When To Feed Dog Once A Day

[tuppy]

Hi there,

Our adult Cocker spaniel is used to being fed a med.bowl of biscuits, then abt. 6 cm slice of Chicken roll around 8-9 a.m. once a day. He is new to us and I'm finding he's fussy eating the biscuits, no matter how long I wait with nothing to follow. He has a mix of two brands both of chicken flavour....sometimes I have to start him off, other times I put some in his ball....but he just picks....his roll is eaten happily but he's not a quick eater. His plates are removed after the roll is finished, even if some biscuits left. He is walked every day before lunchtime, as well as spending any amount of time in the garden. He's put to bed indoors around 8.30 p.m. with a vanilla bone biscuit as he was used to this before we got him. We have had one night when he soiled the floor before we let him out which is around 7-7.30 a.m. The only difference in his food habit, was I left the biscuits out all day and he finished the few left before bed.

Is there a better time of day to feed him to make sure he doesn't soil his area during the night? I thought we had it covered, but after last night, I am wondering what we could change. I have now sprayed the whole floor and hope this deters him from a repeat performance tonight.

Today he has had nothing to eat since 10 a.m., poor boy, except his vanilla bone biscuit at bedtime.

Any suggestions appreciated......

[persephone]

Don't know about your dog.. but all mine have always been fed of an evening ... I have never fed a dog a meal (they may get a snack) in the morning ..as they exerecise etc during the day, and I prefer they do that on an empty belly :)

6 cm slice of roll seems almost enough food in itself ..tho I don't feed this .

Is this what he was fed prior to you getting him? Or is it different food.How long have you had this dog , and how old is he?

What brand dry food are you feeding?

Most living things have preferences, food wise ... and if it is tasty and smells good .. then that will win every time :) So roll will usually win over kibble.

8:30 seems early ..is that when you also go to bed? Mine get put to bed around 10 or 10 :30 ..and we're up around 7 .

If he needs to empty his bowel/bladder..he needs to...end of story. ;) The only way is to make sure you SEE him toilet at bed time .. and make sure he has not got an upset tummy.

What have you sprayed the floor with? Remember dog's noses are very sensitive, and if it is a deterrent/deodorant , it will be unpleasant (and maybe irritating)for him to be standing on/lying on all night

Edited January 23, 2012 by persephone

[mumtoshelley]

I feed my guys twice a day in the morning when I get up which is normally around 11am then I feed them again at 6pm. I go to bed around 11pm then the dogs go out at 8:30am when my boyfriend gets up.

[dancinbcs]

I usually feed twice a day but if once a day it would be about 2 hours before I go to bed. Dogs need to poo after a meal and 9-13 hours later depending on age so feeding late at night allows them to go before bed and then not need to go until morning. I never expect a dog to sleep longer than about 8 hours at night without needing a toilet break so 11 hours is too long for most dogs. Mine are bedded down round midnight and usually wake between 7 and 8 am.

BTW, that sounds like an awful lot of food for a Cocker. Maybe you are overfeeding. Cut the amount back and see if he is keener.

[tuppy]

Thanks very much for your interesting thoughts.

To answer some of your questions......the timetable was set before we got him. He is still being house trained by us, so he stays with us in the lounge for about 90 minutes after dinner, before we let him outside again to do whatever and then bed. That's what we were told he was used to.

Last night it was about 9.30 before he was shut in and he soiled his room for the first time. But he had had a few little biscuits just before.

The spray I bought was from a pet shop specifically for stopping dogs and cats from urinating on floors, gardens etc., so quite safe.

Again, his food was exactly what he had been given when we got him, high quality biscuits for sensitive skins and VIP roll with egg, rice etc.

I agree that perhaps he's actually getting too much feed in the morning and perhaps I could mix a few biscuits with his roll and leave it at that.

We have only had him a couple of weeks and being an adult male dog, he's doing very well in other areas.

In previous homes we have had dogs which have had two way access 24/7, so although indoor dogs, we didn't have to monitor their toileting and they were given two little meals a day. Currently we have to lock him in for safety, which he doesn't mind at all and he's used to it. However, when let out in the morning, his toileting concludes after his late morning walk au natural! So much more than our previous dogs....

