So recently I've started to feed my dogs twice a day instead of my usual one big feeding at night. One thing I noticed is that reducing the amount of food at dinner (a result of spreading the amount in two servings), they act like they are not full after dinner.

I can hear the bowls banging against the crate/wall from excessive licking of the meat in the little corners, they lick the floor where the food touched the ground (they both sort through the bowl to get to the good stuff first), then they come upstairs and snort the carpet looking for anything that comes remotely close to food, like crumbs, etc ( and I'm skipping the stares which i suspect them trying to figure out if I fit in their belly )

Is there any tips and tricks (maybe some food low in calorie but that is a filler...i read green beans somewhere) that could help with that, or they will adapt after a while?

thanks

Edited by Mike Bellemare (01/29/2010 12:01 PM)
Edit reason: typo

They should adapt.

I have used green beans for Turbo during a course of Pred. where he was having some SERIOUS hunger side effects. They worked great for that.:smile:

 Quote: mike bellemare

I can hear the bowls banging against the crate/wall from excessive licking of the meat in the little corners, they lick the floor where the food touched the ground (they both sort through the bowl to get to the good stuff first), then they come upstairs and snort the carpet looking for anything that comes remotely close to food, like crumbs, etc ( and I'm skipping the stares which i suspect them trying to figure out if I fit in their belly )

My dog has always done this, but I attribute it to him just being a total pig - I know he's not starving!

Why did you switch to 2 feedings per day?
What did your dogs used to do after their single, big feeding?

If you're still feeding the same amount of food every day, just split between 2 meals, I wouldn't worry about this behavior, which is likely just an adjustment period.

*Green beans are great - I also use shredded zucchini (it's a regular part of Oscar's meals, but you could add more for "filler"... it's similarly low cal).

~Natalya

My dogs go through spurts (usually in the winter months) where they decided they are going to act like pigs and are still hungry after they just ate.

We always up their food a little bit in the winter or the huskies get too skinny.

So if they are still searching around after their meal, I will give them one of those "too huge for human consumption" carrots. I keep them in the freezer and just cut the tops off and give it to the dogs as a filling treat.

Not everyday but 2-3 times a week. It seems to have worked thus far!

after the large once a day feeding, they only had the...its hard to describe...they were (and still are) super animated, especially my younger (intact) male...very aroused with the tail waggling stiff and on a regular rhythm (usually means he's looking for trouble, from my observations) They do seem to go a little less nuts with a smaller meal

I'm still feeding the same amount, maybe a little more (but body composition stayed pretty much the same though).

I switched to 2 feedings a day after reading an extensive thread here on the pros and cons of the approach, but mostly because when the meal was bigger, they seemed to be really fragile on the bone to meat ratio... i.e. didnt take a big "more meaty than usual" chicken back to soften up the poo considerably. Since they are on two feedings, it seems better (they go out for that twice but in lesser amounts and 90% of the time it's "good poo quality")

they are definitely not starving, and they are major pigs too...often walking around with 4 inches of drool on each side of the mouth when it smells like food in the house. very charming.

grand, i'll try the frozen carrot trick.

I tried pig ribs to keep them busy once in a while but it's just really adding more meat to the diet, which i want to steer clear of.

i guess an occasional marrow bone would work too for "once in a while" but one of the crack them in two, and although the teeth are fine as he's pretty young, its an accident waiting to happen i'm sure!

will try carrots and zucchini and beans...
thanks!

 Quote: Michael_Wise

They should adapt.

I have used green beans for Turbo during a course of Pred. where he was having some SERIOUS hunger side effects. They worked great for that.:smile:

steamed green beans right? or raw

 Quote: Mike Bellemare

 Quote: Michael_Wise

They should adapt.

I have used green beans for Turbo during a course of Pred. where he was having some SERIOUS hunger side effects. They worked great for that.:smile:

steamed green beans right? or raw

No salt, straight from the can is what we did.

thanks will try that

I am such a fan of no-salt-added canned green beans as well as French-cut frozen (frozen vegs are blanched, or briefly cooked, and French cut means slivered the long way, which breaks that cellulose wall nicely) for a low-cal "extra" when one is needed. Both are amazingly cheap.

The dogs love not just the canned beans, but also the liquid in the cans.*

I use them to fluff up the bowl of an overweight dog when someone asks me how to reduce the horror and dismay on the dog's face when he sees his new reduced rations.

Very few calories, hard to wolf down in one gulp, and cheap. Hard to beat that!


*PS

With mine, canned green beans even make their way into the marker rewards mixed bags. They really do like them. lol


Edited by Connie Sutherland (01/29/2010 01:09 PM)
Edit reason: PS