One Meal for Large Breeds??!?!?!?!?

 I used the Satin Balls with Lillie before. They work great but like with every other food she wont eat it anymore after a while. I used to put them in her kong(medium size)with kibble and when she got tired of that I would just give her a small spoonful a couple times a day. The molasses is awful smelling stuff though. I thought I was gonna be sick after sticking my head in the bucket to mix everything. But Satin Balls work wonders. Just remember to give him only a little at a time. Like I said I just used a medium sized kong with kibble in it or a couple small spoonfuls through out the day. Good luck!!!

huskymom

 I'd personally work on desensitizing him to the storms first off. 

How would you recommend doing that? I have done some reading on it & tried a few methods but he is just so stressed I often just go to bed & he follows suit hehe. Or lay on the couch & put him on the end. If I stay chilled he kinda does too but still shakes and if there is lightening or thunder he will get up and pace for a bit.

What's "better" depends on the dog.  My GSD only eats one meal a day.  While a "large" breed, she has no problem eating her fill at once, but I can see where an X-large dog would have to eat more than one meal to get enough food.  I think what's MORE important is for a large, deep-chested dog (prone to bloat) to avoid running or exercise 2 hours before and after eating.  I do not like to feed my dogs meals in the morning because I leave for work and if one did get bloat or sick, I would not know unless I came home at noon, or when DH is home at 3.  I feed my dogs at 5pm because they have not exercised since noon at the latest (if I go home for lunch) and then we don't do any long walks or anything like that until 7pm or later right now b/c of the heat.  If we do have agility or a play date or something, I feed my dogs a little bit and then feed them the rest of the meal a few hours after we get back.  Then I'm home in the evening and they sleep in our room at night so if they get sick or bloat, I am there to help them.

I've read a lot of threads on the GSD board about meals and bloat and at least with GSDs there does not seem to be any correlation between feeding more meals and being less likely to get bloat.  When the dog exercise and WHAT the dog is eating is far more important.

I think the assumption that dogs need to eat "meals" is more because humans eat "meals".  Wild dogs might eat one huge meal every few days.  In fact there are some domestic dog owners that fast their dogs. 

Actually, breaking down meals into two meals benefits a larger animal........I have always fed 2 meals to grown dogs and never had an issue........it was actually recommended by vets and rescue specialists..........

Liesje, you feel comfy leaving your dogs without food all day even though you and DH come home within hours of each other??

I am a little confused.....you feed the main meal in the evening and then they get their exercise?????

Liesje

I think the assumption that dogs need to eat "meals" is more because humans eat "meals".  Wild dogs might eat one huge meal every few days.  In fact there are some domestic dog owners that fast their dogs. 

Don't go down that road.....especially with rescues..........not a good idea to apply......

All of my guys eat twice a day.  I'm not comfortable feeding only one large meal a day. 

I have problems maintaining Bevo's weight from time to time.  (Usually when he isn't getting the exercise that he needs)  When he starts dropping weight, I increase him to 3 feedings a day.  I have tried satin balls with him, but found that they acted as "jet fuel" for him.  He bounced off the walls, & I struggled to meet his exercise needs.  We no longer use satin balls for this reason.

Willow gets 2-3 meals per day with snacks.  She gets sick if she goes too long without food and her blood sugar gets a little low.  But, even if she didn't have these issues, I'd still feed this way.  Even if she doesn't want to eat everything in the morning I always offer her something. 

snownose

I am a little confused.....you feed the main meal in the evening and then they get their exercise?????

They eat at 5pm, so they have not been exercising hard for 2 hours before, and they don't exercise hard until 7pm.  If they have to exercise hard right at 5pm (if we have a play date or something), then we wait and they eat 2 hours after.  Eating is based on hard exercise and whether or not someone will be around after they eat to notice signs of bloat.

I know some dogs will throw up in the morning if only fed once a day.......I ran into that with a few dogs I took in and once fed a couple of times a day it stopped. Also, predatory animals might only eat once a day due to availability of food, but, (just my opinion), the average dogs like to have two meals a day...........I really don't know why you are concerned with bloat in the morning.....are the dogs free to roam a large area while you guys are gone?

I don't know about all large dogs but our Vet is strict about me feeding 2 or 3 smaller meals and NOT one big meal.  Bloat should be a concern and overfeeding is prime trigger to bloat.  Even my Pug (small dog) is deep chested and we need to be careful with bloat.

Besides bloat, filling the tummy with gas and being uncomfortable and making a dog sick a tummy full of heavy food can easily become a pendulum and if the dog rolls over, plays or runs the belly will flip - tying both side of the stomach shut causing (torsion) if that happens and the dog is not operated on within 10 minutes they will die.