[persephone]

from a pet shop specifically for stopping dogs and cats from urinating on floors, gardens etc., so quite safe.

This is still a concern to me , sorry .. anything which deters cats/dogs to be used where a dog is confined .. .. if you have sprayed the whole floor ..the dog will be subject to that smell all night .. and that will be upsetting, I would think.

Most of those sprays are to keep cats/dogs away from an area ..to make it smell nasty..or use a scent with which they feel uncomfortable ..that way , they don't walk on the area, and so receive cues which might trigger toileting ...

Last night may have been a one off ... he may have been distracted outside and not toileted at all.

May I suggest that you teach him toilet on command - then it takes a couple of minutes, and you KNOW what has been done :)

It's easy to do ... just when you see him toilet..say your command ..then praise praise ...

after a few days of that ..start using your word as he gets ready to toilet ..and use lots of praise ..then soon, the word itself will be a trigger for him to toilet :)

I take out 3 dogs and 2 cats of a night , and everyone does their toileting before bed ;) I'm too old to worry about mess indoors ..tho accidents still happen .

[Guest lavendergirl]

I am still having trouble with my rescue boy weeing inside the house - after 6 months! Even with access to a doggy door he will still do it inside the house rather than go outside :)

[BC Crazy]

Agree with Persephone here & not keen on this whole spray thing. Toilet train him as advised & I am sure he will be alot more comfortable.

I feed my 2 twice a day, we wake at 6.30 / 7 am, both crated indoors at night. Play, toilet & exercise till 11ish, rinsed off after swim & half chic caress each, then at 4 pm dry food & 90 grams of roo mince plus vits/ fish oil etc. hope I was of some help.

Edited January 23, 2012 by BC Crazy

[Atanquin]

I feed zorro 2 times a day because I believe it is better for them. Just do what you feel is right here is a good website

http://www.about-cocker-spaniels.com/

Where are the pictures :)

Edited January 23, 2012 by Atanquin

[mumtoshelley]

Missy my 6 month 3 week old female whippet just peed on our carpet and she hasn't done that in the last month, I thought she was house broken but after tonight nope still have to keep on eye on her. I don't think Missy will ever be house broken she knows to go outside to do her business but yet will come inside and do one. I make a big fuss with her when she does it outside and still doe2sn't make a difference.

[RiverStar-Aura]

I'm surprised at how late your dogs get put to bed. Zeus and Kirah are in bed around 8 to 8:30ish at night and are let out around 7am. Zeus will go the entire night without peeing and Kirah is starting to hold on now too!

That's just the routine I have for my guys and if I'm a little late putting them to bed, Zeus will actually put himself to bed. I think that's very cute and smart!!

To the OP, it does sound like you're feeding too much all at once. Maybe try halving the amount of kibble and feed twice a day instead of once. My two get fed twice a day: breakfast at 7:30ish and dinner around 6ish. They do get fed a big earlier in winter as where I live, the sun disappears behind the mountains as early as 3:30/4pm.

When Kirah was around 4 to 6 months and on 3 meals a day, she was such a slow and easily distracted eater. Since cutting her back to twice daily feeding she gets nowhere near as distracted and is happy to eat.

[Bluefairy]

Archie goes to bed from 10pm to 11pm, he is crated and he wakes us at 5:30am to go outside.

He is fed a dry food meal, of Yoghurt Plus about 7am.

Then he is fed a packet of MY Dog, those gourmet meals in a tub, about 6pm.

8:30pm is way too early to go to bed and expect your dog to wake at 7am, but hold going toilet for that long. Even I can't do that, I wouldn't expect my dog to.

Try giving your dog 2 meals a day, just half what you are giving them and do it twice. So they are eating the same amount but in smaller easier to digest meals.

Also put the dog to bed later, around 10:30pm, and see how you go on the toilet side. You may have to get up earlier than 7am or put in a dog door so they can enter and exit when they need to.

Good Luck

Lynn

[melinda10786]

I have two cockers, which we feed two meals. They get fed one chicken neck before I go to work at about 6.30-7, and have their evening meal around 5.30-6 which is normally a mix of Black Hawk, some kind of meat (mince, turkey neck, tuna, sardines) and a vegie mix. We go to bed around 9ish and they are taken outside for a toilet break, and we're up at 5.

