When to stop feeding a puppy three times a day

When to Switch a Puppy to 2 Meals a Day from 3

As you will already know, puppies develop very quickly and need to take on a lot of food at regular intervals to grow healthy. You will have already been feeding your puppy 3 times or more daily, but at what point do you switch a puppy from 3 to 2 meals a day?

Heres what you need to know about daily feeding amounts, with the short answer you came for first. Theres more to get right though so please do read on further.

When to switch puppy to 2 meals a day? You can move to 2 meals a day from 3 with most puppies from 6 months onwards. Prior to this, puppies will need feeding 3 or even 4 times a day to help aid health development. Its also important to keep them on puppy food until theyre at least one year old.

Switching your puppy to 2 meals a day

Read on to find out why you should change to feed your puppy two meals a day, when the best time to do it and how much you should be feeding your puppy twice daily. Ill also talk about when is a good time to change your fur baby from puppy food to adult food.

Why you should feed your puppy twice a day

Once your puppy reaches six months old, you can start feeding them 2 meals a day. For the first six months of your puppys life, hes been burning up calories like mad.

I dont think I need to remind you how active your puppy can be! But, if youre still new to puppy raising, be warned!

With so much growing, walking and playing your little one is naturally using up all his reserves. Which is why puppies are fed more often throughout the day.

By the time they reach six months they generally start to calm down and can be switched to 2 meals a day instead of 3. Im still not convinced by this though after witnessing my own puppy being a ball of fire way beyond six months old.

Having said that, your six-month-old puppy is ready to eat two meals a day. Youll notice hes not growing as fast as he was in his first six months. So, to avoid him becoming a pot belly pup, you need to cut down on his food quantity.

Always follow the guidelines on your puppy food packet to ensure shes getting the right quantity for her age despite cutting down to two meals daily.

If your gut feeling tells you that its not the right time or age to switch your puppy to 2 meals a day, then dont but talk to your vet for an expert opinion.

When are the best times to feed your puppy?

Its a good idea to split the two meals up. Most dog owners choose to feed their puppy in the morning and in the afternoon.

Pet feeding experts recommend giving your puppy their first meal at 7 am in the morning, soon after waking up. You can then take them for their walk or play a game with them. The last meal of the day should be at 5 pm. This is about the maximum time recommended to let them go without eating.

By feeding your puppy at 5 pm you are giving her ample time to digest her food before going to sleep. You can also take her for an evening walk after her meal or play a game of ball.

Another advantage of feeding your puppy at 5 pm is less chances of your puppy making a mess in the middle of the night. Between 5 pm and 7 pm, your puppy will have more than enough opportunities to perform her bathroom routine.

Generally speaking, its not a good idea to feed a puppy late at night, and heres why.

How soon after feeding can I take my puppy walking?

Its essential you dont take your puppy walking directly after feeding them. Always give her at least an hour before walking or playing a game with her. Otherwise, you run the risk of your dog developing an abdominal bloat.

If you do choose to feed your puppy before walking, make sure you wait at least 15 minutes before feeding them on return from your walk.

If your puppy is hot and panting, she needs to calm down before taking in any food. Otherwise, shell gobble her food down and end up with bloat again.

Handy Hint: Heres my guide to feeding dogs before or after exercise, and what the consequences can be if you mess this up.

How much should puppies eat twice a day?

The amount of food you feed your puppy depends on their size and weight. Your dog breed plays a big role in how much your puppy should eat. Some dog breeds are more active than others.

It also depends on whether youre feeding your puppy wet or dry food. The following tips will help you gauge if youre overfeeding or underfeeding your pup:

• Your puppy starts to look a bit chubby. Weigh your puppy regularly. This is easy enough to do. Weigh yourself and then pick up your puppy and weigh both of you together. Find out what is the average weight for your dog breed at different ages and stick to that. Cut down on the quantities when your pup looks chubby or weights more than they should for their age and breed.
• Your puppys ribs are showing: This happens when youre underfeeding your pup. Its fine to feel the ribs but you dont want them sticking out. So, step up the quantities slightly until the ribs are not showing obviously.
• Read the feeding recommendations on the food package. This is the best way to ensure youre giving your dog the right quantity every day. Remember, if the package gives the total quantity per day to split it into two half-meal portions.

