# What age from 3X a day to 2X?



## Anthony8858 (Sep 18, 2011)

Kira is 5.5 months. I giving her recommended portion of food in three meals.

At what age do I cut back to twice a day?


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

That is about the age I dropped the mid day meal. 
I gave my pups a snack at about 10 or 11 pm so they wouldn't barf bile in the early morning. 
My dogs were raw-fed, and I think it goes thru the system faster than kibble.


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

I made the switch at around 6 months.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

it was either 6 months or 9 months. i'll have to check to
be sure. i included training treats and snacks as food intake.
training treats and snacks were basically the same but
given at different times.


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## Courtney (Feb 12, 2010)

I am probably the odd one out but my boy is 1.5 yrs and still gets 3 meals a day..same amount each day...we just never stopped.


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## cassadee7 (Nov 26, 2009)

I changed at about 8 months for activity reasons. I crate her and don't let her run and exercise vigirously for an hour before and after meals, so a midday meal was interfering with our high activity level in the summer, dock diving and being much more active.


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## jprice103 (Feb 16, 2011)

We switched to two meals at 6 months. I was happy because that meant once less meal a day that I would have to beg her to eat!  I just switched her to Life's Abundance dog food and she is actually looking forward to meals for the first time in a year!


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## Josie/Zeus (Nov 6, 2000)

When he started refusing a meal, I went fro feeding 3x a day to once a day.


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## PaddyD (Jul 22, 2010)

I went to free feeding at 4 months. She was never a big eater so I didn't have to worry about her pigging out.


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## Razzle J.Dazzle (Sep 8, 2011)

We switched very early on as 3x a day was not easy with our work schedules. Razzle's probably been on 2x a day since he was 3 months old.


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

i stepped back to two a day around 5-6 months old


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## ChancetheGSD (Dec 19, 2007)

Razzle J.Dazzle said:


> We switched very early on as 3x a day was not easy with our work schedules. Razzle's probably been on 2x a day since he was 3 months old.


Same here only I just always felt guilty feeding Eevee but not Zoey, even if I separated them, Zoey isn't stupid and knew what I was doing in the kitchen. She's old enough to have memorized my "routine" for making their meals. Being the chow hound she is, I just felt guilty. It's like eating cake in the middle of a fat camp.  Eevee hasn't suffered from it though.


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## Anthony8858 (Sep 18, 2011)

Sorry I didn't get back sooner....

The reason I asked, is because Kira has a great appetite. She NEVER refuses anything. However, the past week or so, this is the first time that she's actually leaving some food in her bowl. It's a very small amount, but she's not licking the bowl as usual. She's not as enthused about eating as she's always been.

Yesterday, I was out all day. I fed her at 9am, got home around 6pm. She ate her usual portion (as if three meals), but she licked the bowl this time. 

Do I increase her portion sizes, but reduce the number of times per day? Feeding her twice a day, is much more convenient, than three times.

I'm currently giving her 1.5 cups per meal 3X.
Should I go 2 cups 2X?


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## Razzle J.Dazzle (Sep 8, 2011)

Two cups 2x a day (4 cups total) is what we do with Razzle. I think him and Kira are almost the same age. Razzle was born 7/11/11.


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

If the amount of food she's currently eating seems right based on her overall condition, I'd keep that the same and just divide the daily total by 2 instead of 3. 

Both Dena & Keefer were on 2 meals a day at 9 weeks old when we got them, but they got lots of training treats during the day, so it wasn't like they had nothing for 12 hours at a stretch. I took the first week off work and then took long lunch breaks for awhile so I could come home and spend time with my puppies. 

Halo was a much smaller puppy and was on 3 meals a day when she came home at 10 weeks old. I kept her on 3 meals for a couple of months, but I can't remember exactly how old she was when I switched her over. It was whenever I went back to my regular work schedule and stopped coming home mid-day.


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## kitmcd (Aug 31, 2011)

My Isa was born 7/10/11 and I have been wondering if I am feeding too much. She eats 3x/day....5 cups total (plus the training treats). She still seems lean, ribs easily felt, looks narrow from top. She is a long coat, so little difficult to actually see the ribs.

