# When's a good time to stop feeding your pup three meals a day?



## Oreo55 (May 22, 2007)

I'm so sorry if there's already another thread like this! :redface: 

Hello, everyone! I was wondering, when is a good time to stop feeding your puppy three meals a day? I looked this up on the internet and found different results; one person said 6 months, another said 14 weeks. Oreo eats three meals a day, but he usually only eats a few bites of one of those meals, most of often lunch. He's 9 weeks old.

Thank you for your help!


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## Havtahava (Aug 20, 2006)

9 weeks is pretty young. I'd wait until Oreo is consistently only eating twice a day on his own.


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## SHOWDOWN (Dec 17, 2006)

i would say at one year old


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## Rita (Jan 1, 2007)

Havtahava said:


> 9 weeks is pretty young. I'd wait until Oreo is consistently only eating twice a day on his own.


I agree with Kimberly. And it really depends on the dog and how you feed them. Some people leave the food out all the time and it works great for them. Others only have set meals and it works great.

Houston was the same way as your dog. He would pick at every meal when given three times a day and then he started picking up one piece of food and taking it some where else to eat it. At twelve weeks (I got him when he was 10 weeks) I started giving him breakfast and would leave it out for a maximum of an hour. Then I feed him at 5 PM and only left that out an hour. His eating changed. It was like a new dog!!!!!!! Now he devours every meal.


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## juliav (Nov 21, 2006)

I switched Bugsy at around 9.5 or 10 months of age before that time all three of my dogs were fed 3 times a day.


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## Oreo55 (May 22, 2007)

Thank you for your replies, everyone.  The thing is, Oreo seems pretty uninterested in food (unless, of course, they're treats ), and he doesn't always eat his food before I take it away (I don't leave the food out for a while because he's so young and I want him to poop at consistent time after each meal). But he's a puppy, so shouldn't he be going through a growth spurt and want to eat a lot? 

I'll wait and see when he seems ready to eat twice day. Thanks again for the help!


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## dotndani (Mar 19, 2007)

Duncan at 3 months still eats 3 times a day.If I switched him to twice a day I think he would be starving.
My vet said at 6months we can switch to 2 feedings a day.Hope this helps!!
Dot


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## irnfit (Nov 21, 2006)

I think your dog lets you know. Mine both slowed down at about 5 mos and now they eat 2x a day. Dry food is left out all day, because they don't snack alot. They only get treats (in a Kong) when I get home from work in the afternoon at about 1pm. It keeps them busy while I am getting the mail, doing laundry, etc.


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## Rita (Jan 1, 2007)

Houston was the same way. In fact he ate hardly anything when he came home. The breeder sent him home with food and he didn't seem to like it. I added beef or chicken broth and mixed some wet dog food with it (some people suggest baby food). Then I switched to Purina Pro Plan for puppies and he gobbled it up (sometimes just dry). So, maybe he just needs something different. Don't forget if you do switch you make a gradual change. Mix it in slowly. I think there is a thread out there some where about what dog food and dogs not eating.

http://www.havaneseforum.com/showthread.php?t=714&highlight=Food

http://www.havaneseforum.com/showthread.php?t=208&highlight=food

http://www.havaneseforum.com/showthread.php?t=519&highlight=food

http://www.havaneseforum.com/showthread.php?t=517&highlight=food

And by the way, if you didn't notice from the above threads, Havs can be picking eaters. Welcome to the Hav club. LOL


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## gelbergirl (Jun 9, 2007)

i fed the 3 meals a day until just about 6 mo. They don't always eat, but it is offered, remember they are growing and have different energy levels at different time of day.

Now I do the 2 meals a day to help with his energy level.

I feed Life's Abundance, with peas or something mixed in like chicken broth, hot dog broth or even a small amount of hot dog.


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## Cosmosmom (Jan 12, 2007)

I stopped feeding Cosmo three times a day at about 6 months . He was not a good eater when he was a young puppy . It was frustrating and hard .. 
The vet I go to was very strict - no food left out for grazing . Asta was a grazer and it worked OK but this vet said No way . He has 15 minutes to eat and then pick up the bowl . I tried so many formulas of food and threw so much of it out .
Now he is a good eater - .. Another gobbler .. Ahnold his buddy eats well but he does not have the gobbling gene . I feed twice a day - it does help make the poop times a little more predictable but it is still not ideal .. 
I will continue to feed twice a day and just adjust portions if they gain too much weight . Right now they seem to be happy and doing well ..


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