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Feeding

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2007 3:01 am
by bency
how many times a day does everyone feed their dogs and how much do they feed then?

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2007 3:47 am
by bearman
twice a day, each dog varies try to feed a quality dog food so don't need to feed as much. puppies have food most the time unless their hogs then 3 times.

Tiny

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2007 10:44 am
by Bearhunter
once a day.2 1/2- 3 1/2 cups of purina depending on each dog

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2007 12:10 pm
by Mydixiehound
I have fed twice and once a day. I think that the dogs do better all around when they are fed twice a day, but every dog is diffrent. We feed according to weight. Read the back of the bag of dog food that you use, it should give you a good idea of were to start with the amount. A little tip though, spend the extra money and feed a better quality dog food, your dogs will feel better, and you will have less mess to pick up. Also be carefull if you kennel two or more dogs together, make sure that everyone is sticking to there own bowls and not overeating by stealing someone elses food.

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2007 2:06 pm
by Melanie Hampton
I feed once a day. About 3 cups of Purina dog food per dog. The pups get feed twice a day but normally enough food out to last them all day and night.

Anyone every read the back of a Purina Pro Plan bag? It says performance dogs should only be fed once a day. I know I do it so I know that we are never hunting on a belly full of food. And you just never know when you will get a whim to go hunting :)

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2007 6:03 pm
by nmplott
I have mine on automatic dog feeders...the dogs look great and eat when they are hungry. I think this helps prevent over eating. It has also helped reduce aggression at the plate.

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2007 6:12 pm
by bency
so how exactly do those automatic dog feeders work?

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2007 6:16 pm
by Mydixiehound
How do the auto feeders help with over eating? I have a pup that would sit and eat the whole bag if you put it in a feeder. Do all of your dogs eat well out of a self feeder?

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2007 7:42 pm
by Bearkiller
Some dogs do fine on a self feeder, others do not. Depends on the dog. If i dog is raised with a self feeder they are more likely to not over eat. If you take a scrawny old bear hound thats never seen a good meal in its life it'll eat till its gone. I personally don't think self feeders are good because it can be awful hard to tell when your dog quits eating. A dog could go a few days with out you noticing. A few days can be a valuable asset if your dog gets sick. If your dog is eating enough that you noticed he didn't eat today then he's probably eating to much and shouldn't be on a self feeder.

Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2007 2:20 pm
by treeing walkers
I feed once a day at night when I get home from work. I feed three and half cups to the older dogs and four to the younger ones under 2. Pups I just put out enough food that they have food day and night till they are about three to four months old then I start putting them on a regular feed schedule like all the rest.

Automatic feeders

Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 2:53 am
by nmplott
with mine the dogs learn that the food will always be there and they eat only when they are hungry. the first couple days they ate and ate but soon learned that they could eat at their time not me. I see it as I eat when I am hungry let them help themselves in a similar manner.

Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 1:52 pm
by Mydixiehound
I understand that the auto feeders are convenient but I like to feed by hand because it gives me a reason to give the dogs some attention on days that we don’t take them out. I think that it says the same thing in a Wick book, better to feed pups by hand then with a feeder so they get more people interaction.

Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 5:01 pm
by southwestwalkers
2 cups of Diamond High Protein Puppy twice a day 5:30 am and 4 pm...

Robb

Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 5:42 pm
by Buddyw
We use the feeders, Doesn't happen too often that the dogs don't come with us Hunting but It's nice to be able to leave for a weekend and not worry about who can feed the dogs , Just ask someone to drive by at their convience and check the house and dogs.

It is a Problem to notice when a dog isn't eating though. We have them in the yard so we (we being my wife more than me!!) picks up any mood differences if one is acting sick and we watch them that way.

It's also difficult to change one dogs diet over anothers when the vet calls for it

The other problem that can be very frustrating, is when we are hunting or have the dogs away from home. then we want them to eat on our schedule..... which doesn't work out so well for us.

I let a friend take my dog to NV to hunt, and she just didn't wouldn't eat for the first couple days. They seam to be more picky as to if and when they will eat.

It's a catch 22... 9/10 times I see the benifit, But there are times the inconviences shows up ..

Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 9:55 pm
by Paul Conway
I feed once a day. Late in the evening that way if I'm late getting home or out, etc the dogs ain't lookin for a meal. If I have to feed earlier in the evening the dogs don't complain. If I'm hunting them the next day I will feed them as early in the evening/late afternoon as possible. Paul Conway.