The Toy Poodle Forum

[Alison Ed]

My poodle is now 18 months old and seems only to want to eat once a day - is this normal? We have been in the habit of feeding her and our two cats twice daily but increasingly the dog is leaving her food until about lunchtime or later, when the cats start to eat it!
Should I continue doing what I have been doing recently, which is offer her dried food constantly but only give her wet food once a day?
I have been trying to ease her across to eating more dried food, for teeth and general benefits but I am also finding that her rear end often gets clagged up with dried food, which she hates me trying to remove!!
Any advice much appreciated!
Many thanks

[DL]

Be sure that you aren't offering too much food at a time, small dogs don't need much to eat once they become adults.

I feed twice daily. Set it down and what isn't finished within 15 minutes gets picked up and then the don't have food until next time. They will eat what they need.

Dry food does nothing for cleaning dogs teeth. Our teeth don't get clean just because we eat something hard and crunchy which is why we brush!

Check out www.dogaware.com for food ideas.

Dawn, Spike and Maggie

[Virangos]

Feeding like DL does is a good idea, Un like my golden which would eat all day if you let her, These little ones only eat a little and leave the rest. I fill the bowles in the morning and usually don't have to touch them for a couple days, Mine graze through out the day, but not much.
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dog's Are a Gift Most of Us Don't Deserve!


Dogs' lives are too short. Their only fault, really.

[Alison Ed]

Thanks for this DL - I've had a look at the site but as I am in the UK none of the foods mentioned are brands I recognise from over here.
I will try the removing idea - in fact I did that today and only when I heard her eating some dried food did I put the canned back down for her and she ate it all (it was only half a small sized can so not a lot - she weighs 6 lbs)
I don't like to leave fresh food down as Virangos suggested, as our two cats (18lbs each!) will stroll past and eat the lot! They rarely eat Crystal's supply of dry food though.
Maybe I'll try giving her less in the morning and a larger meal later on....

[Foxy Lady]

You know, I actually just leave dry food out at all times for my two girls and it has always worked great. They never overeat and are both at the perfect weight. I know you're not "supposed" to use this feeding method, but it works best for us so we're sticking to it!
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Check out my new baby blog: http://dearbabycook.blogspot.com

[Sasha]

I always leave dry food down, my 3 never really sit and "eat" except when I put down cooked food. Its all consumed within 5 minutes by the 3 of them but dry kibble I leave in place. The cooked food is mid-day and just once a day.
Oh and there are human foods that clean our teeth. Most famous for it is apples but carrots and other firmer foods do also, one of the few nutrition things I remember from nursing school except for the special diets lol. They are so correct that you lose what you don't use
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I wonder if other dogs think poodles are members of a weird religious cult. -Rita Rudner

We give dogs time we can spare, space we can spare and love we can spare. And in return, dogs give us their all. It's the best deal man has ever made. -M. Acklam

[Alison Ed]

Thanks for this everyone - I will continue leaving kibble in her bowl (and remember to remove it when we go out to stop cats eating it) and feed her once a day for the time being as that seems to be what she wants. Maybe she is also getting bored with her cans of Cesar - there is only one flavour generally available here. I think I'll start giving her more fresh meat - she certainly seems to like that best!

[Georgiapeach]

I feed Fonzie 3/4 c. daily split between 2 feedings. He is more than happy to eat, er, wolf down food, at each feeding, thanks to the example set by my elderly lab! If I feed him more, he'll eat it and get "plump".
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Beth, mom to Fonzie, cream poodle (1.5 years)

[poodlemama]

My guys eat once a day. If I put too much food in bowl they will leave the leftover. They know what they need and will stop when full.
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Omar 13, Maggie 8, Nicholas 6, Penelope 1 (RIP Lila)

[lorie]

MIngo's greatest ambition in life would be to grow her belly right down to the ground if I let her.
She gets about two ounces of raw in the am and kibble at night.
She scarfs up her raw and eats her kibble one at a time.