does not seem like he is eating enough, even though his energy level seems fine. The recommendation on his kibble is 3 cups a day based on his age and weight. I have not measured exactly, but I would venture a guess he is eating around 2 cups max.

                  His first vet visit is today so we will see what the vet has to say as well on the topic.
                  Do NOT go by the recommendations on the food bag or by any other charts.. they are a guide only.. many times the recommendations on the food bag are too high (feed more, by more, sell more) Each puppy/dog is an individual and their food needs have to be tailored to them. He needs to be lean and the last 2-3 ribs should show.. he will go through times where he may look too thin and times when he may look a bit heavy.. he will have times where he eats quite a bit and times where he won't eat as much.. it is all part of the growing process.. he will eat what his body needs for the growth it is going through.
                  People put far too much emphasis on body weight and amount fed when really the only concern they should have is body condition and energy levels. You want a good slow growth.
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                  Dale AKC CGC Evaluator
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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by kahluadanes View Post
                    Do NOT go by the recommendations on the food bag or by any other charts.. they are a guide only.. many times the recommendations on the food bag are too high (feed more, by more, sell more) Each puppy/dog is an individual and their food needs have to be tailored to them. He needs to be lean and the last 2-3 ribs should show.. he will go through times where he may look too thin and times when he may look a bit heavy.. he will have times where he eats quite a bit and times where he won't eat as much.. it is all part of the growing process.. he will eat what his body needs for the growth it is going through.
                    People put far too much emphasis on body weight and amount fed when really the only concern they should have is body condition and energy levels. You want a good slow growth.
                    I hear you on using the food chart only as a guide. He looks very healthy, just as you described, so right now I am not too worried. However, the amount/size of his since his arrival has dropped off noticeably in the 48 hrs since we picked him up on Sat afternoon.

                    It is probably way too early to really tell anything since he is still transitioning to his new home (and he is doing really well, much better than I had expected so far). I guess I am just being overly cautious/concerned since I expected him to eat more due to the fact Danes naturally grow so aggressively compared to other breeds.

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by jmciver View Post
                      I hear you on using the food chart only as a guide. He looks very healthy, just as you described, so right now I am not too worried. However, the amount/size of his since his arrival has dropped off noticeably in the 48 hrs since we picked him up on Sat afternoon.

                      It is probably way too early to really tell anything since he is still transitioning to his new home (and he is doing really well, much better than I had expected so far). I guess I am just being overly cautious/concerned since I expected him to eat more due to the fact Danes naturally grow so aggressively compared to other breeds.
                      If feeding a good quality food and a correct amount there should not be a lot of poop produced and many dogs only go once or twice daily.. Puppies may go more often but it should not be excessive.. over feeding and/or low quality foods tend to produce more poop and dogs will tend to go more often. Danes are suppose to grow nice and slow. They also don't eat as much as most people think especially when fed a good quality food. When fed good quality they tend to eat up to 3 times less then the amount they would on low/poor quality food.
                      sigpic
                      Dale AKC CGC Evaluator
                      Associate Member GDCNE
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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by kahluadanes View Post
                        If feeding a good quality food and a correct amount there should not be a lot of poop produced and many dogs only go once or twice daily.. Puppies may go more often but it should not be excessive.. over feeding and/or low quality foods tend to produce more poop and dogs will tend to go more often. Danes are suppose to grow nice and slow. They also don't eat as much as most people think especially when fed a good quality food. When fed good quality they tend to eat up to 3 times less then the amount they would on low/poor quality food.
                        Based on what I have learned about food for Great Dane puppies, the food he is on right now is a low average at best, which is Science Diet Large Breed Puppy formula. While it meets the calcium and phosphorous requirements for large breed puppies, I am not a fan of the ingredients. I plan to shift him over to Fromm in the next 4 weeks as I am only keeping him on the Science Diet for now to help with his transition to my home.

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                        • #13
                          Originally posted by jmciver View Post
                          Based on what I have learned about food for Great Dane puppies, the food he is on right now is a low average at best, which is Science Diet Large Breed Puppy formula. While it meets the calcium and phosphorous requirements for large breed puppies, I am not a fan of the ingredients. I plan to shift him over to Fromm in the next 4 weeks as I am only keeping him on the Science Diet for now to help with his transition to my home.
                          Science Diet is a low quality food.. take at the very least 7 -10 days to transition but 14 days is best. It can take 6-8 weeks for the system to adjust to a new food especially when going from low quality to good quality.
                          sigpic
                          Dale AKC CGC Evaluator
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                          High Hopes Great Danes & German Shorthairs

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by kahluadanes View Post
                            Science Diet is a low quality food.. take at the very least 7 -10 days to transition but 14 days is best. It can take 6-8 weeks for the system to adjust to a new food especially when going from low quality to good quality.
                            Yeah, I have seen that advice here and other places during my research. The vet seemed to like Science Diet, and even recommended it (and Purina) when I took him for his first wellness checkup yesterday. My guess is the vets like it because nutritionally, it is not that bad and is reasonably priced - which would make it a good choice for most pet owners. She also stated that Science Diet was one of the few pet food companies that did actual food tasting trials with dogs to meet AAFCO standards, while most merely submit their food for chemical analysis to meet the standard. Honestly, chemical analysis seems more important to me since any food can have additives to make it taste good, regardless of ingredients or nutritional content. I told her I intend to switch him to Fromm based on better ingredients (and reasonable price and availability) and she had nothing bad to say about it.

                            I just wish I could have anticipated how little he was going to eat when I brought him home. I bought a 30 lb bag thinking that he would rifle through it in a few weeks ! Science Diet may not be the best, but it is not worth wasting what I have so I will at least let him finish it as part of his transition. It just may take a bit longer than I would have liked.

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by jmciver View Post
                              Yeah, I have seen that advice here and other places during my research. The vet seemed to like Science Diet, and even recommended it (and Purina) when I took him for his first wellness checkup yesterday. My guess is the vets like it because nutritionally, it is not that bad and is reasonably priced - which would make it a good choice for most pet owners. She also stated that Science Diet was one of the few pet food companies that did actual food tasting trials with dogs to meet AAFCO standards, while most merely submit their food for chemical analysis to meet the standard. Honestly, chemical analysis seems more important to me since any food can have additives to make it taste good, regardless of ingredients or nutritional content. I told her I intend to switch him to Fromm based on better ingredients (and reasonable price and availability) and she had nothing bad to say about it.

                              I just wish I could have anticipated how little he was going to eat when I brought him home. I bought a 30 lb bag thinking that he would rifle through it in a few weeks ! Science Diet may not be the best, but it is not worth wasting what I have so I will at least let him finish it as part of his transition. It just may take a bit longer than I would have liked.
                              You are suppose to mix the old food in with the new food as you transition.. gradually adding more of the new food and decreasing the amount of old food until you are totally on the new food.
                              As far as vets and their recommendations.. Vets aren't usually the best source of info when it comes to foods and feeding. They only get general study in nutrition and that takes in everything from cats to rats, dogs to hogs. They tend to recommend foods pushed by reps or that they see advertised the most. Most have no idea what is in the foods they recommend.
                              Science Diet is full of grains/carbs and little meat (as is Purina and several others). It is a high priced low quality food.
                              It seems your vet quoted the rep As a tech for 42 years I heard all the "rep spiels" saw all their "charts" etc.. but with 20 plus years studying foods & feeding... I just smh and let it go.
                              There are many real good quality foods that are comparitable in price to Science Diet, Purina, etc.. Also remember the better quality the food the less you usually need to feed and the less waste will be produced.
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                              Dale AKC CGC Evaluator
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