She inhales each meal---gone in 60 sec. She has her next vet appt in Jan, guess I should get their input.


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## kitmcd (Aug 31, 2011)

Cassidy's Mom said:


> If the amount of food she's currently eating seems right based on her overall condition, I'd keep that the same and just divide the daily total by 2 instead of 3.
> 
> Both Dena & Keefer were on 2 meals a day at 9 weeks old when we got them, but they got lots of training treats during the day, so it wasn't like they had nothing for 12 hours at a stretch. I took the first week off work and then took long lunch breaks for awhile so I could come home and spend time with my puppies.
> 
> Halo was a much smaller puppy and was on 3 meals a day when she came home at 10 weeks old. I kept her on 3 meals for a couple of months, but I can't remember exactly how old she was when I switched her over. It was whenever I went back to my regular work schedule and stopped coming home mid-day.



Cassidy's Mom, just wanted to say I looked at Dena's dogster page. She was beautiful!!!! I know how much you must miss her.


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## Anthony8858 (Sep 18, 2011)

Well, things didn't turn out so good today.

Kira had her morning meal about 9am. We skipped her typical 2pm lunch, and waited to feed her at 6pm.
Just prior to her evening meal, she vomited white bile.
I'm assuming she was hungry. I gave her some water, then fed her. She locked her bowl, and was fine.
I'll keep her on 3x a day for now, and reduce her midday meal to a half portion, and add the difference in her other meals.

It's like raising a baby, all over again.


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## cassadee7 (Nov 26, 2009)

Anthony8858 said:


> Well, things didn't turn out so good today.
> 
> Kira had her morning meal about 9am. We skipped her typical 2pm lunch, and waited to feed her at 6pm.
> Just prior to her evening meal, she vomited white bile.
> ...


Did she have anything at all from 9 to 6? Saber is 13 months and will vomit bile if she goes more than about 7 hours with no food at all. So I keep some treats by her crate and give her one if I need to crate her during the day or just as a snack. It helps a lot. You can also give training treats in a midday OB session, or a chew like a bully stick. That way they get a litte something but not a full meal.


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## NancyJ (Jun 15, 2003)

kitmcd said:


> My Isa was born 7/10/11 and I have been wondering if I am feeding too much. She eats 3x/day....5 cups total (plus the training treats). She still seems lean, ribs easily felt, looks narrow from top. She is a long coat, so little difficult to actually see the ribs.
> 
> She inhales each meal---gone in 60 sec. She has her next vet appt in Jan, guess I should get their input.


Beau is eating that much as well and the food is 430 calories per cup. He is very active. Since I am not too keen about putting larger amounts of food in his stomach at one time so we are feeding 3x and will until his consumption drops. He was born July 14. My adults are eating 2 and 3 cups a day of similar food and they eat twice a day.


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## Anja1Blue (Feb 27, 2008)

We adopted Conor at 6 months - he was fed twice a day from that point on, initially a mix of kibble and raw, then all raw. I was training him also, taking him to OB classes and doing a little practice each day, so he did get treats exclusive of meals. Raw digests much faster then kibble, so this kept him from getting hungry between meals. You need to give your girl something during the day to stop the vomiting, but it doesn't have to be a full meal - keep some treats handy, you can do some OB at the same time. However, if you are committed to 3 times a day watch her weight -and how fast she is growing. She needs slow, steady growth and to stay lean.
__________________________________________
Susan

Anja SchH3 GSD
Conor GSD
Blue BH WH T1 GSD - waiting at the Bridge :angel:


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## kitmcd (Aug 31, 2011)

Thanks Jocoyn, I was curious as my 80 lb male boxer mix only eats 2 cups 2x/day. And if I don't watch, he will gain on that. Of course he is on different food than the pup.


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

I switched to 2 meals at 6 mos, but Stosh gets a little bedtime snack of a handful of kibble. He throws up bile when his stomach is empty and he's gone too long without food. So if Kira does that, just give her a little bit to hold her over


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