# When do you move your puppy from 3 to 2 feedings...



## ruchika (Sep 13, 2010)

My puppy is now almost 4 months old and I was wondering if it was time to move her from 3 to 2 feedings. She does not show much interest in her morning meal...but from reading the posts on here I realize that might be just because its too early in the morning. Very confused.

Also, she has soft stools. Is that normal for a GSD? She's been on a deworming medication is doing well otherwise. Even after a whole course of the medication, her stools did not really firm up. Its not liquid, but its not totally solid either.


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

What food are you feeding?

I switched from 3 to 2 feedings when my GSD was 9 or 10 months old I believe?


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

I fed raw and quit the mid-day meal at about 4-5 months. I also started giving a midnight snack at that time. Otherwise the pup would get sick(bile from empty stomach) in the early morning hours. 
Pups are teething pretty heavy at this age, so the runny poo, appetite change can come from teething. Just make sure you are feeding a good diet. Maybe some probiotics/digestive enzymes added to her meal will help with the stools.


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

I think about 5-6 mos they lost interest in a noon meal. I also leave out a midnight snack of dry food, sometimes it's gone in the morning sometimes not. I agree, the teething could be the cause of the loose poop.


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## Rerun (Feb 27, 2006)

To be honest I've never been a big fan of treat rewards during training, but I am trying something new (to me that is). As I am using so many throughout the day for our 11 wk old pup I dropped the midday feeding after a couple days (he was 10 wks). He gets more than enough training treats during the day to constitute a third meal.


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## PupperLove (Apr 10, 2010)

I think that when their growth starts to slow down, you can switch from 3 to 2. If they still have alot of growing to do, chances are their bodies are using alot of calories and they will probably get hungry througout the day.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

Dena and Keefer were on two meals a day from 9 weeks on, but like Rerun, they got lots of training treats during the day so they were getting some food between those meals. Halo was on 3 meals a day for longer, but I'd often use her lunch kibble as training treats. I can't recall exactly when I dropped it entirely, but probably once I was no longer coming home mid-day, which was around a month or two after we got her at 10 weeks old. 

If your puppy doesn't seem interested in eating all her meals it seems like a good time to drop one of them. Aim for approximately a 12 hour spread between them, and if she's still hungrier in the PM than the AM you can make her evening meal larger and the morning meal smaller.


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

Shasta is 5 months old. Got her when she was 3 months old. She was already on 2 meals a day instead of 3 because she had completely lost interest in her afternoon meal. I say it depends on the pup. If your pup isnt interested in eating their meal at a certain time, its probably time to cut them to 2 meals a day.


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## Courtney (Feb 12, 2010)

Good question. Mine is almost 6 moths old and gets the same amount of food daily-but still in 3 meals. We are on a good routine and he's not turned his nose up at the mid-day meal yet. We do not free feed-not sure if that makes a difference?


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## Good_Karma (Jun 28, 2009)

Both mine are over a year old and still get three meals. All three are small meals. I'm a freak about bloat, hope to avoid it if at all possible, so I feel better giving more, smaller meals. That's just me though. It doesn't hurt to give three meals. Neither of my dogs refuse any meals and look forward to them eagerly.

In fact, if either dog misses breakfast (like for a vet visit when they need anesthesia), they will puke up bile. I think that morning meal is important, at least with my two.


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## chicagojosh (Jun 22, 2010)

it was about 7 months when we did. i asked the vet after his nuetering and they said he would be fine on 2 meals at this point...


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