How to switch your dog to two meals a day

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Feeding is the main component of caring for any animal. A proper diet is a guarantee of maintaining the health, quality development and good mood of your pet. It is also an important point in keeping dogs. Owners often make mistakes that can lead to serious diseases and dysfunction of organs and systems.

Feeding with prepared industrial feeds

What are the benefits of ready-made food?

they are balanced in the composition of proteins, fats and carbohydrates;

they contain all the necessary vitamins and minerals;

they are convenient to store and use.

For puppies, special products are used, which contain increased amounts of vitamins and minerals, proteins and fats. At the age of 6 months, dogs switch to food of the “Junior” age category, and after a year - to regular adult food. The product lines of all high-quality industrial feeds include products for puppies, small, medium and large breeds of dogs, developed taking into account the different needs of the body.

Dry food for small puppies is soaked in warm water until soft, or canned food is used for feeding. As the dog gets older, the proportion of dry food increases.

The main rules regarding dry food:

Do not mix dry and wet food in the same feeding;

Make sure your dog always has clean water freely available;

Follow the feeding standards recommended by the veterinarian and the instructions on the product packaging.

Choosing a brand of food

Dogs are all very different, and sometimes it takes a long time to find the most ideal food. How to choose the most suitable brand of food?

“Premium” and “Super-premium” class feeds

Monitor your dog's stool: this is the most informative indicator of how well the food is digested. The stool should be well formed, dark in color and without a strong odor. If the dog poops a lot, the food is not digested. If there is a strong stench, the food is also poorly digested, and putrefactive processes occur in the intestines. If the food is chosen correctly, the dog is in excellent condition, its coat is shiny, and the animal is active. Bowel movements occur twice a day in moderation;

General feeding recommendations

A common mistake is chaotic feeding without a specific time or menu. A bowl is filled for a beloved dog when he touchingly looks into the eyes, wags his tail, barks invitingly, demanding a treat, when the pet interferes with the family meal, begging, trying to steal something from the owner’s table. Moreover, the dog’s diet contains an unregulated range of products: leftovers from dinners, lunches and breakfasts, dry food, unprocessed foods, sweets, etc. As a result, the animal’s body is gradually destroyed, and various ailments and diseases appear.

The advantages of dishes prepared specifically for a dog, taking into account its age and individual characteristics, are undeniable. But many owners do not have the time or desire to engage in such cooking, which makes ready-made food more and more popular. This option has certain advantages, which include balance, the presence of important microelements and vitamins. But all these advantages are inherent only in premium products, where more than 50% are meat components, dyes, soy, and there are no preservatives. Cheap food, unfortunately, does not differ in quality composition.

Natural food

Natural or homemade food refers to a diet made up of homemade food. These are porridge, cottage cheese, eggs, raw and cooked meat, stews, vegetables in various combinations. Food is usually prepared specifically for dogs, since human food is not suitable for dogs due to excessive amounts of salt, sugar, seasonings and other unhealthy additives.

The following products are commonly used for dogs:

1. Cereals: rice, buckwheat, crushed oatmeal;
2. Bread (in small quantities gray or rye);
3. Vegetables: carrots, beets, cabbage, zucchini, pumpkin;
4. Fruits: apples, bananas, dried fruits (dried apricots, raisins);
5. Fresh and dried greens: dill, parsley, onion, garlic, young nettle;
6. Milk and dairy products: kefir, yogurt, fermented baked milk, acidophilus, cottage cheese, cheese, sour cream;
7. Chicken and quail eggs;
8. Meat and offal: beef, veal, lean lamb and lamb, rabbit, horse meat, poultry, heart, liver, kidneys, udder, tripe;
9. Sea fish;
10. Vitamin and mineral supplements.

Meat should make up about 40% of the diet. Moreover, it should not be a tenderloin: it is better if the meat is quite sinewy, with cartilage and connective tissue. It is better not to give bones at all - they wear down teeth and can cause digestive problems (especially in young dogs and puppies). Large beef bones are sometimes acceptable as chewing toys.

Diet at 3-5 weeks of age

At this age, puppies eat often and little by little , because the stomach does not yet know how to cope with large volumes of food. It is recommended to feed babies every 3 hours. While they remain with their mother, the breeder only gives complementary foods in the form of milk porridge, calcined cottage cheese, and tender raw minced meat 2–3 times a day. All food is offered to babies in heavy, stable bowls; no nipples are needed.

Portion standards for an adult animal

The daily diet for a dog depends on its age and size. A smaller amount is needed for small pets and older dogs whose digestive system activity is reduced. An important factor is living conditions and lifestyle. A dog that moves a lot and lives outside in cold weather requires more food.