Dont let your puppy fool you into thinking shes still hungry after a meal. If your puppy loves to eat, shell try to get you to feed her more with puppy eyes.

This could lead to overfeeding your puppy. Another danger area is begging at the table. You may think your puppy is hungry but in fact, theyre simply hoping to join you in your tasty meal.

Switching from puppy to adult food twice a day

When is the right time to change your pooch from puppy kibble to adult food? Puppy food is full of extra nutrients and calories to meet your puppys growing needs. But as they mature, they need less of the rich stuff.

Handy Hint: Heres the age at which puppies will start to eat solid food and drink water instead of their mothers milk.

Its essential you dont switch your puppy too soon to adult food. Its also just as important you dont keep them on puppy food for too long. This could lead to obesity and other health issues.

Smaller dog breeds mature quicker than larger dog breeds. So, if your little Dachshund is 7 to 10 months old, you can start switching them to adult food.

Large breed dogs should reach 80 pounds before you start switching them to adult food. This can be anywhere between 12 and 16 months.

The switch over from puppy food to adult food should be done gradually. By introducing adult food to your puppys diet over one to two weeks, theyll adjust better and cope with the change with less stress. The gradual process might also help you deal with any problematic begging behavior. If it doesnt heres how to stop your dog begging and barking when you eat.

Once again, follow the feeding guidelines on the dog food package or can to ensure your puppy is getting the right quantities. You can also speak to your vet if youre still unsure about how much to feed your puppy when you move to adult formula.

Conclusion

Your puppy has become firmly part of the family ever since you brought them home at eight weeks old. Its been a joyride, chaotic at times especially when she discovered the pure ecstasy of chewing your favorite shoes.

One of the first items you purchased when you brought your puppy home was her special food bowl. Feeding your puppy correctly may have taken a lot of time researching (and reading articles like this one). You also spent a lot of time actually feeding the hungry pooch.

But there will come a time when you need to switch your puppy to 2 meals a day, and I hope that this guide has helped you make the decision on when that should be.

Other aspects of puppy development

Image in header via https://pixabay.com/photos/golden-retriever-puppy-2706672/

When Do You Stop Feeding a Puppy 3 Times a Day?

Owning a puppy comes with many challenges. I can genuinely compare to having a baby or toddler in your home. They need the same level of care and attention that human babies do and will quickly develop in front of your eyes. One of the most pressing aspects of this development is getting their meal and diet correct.

Of course, you will already be feeding your puppy 3 times a day to aid this development, but there comes a point where you need to transition the puppy from 3 meals to 2. Knowing when to switch puppy to 2 meals a day is important so not to under or overfeed them.

When do you stop feeding puppy 3 times a day? You can stop feeding your puppy 3 times a day and transition to 2 meals typically from 6 months older. At this age most puppies can switch to 2 meals a day but do keep them on puppy up until 12 months old.

Thats a very generic answer Ive given you, but its important to know more as puppies can develop so quickly, and not all puppies are the same either. Theres more detail below which explains when to start feeding a puppy twice a day so you can get it right for your pooch with the correct feeding amounts.

When to stop feeding puppy 3 times a day

Switching your puppy to 2 meals a day typically occurs around 6 months of age. At this point in their development, they have been burning energy and calories like crazy, with a need to be fed 3 times so they can grow properly.

At size months, most (but not all puppies) will start to become less frantic, will use less energy, and therefore you should consider stopping feeding your puppy 3 times a day.

Some people dont though for example, our own dog was very active up until 7 months, so we took the decision to not switch our puppy from 3 meals to 2 until then.

But, when we spoke to our vet, he told us we should have done it at 6 months anyway as he was no longer growing as fast as he was before.

Once your puppy does make the transition from 3 meals to 2, make sure you get advice from your vet or follow the feeding amount guidelines found on the side of commercial dog food. This will mean your puppy gets the right amount of food and nutrients needed for their next phase of development.

When are the best times to feed your puppy?

The most common feeding times for puppies once they have stopped being fed three times a day is once in the morning and once in the late afternoon. Routine is so important at this stage, so I recommend feeding your puppy twice a day in sync with your own breakfast and dinnertime meal providing its not too late.

Most experts will say that the first feeding time could occur at around 7am when you wake up, and then they can have their daily exercise throughout the day. By the time 5pm comes around, the puppy will need the second meal of the day.

Dont leave space between the puppies 2 meals any more than this, as they will become very hungry. You should always leave them a constant water bowl out though.

Handy Hint: Dont take your puppy out as soon as he has finished eating as it can cause them problems. Heres a guide on how long you need to wait after a meal before exercise.

By sticking to these twice daily feeding times, it gives the puppy enough time for food to digest properly in the evening before bedtime. It also means you will have a few hours in which to play more and burn off more excess energy before its sleepy time.

Another benefit to a 5pm feed is it reduces the chances of the puppy peeing and pooping indoors you will hopefully have a few hours within which the food can digest and be pooped out.

And another big tip I can give you once you have stopped feeding your puppy 3 times a day is to not feed meals too late at night. As well as the pooping and peeing situation, it can also reduce restlessness on a full belly of food as they try to sleep or feel they need to burn it off with late night activity.

And with regards to that activity, theres also the aspect I alluded to earlier in my handy hint about when to walk your puppy after a feed. Heres what that entails below.

How soon after feeding can I take my puppy walking?

This is important; do not take your puppy out for a walk as soon as they have finished eating. Whilst that might suit you and your routine, it can cause them health issues, particularly for highly active puppies.

The reason being, is that puppies can develop abdominal bloat or a twisted gut if they run about too soon after a meal. Vets tend to recommend you walk them at least an hour after their meal has been finished.

The opposite is true too, albeit a reduced timeframe. Vets recommend you dont feed a puppy as soon as your return from a walk, but instead wait 15 minutes before one of their twice daily meals after 6 months of age.

Theres a good reason for this too:

If your puppy is hot and panting, she needs to calm down before taking in any food. Otherwise, shell gobble her food down and end up with bloat again.

So now you have the basics out the way regarding when to stop feeding puppy 3 times a day, you need to consider how much food to give them in the two meals.

This will all boil down to how big the puppy is and how much he weighs. The dog breed will also play a huge part in this which is why you will see specific breed foods offered by commercial dog food companies some breeds are more active than others and need more to eat.

Another consideration will be whether your puppy is on a dry or wet food diet. There are some obvious signs to look out for if you are worried about over-feeding your puppy, including.

• Obvious signs of weight gain around the middle section of your dog: To mitigate this, you could regularly weight your puppy. This is quite easy. Step on the scales yourself and note the weight. Then do the same but with your puppy in yours arm. You can then subtract the difference to see your puppys weight.
• You can see your puppys ribs: On the flipside, you could be underfeeding your puppy when you stop feeding them 3 times a day. Dont get me wrong, you should be able to feel them, thats healthy. Its when they stick out you should worry.
• Read the feeding guidance: This is the best way to make sure youre feeding your puppy enough twice a day. The packaging will probably show you the total daily quantity so divide this into two half-meal servings.
• Dont fall for your puppys charms: A begging puppy is hard to ignore, but dont fall for their charms. They will eat whatever is front of them even if they are full up.

Once you have transitioned your puppy from 3 meals to 2, you will need to think about when its the right time to switch them onto adult food.

Puppy food is full of extra nutrients and calories to meet your puppys growing needs. But as they mature, they need less of the rich stuff.

Dont make the switch to adult food too soon and seek advice from your vet. All dog breeds can be different I believe. For example, according to the Doggysaurus website:

Smaller dog breeds mature quicker than larger dog breeds. So, if your little Dachshund is 7 to 10 months old, you can start switching them to adult food. Large breed dogs should reach 80 pounds before you start switching them to adult food. This can be anywhere between 12 and 16 months.

Regardless, any switch to adult dog food should really be a gradual change. I was advised by my vet to introduce adult food into our puppys diet in small amounts over the course of two weeks. This can reduce the chances of an upset stomach and will reduce any possible stress to change they might have.

Conclusion

Time goes so quickly, and before you know it, your puppy will be a young fully grown adult dog rather than that small and helpless puppy you picked from the litter.

Cherish the early days, because it wont be long before you will have to switch your puppy to 2 meals a day instead of 3.

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Image in header via https://pixabay.com/photos/dog-feed-animal-mascot-puppy-pet-2393826/