How many meals a day?

[Naj]

I hear of some treat trainers having no set meal times. Dog has to earn every morsel of food. Wonder ? Do they have keen dogs ? or would they be neurotic from never being able to settle down cause in essence there is no end of meal. Not a healthy way to train in my opinion. Further to that, on another forum and many years ago, a poster admitted to regularly fasting his dog for up to 24 hours, so, he would have the right motivation set for training. Then asked if any forum members practiced his routine, since it was a positive only site ? Goes to show, physical punishment can be more humane than some of these schemes to eliminate correction.

I totally agree, Newf. You get bad practice, ineptitude and outdated trainers in all methodologies. And there’s no excuse for it. Look at how many correction trainers continue punishing their dogs even though it’s not having any effect on the behaviour they are attempting to stop and the dog continues to run-in or whatever, so it doesn’t just apply to any one methodology. Coincidentally, ‘when positive reinforcement is coercive‘ is quite the hot topic at the moment.

Naj

[Judy]

Coincidentally, ‘when positive reinforcement is coercive‘ is quite the hot topic at the moment.

Naj

What will they think of next? Anybody would think dog training is complex.

[Nickheref]

My father use to feed his dogs one a day, six days a week. He felt it kept them healthier and keener to have one day of fasting a week. He always had keen healthy dogs?

Many years ago we did the same in the summer (not when working) missing out the Saturday night feed, never seemed to bother the dogs that much, I have a feeling it was something that the hound packs did (and was based on the dog being a predator that probably would not make a kill every day in the wild, pseudo science ??) which a lot of the chaps I knew back then had a lot to do with.
My dogs that love their food are as excited about getting it whether it is once twice, or three times a day and would eat however much you put in front of them, those that aren't as bothered wouldn't eat it if they are not hungry.

[Naj]

The fast day used to be popular and promoted by Moxon back in the 60s and 70s, who had ties with a hound pack as I recall, and it came from zoos who fasted carnivores one day a week. I think they’ve stopped that now and feed daily, and many years ago I actually read research done on captive wolves which concluded that, if given the choice, they preferred to eat daily. Easy money that one!

Naj

[CockerCanuck]

My father's once a day six days a week schedule may well have come from hounsdmen circles. He was a life long hound hunter in addition to spaniels.

[Lloyd90]

Just reading one of Joe Irving’s books again now and he is saying he only feeds 6/7 days and claims it does the dogs a world of good.

We went back to feeding Ted twice a day, he threw up one morning and Amy said it’s apparently cos he’s hungry ... not sure how accurate that is but he didn’t do it again when back on twice daily feeding.

[Naj]

Fasting used to be a popular idea back when Joe Irving wrote his book, along with many other popular notions that are now dated , but there’s no scientific basis in it, rather the reverse. And these guys, like the vast majority of us, were trainers, not nutritionalists. Dogs are creatures of habit and meal times are one of the highlights of the day for them, especially when stuck in kennels, so it’s a bit mean to deprive them of it, even for a day, apart from there being no basis in it.

With the vomiting after a meal, I’ve a young dog that tends to vomit after too large a meal of raw meat. She’s a finicky eater and doesn’t have a huge appetite and would also choose a bowl of kibble over raw meat. When she’s working I might well have to switch to feeding two meals a day, as I often do when dogs are working hard and burning it off. My older dog occasionally does the same with raw meat, and when she’s swallowed too big a lump of bone or anything else, then wolfs it down again so it may just be a natural part of digestion. If dogs could talk.

Naj

[Judy]

I think they eat it too quickly and the stomach revolts at the amount landing inside in the blink of an eye so rejects the food. They then eat it more slowly the second time around so, yes, hunger probably has much to do with it for some dogs. Maybe the ones that wolf it down with no repercussions have a better sphincter muscle at the top of the stomach!

[Lloyd90]

Fasting used to be a popular idea back when Joe Irving wrote his book, along with many other popular notions that are now dated , but there’s no scientific basis in it, rather the reverse. And these guys, like the vast majority of us, were trainers, not nutritionalists. Dogs are creatures of habit and meal times are one of the highlights of the day for them, especially when stuck in kennels, so it’s a bit mean to deprive them of it, even for a day, apart from there being no basis in it.

With the vomiting after a meal, I’ve a young dog that tends to vomit after too large a meal of raw meat. She’s a finicky eater and doesn’t have a huge appetite and would also choose a bowl of kibble over raw meat. When she’s working I might well have to switch to feeding two meals a day, as I often do when dogs are working hard and burning it off. My older dog occasionally does the same with raw meat, and when she’s swallowed too big a lump of bone or anything else, then wolfs it down again so it may just be a natural part of digestion. If dogs could talk.

Naj

sorry I missed that you had replied and just saw this now.

He didn’t throw up in the morning after eating, he threw up in the morning BEFORE eating.

I have seen some call it hunger pukes.

I tried feeding him once a day in the evening, but come late morning he would throw up like a yellow sick / bile?

When fed in morning and evening hasn’t had that issue.