Ours also have outside access at night time should they need to toilet in the middle of the night.

We've never used a spray to deter them from toileting in the house, if an accident happens, they were taken straight outside and when they toileted outside, praised like crazy. It is a long time from 8.30 to 7.30, I wouldn't expect my two to hold for that long. Monte might (he's 19 mths), but Ivy certainly couldn't.

PS - I would love to see a photo :)

Edited January 23, 2012 by melinda10786

[tuppy]

After reading all the fabulous ideas we kept our boy up till 9.45. He slept the whole time at our feet, but at least he wasn't in his bed.

I then took him outside stood on the grass, saying "toilet" whilst he sat beside me for 20 minutes....by then the mozzies were after me and he hadn't done anything except smell the garden back and forth.

So into bed, he was so happy with his vanilla bone and ball. No problem with the previously sprayed floor, he had his covered tramp. bed and no barking all night.

I woke early and instead of waiting to hear him bark, I let him out 6.45 and all was clean......no mess........YEY! Then straight into play mode with ball on lawn, no time for toileting.

So now he's outside what he does where is up to him this morning....I mixed only half his number of biscuits with his chicken roll, he knew! Left most of the biscuits and slowly ate the roll after I sat outside and coaxed him along......

I shall leave the bowl there a couple of hours, then put it away, biscuits eaten or not.

Thanks for all your suggestions......very much appreciated......We may end up getting a doggy door installed, but for now, this is how it is.

We were actually burgled once when someone crawled through the doggy door!!! Not that that would turn us off them........they are great.

[Dame Aussie]

After reading all the fabulous ideas we kept our boy up till 9.45. He slept the whole time at our feet, but at least he wasn't in his bed.

I then took him outside stood on the grass, saying "toilet" whilst he sat beside me for 20 minutes....by then the mozzies were after me and he hadn't done anything except smell the garden back and forth.

So into bed, he was so happy with his vanilla bone and ball. No problem with the previously sprayed floor, he had his covered tramp. bed and no barking all night.

I woke early and instead of waiting to hear him bark, I let him out 6.45 and all was clean......no mess........YEY! Then straight into play mode with ball on lawn, no time for toileting.

So now he's outside what he does where is up to him this morning....I mixed only half his number of biscuits with his chicken roll, he knew! Left most of the biscuits and slowly ate the roll after I sat outside and coaxed him along......

I shall leave the bowl there a couple of hours, then put it away, biscuits eaten or not.

Thanks for all your suggestions......very much appreciated......We may end up getting a doggy door installed, but for now, this is how it is.

We were actually burgled once when someone crawled through the doggy door!!! Not that that would turn us off them........they are great.

That's what has stopped us installing a doggy door, one of our dogs is huge and a person could easily crawl through a door his size.

We thought about those magnetic collar attachments which open the door but how easy would it be for someone to take it off the dog!

[Bluefairy]

OP if your dog isn't into eating the food you are giving him, then maybe change it to something else instead of the dog roll, use mince and veggies ( you can make up a big batch with a kilo of mince and freeze them in ziplock bags for later) or even give tin food.

It does sound like your dog is bored with his food, or doesn't really like it. Every dog we have ever had, food is the most important time of the day, they always eat it all within a short time.

Glad the shorter overnight time worked, though he might still have accidents before he gets the hang of it.

Lynn

[DeltaCharlie]

We have 9 dogs and they are all on exactly the same routine. We also regularly look after dogs for friends and family and they slot into the routine without hassle.

8am- morning toilet.

4pm- afternoon toilet.

7pm- evening toilet.

7.15pm- (or after all the toileting shifts are over) dinner.

8.30-9pm- Eldest dog goes out for another wee as she can't hold on all night anymore.

If we have young pups then obviously they have a slightly different schedule until they are old enough to hang on etc.

Rush has her evening toilet after she eats her dinner as she won't poo otherwise. We have no issue with any of the others needing to go and poo after they have eaten though, they all just go in the morning. A few of ours only go once a day anyway, the other times they only pee. It all depends on what you are feeding them (and the individual dog) but an adult dog is more than capable of holding on. Should clarify that if ours need to go they will wake us and we put them out, they aren't forced to hold on :laugh: