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

Hunterwayit

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.

I'm not 100% sure how you would go about this.  But it would be my inclination to ignore any behavior that looks like signs of stress.  I would also work on some sort of default behavior that he could fall back on when he is feeling stressed.  I'm not sure what that would be for storms, but for instance, some leash reactive dogs feel much better if they have a job to do when passing other dogs, like holding onto a stick or a ball or something.  I have Crusher watch my face.  This is a trained behavior that he knows fairly well, and I think it gives him a sense of control in a situation that he feels out of control in.

I fast my dogs... no reason not to. They're in incredible condition.

I feed two to three times a day, because my dogs are extremely active (for pet dogs, nothing like a working dog). One is a puppy, and neither can eat enough to sustain in one sitting.  

Mod request

that this thread remains focused on the OP's questions and requests for input, and does not get too tetchy or focused on a back and forth between participants. Be respectful of others choices..offer advice and allow it to be taken or left.

Thanks all for helping out the OP with your input.

hey OP, I can't tell from your pic what breed your dog is, but looks very smooth, short coat? and it's winter there?  and the dog doesn't have any insulating body fat? maybe a doggie coat when going outside in the cold would help the dog keep weight on- burning calories to keep warm can take a lot of condition off a dog quickly.

and yeah, I think feeding once a day is not as healthy as feeding twice a day. The best way to avoid bloat is never ever feed a dog a bowl of nothing but dry kibble.

My border collie only gets fed once a day (not really a large breed) because he refuses to eat in the mornings.  I can set a bowl in front of him and even mix in some canned, but he will just sniff it and walk away.  So, he just eats in the evenings and has never had a problem.

My German shepherd gets fed 2-3 times per day because he is still a pup.  Once he matures he will be switched to twice a day feedings because I do believe in feeding smaller amounts twice a day due to the amount consumed by an active large breed dog.

mudpuppy

hey OP, I can't tell from your pic what breed your dog is, but looks very smooth, short coat? and it's winter there?  and the dog doesn't have any insulating body fat? maybe a doggie coat when going outside in the cold would help the dog keep weight on- burning calories to keep warm can take a lot of condition off a dog quickly.

I did have a doggie coat for him but he has managed to leave it somewhere in the last few days have tried looking for it grrr I think he has lost in in the neighbours property not good but will get him a new one soon cause it does help for certain!

He is a short coat dog he is a huntaway(a NZ working dog) dobbie X.

 Huntaway, how cool is that!  Was is an on-purpose cross or something random?  I've seen a couple videos of huntaways working - wow, now I thought Aussies could bark (they can be trained to "hunt" stock as can a few other breeds) - those NZ dogs sure are naturals though.  I'm surprised farmers out here aren't more interested in them.  There's an eternal quest in some parts of the US to breed the perfect "brush beater" dog by crossing various breeds.

Anyway, sorry to hijack.  I just thought that was so cool. 

They are great working dogs worked on a few farms can't say I am that fantastic at working a dog myself but with a good dog I can work them hehe Every farm I have worked on I always work with an older huntaway that will work under my bad guidence

He was a mistake I expect a rescue but is a nice cross if somewhat funny looking but great temperment and a very loving dog. Only downfall is he has the huntaway bark not so great as pet hehe

 That's really neat that you've been able to work them, too - a good dog can make any handler look terrific, huh?  I know that for sure as I'm definitely not that great a handler, specially at the trials.

I looked up "huntaway" on youtube and found this hilarious video - it's some kind of race where the handlers whistle for their dogs and the dogs have to find them, apparently.  But there's zillions of huntaways so people can see what they look like (and you can hear the barking, some, too).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-DySGuckGw

And here's some at work - I love the music - not very rustic but somehow appropriate to these rough and ready dogs.  The huntaways are the brownish/black houndy looking dogs, and I believe the black and white and black/white/tan dogs are NZ heading dogs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wg551in_97w

And this is WHY they bark - to get the sheep moving!  And what it sounds like:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7cWk0jOo0M&NR 

Post it in the breed section when you find it!  I just realized we are still in the Nutrition section!  lol