The average dietary standards for pets of different sizes are as follows:

• small dogs up to 15 kg – 100-350 grams of natural food or 150-300 grams of dry products;
• medium-sized dogs up to 35 kg – 400-700 grams of prepared food or 400 grams of ready-made food;
• large animals 35-50 kg – 700-1000 grams of homemade food or 400-600 grams of dry product.

A veterinarian can accurately calculate the diet for a specific dog.

How and when should a puppy be switched to two meals a day?

Puppies of all breeds need more frequent feeding. We recommend dividing the daily intake into four to five meals, depending on age, so that the growing body of an active and playful puppy receives energy on time, and the baby is always full and active. Blitz puppy diets are designed to support all body systems during the active growth phase.

As they grow, you should gradually reduce the number of meals, increasing the amount of food according to the recommendations that we publish on the diet packaging and your objective assessment of the pet's health.

Usually, you can switch your dog to two meals a day when it approaches the first year of its life. During this important period, you can already decide on a new diet for an adult pet. It is at the moment of acquaintance with the new food that the transition of the dog to two meals a day will go as smoothly as possible. And our Blitz diets will be the key to ensuring that your dog is always healthy!

Optimal feeding frequency

It is important not only to choose the right diet and daily intake, but also to follow the feeding rules. The best option is two meals a day. For the first time, the dog needs to be fed in the morning before the walk. The break between meals is approximately 9-11 hours. Therefore, the second feeding should be in the evening around 18:00. It is not advisable to switch your pet to single meals. But if time does not allow you to divide the daily dose into two servings, you can put it in a bowl right away.

There are periods of a dog’s life when feeding rules differ from the standard ones. The diet of puppies requires special attention. At 2-4 months you need 4-5 feedings a day, at 6-12 months - 3 meals. A pregnant bitch should be fed 4-5 times, the daily norm increases by about a third. In older dogs, digestion slows down. They need to be switched to three meals a day. In this case, the daily ration does not increase, it is divided into 3 servings.

What is the optimal feeding time?

The meal schedule is set individually. The main thing is that feeding takes place not before, but after the walk. Otherwise, there is a danger of gastric volvulus, a life-threatening condition discussed above.

If you get up early and immediately go for a walk with the dog, it is quite reasonable to feed your pet for the first time at 6–7 o’clock in the morning, and the second time after returning from work and an evening walk, for example at 19.00. If the dog goes for a walk in the morning and has breakfast late, the evening walk and dinner can also be postponed by a couple of hours. The optimal daily interval between meals is 10–12 hours. It is important that the feeding time of the dog with two meals a day, whatever schedule you choose, is the same every day and does not conflict with your work schedule and lifestyle.

Individual approach to feeding your dog

Giving an adult dog two meals a day fully meets his natural needs. But owners often encounter requests from their pet to feed it during the break between feedings. Then the question arises whether it is necessary to meet such wishes and requirements of the dog. There are several recommendations from experts that will help you find the right solution:

1. It is necessary to determine whether the dog is truly hungry. For example, if a small dog, according to regulations, needs to eat up to 300 grams of dry food per day, but it is highly active and moves a lot, you can increase the volume to 350 g.
2. The occurrence of a feeling of hunger before the prescribed meal may be a consequence of poor quality food. Purchasing a ready-made economy product will most likely lead to malnutrition, since it contains too little meat. If the dog eats this food, the amount should be increased by 30-40%. Cooked food may also be insufficiently nutritious if the diet does not include fish, meat, eggs, and offal.
3. It should be taken into account that these pets quickly learn to manipulate people. If for every request the dog is given a treat, a piece of sausage, then he will demand food without feeling hungry. This behavior cannot be encouraged; obesity will cause serious health problems.
4. You can meet your pet halfway if the requests are too persistent and there are doubts about whether he is hungry. But you need to give your dog not rich food, but an easy replacement in the form of vegetables and low-fat kefir.
5. Parasites may be the cause of increased appetite. If your dog is eating well but is underweight, you should contact your veterinarian. A specialist will conduct research and help you choose the best food for your pet.

Is feeding twice a day right for everyone?

Two meals a day is optimal for healthy adult dogs. But keep in mind that this feeding scheme is not suitable for puppies, animals with certain gastrointestinal diseases, severe exhaustion, as well as during the period of growth, pregnancy and lactation. In all these cases, dogs should be fed more often. For lactating bitches, food is left freely available around the clock and is not limited in quantity.

If the dog cannot get used to two meals a day, and the owner does not have any problems caring for him in the middle of the day, it is permissible to adhere to the “lunch - breakfast - dinner” scheme. However, feeding more often does not mean more. Always try to stay within the daily dosage indicated on the food package. Just divide the daily intake not into two, but into three (or more) servings.