I may feed Misha twice a day, but often he'll only eat once a day. He prefers to eat at night when it's cooler. So even if I feed him in the morning, he might not eat it until night, and once he's eaten all or most of his food, I'll give him the next feeding. But Misha has food available to him all day (assuming he doesn't eat it all in the morning), would that make a difference? So he could eat just a little bit when he felt like it. Also, it's not uncommon for Misha to go a day or so without eating all of his food.

The thing that scares me about this thread... I don't even know what bloat is (other than bad) - guess I'm off to go study on that.  

aDorkable

 But Misha has food available to him all day (assuming he doesn't eat it all in the morning), would that make a difference? So he could eat just a little bit when he felt like it. Also, it's not uncommon for Misha to go a day or so without eating all of his food.

Could be, but it sounds like you give him his portion in the morning (ie, you give a finite, measured amount)?  To me that's different than true free-feeding, where you fill the bowl whenever it's full and pay no regard to portions, which I think is a lot worse for the dog.  Sometimes Kenya will do the same thing, only eat half her food.  I take it away so Coke doesn't eat it but offer it to her later, or leave it with her in the morning.  Lately though, both dogs have been eating all their food at dinner time.  If for some reason they don't and then I leave it with them in the morning and still find it there when I get home, then I know I'm feeding them too much.

Bloat is mainly a risk for deep-chested dogs like GSDs and Great Danes but I think any dog can get it.  In GSDs, there does not seem to be correlation between how daily rations are broken into meals, but rather if the dog was exercising too soon before or after eating or what food the dog ate.  To prevent bloat, I've been told that dogs should not do a lot of running or hard exercise two hours before and after they eat, they should not be scarfing their food and eating too much too fast (my dogs are not scarfers, if your dog is by all means use more meals), they shouldn't be drinking excessively around meal time (often adding lots of moisture right away to a kibble diet can bring on bloat), elevated feeders should be avoided unless the dog has a medical reason for needing one, and you should not add moist or liquid toppers to certain kibbles with citric acid (Nature's Variety Prairie, for example).  To be safe, most vets will recommend feeding 2-3 times a day as a general rule, that way you avoid scarfing too much too soon.
 

Liesje

aDorkable

 But Misha has food available to him all day (assuming he doesn't eat it all in the morning), would that make a difference? So he could eat just a little bit when he felt like it. Also, it's not uncommon for Misha to go a day or so without eating all of his food.

Could be, but it sounds like you give him his portion in the morning (ie, you give a finite, measured amount)?  To me that's different than true free-feeding, where you fill the bowl whenever it's full and pay no regard to portions, which I think is a lot worse for the dog.  Sometimes Kenya will do the same thing, only eat half her food.  I take it away so Coke doesn't eat it but offer it to her later, or leave it with her in the morning.  Lately though, both dogs have been eating all their food at dinner time.  If for some reason they don't and then I leave it with them in the morning and still find it there when I get home, then I know I'm feeding them too much.

Bloat is mainly a risk for deep-chested dogs like GSDs and Great Danes but I think any dog can get it.  In GSDs, there does not seem to be correlation between how daily rations are broken into meals, but rather if the dog was exercising too soon before or after eating or what food the dog ate.  To prevent bloat, I've been told that dogs should not do a lot of running or hard exercise two hours before and after they eat, they should not be scarfing their food and eating too much too fast (my dogs are not scarfers, if your dog is by all means use more meals), they shouldn't be drinking excessively around meal time (often adding lots of moisture right away to a kibble diet can bring on bloat), elevated feeders should be avoided unless the dog has a medical reason for needing one, and you should not add moist or liquid toppers to certain kibbles with citric acid (Nature's Variety Prairie, for example).  To be safe, most vets will recommend feeding 2-3 times a day as a general rule, that way you avoid scarfing too much too soon.
 

Based on your statement, I think you feed in the evening and the dogs are kept in their crates during the day........so, how would they suffer bloat or a twisted stomach if kept in their crates in the morning.....

I have a friend who nearly lost her lurcher (not deep chested breed) to bloat after feeding her meal in her crate.  She took her out for her last morning walk before going to work, and noticed her discomfort.  That was the last time that she fed one large meal to her dogs (Border Collies), though for the majority of cases it's probably very unlikely to happen.  My friends who are farmers have been feeding one big evening meal, for generations, without incident.

Bloat doesn't necessarily require a lot of exercise - remember that torsion occurs in just one movement.  That can occur when shifting at rest, too - it's just far less likely.  So I think better safe than sorry.  Lynn is my tallest dog now at 9 months old, and looks like she will push the 60 pound mark when fully grown and fleshed out.  My Maremmas get two to three meals a day - basically whenever they wander up to the house I'll give them a little food.  They are extremely active and again better safe than sorry.

In all my years of dog ownership and rescue I have never heard of feeding once a day as good advice .......just my experience.......