An adult dog should eat at least twice a day, and a puppy three or four times. That's what vets recommend, and there are two cases where it's worth spreading meals out even more: large, deep-chested dogs and dogs that wolf their food.
How many times a day does an adult dog eat?
A healthy adult dog does well on two feeds a day, one in the morning and one in the evening. Some dogs get by on a single meal a day, but two feeds spread hunger better across the day and make it easier to notice straight away if the dog doesn't eat one day.
Splitting doesn't change the total amount: the day's serving is divided between the feeds. If your dog eats 500 grams a day, over two feeds that's 250 grams each time, and over four feeds, 125 grams.
The daily serving depends on the dog's weight and the dry food, and you'll find it worked out in the table of how much dry food a large dog eats a day.
How many times a day does a puppy eat?
A puppy eats better in three or four feeds a day. It grows fast, needs a lot of energy for its size and has a small stomach, so the whole serving won't fit into one or two meals.
Leaving a puppy's food out free choice, with the bowl always full, isn't a good idea. Vets link it to obesity from a young age, binge eating and bone and joint problems.
When to go from three feeds to two, and how much to give at each stage, is for the vet to decide at the puppy's check-ups, because it depends a lot on the breed and the weight it will reach as an adult.
How many times a day does an older dog eat?
An older dog usually needs a little less energy than it did as an adult, and many older dogs eat better with the same serving split into smaller feeds. Veterinary nutritionists suggest dividing the day's amount into two, three or four feeds, depending on each household's routine.
If your older dog loses its appetite or suddenly changes the way it eats, it's best to tell the vet before changing the serving.
Why should a large dog's food be split into several feeds?
Because of bloat and stomach torsion, a serious emergency that mainly affects large, deep-chested dogs such as the Great Dane, German shepherd, Weimaraner, Irish setter or St Bernard. The risk factors listed in veterinary manuals include eating only once a day and eating very fast.
For those breeds, the veterinary recommendation is to give several small feeds instead of one large meal, avoid exercise right before and right after eating, and let the dog eat in peace. If your dog is an at-risk breed, ask your vet: there are preventive measures, such as a minor operation called gastropexy, that only the vet can assess.
If your dog hunts or works, what to do about meals on hard-working days is covered in the post on how to feed a hunting dog.
What do I do if my dog eats too fast?
A dog that wolfs its food can regurgitate it and end up not feeling full, and in large breeds eating fast is also one of the risk factors for stomach torsion. Vets suggest three simple solutions:
- Split the serving into more, smaller feeds. With less food in front of it each time, the dog can't gulp down the whole serving in one go.
- Use a toy that releases the food bit by bit. The dog has to move it about to get the kibble out, and the meal lasts longer.
- Use a programmed feeder. A timed feeder releases part of the daily serving at intervals, several times a day.
If the dog is hungry all the time or suddenly starts wolfing its food from one day to the next, have the vet see it before you change anything, in case there's a health problem behind it.
How many feeds a day can you set on an automatic feeder?
A Producan automatic dog feeder can be set to up to 30 feeds a day, so it works just as well for a dog that eats in two feeds as for one that eats in six. The kibble falls by its own weight thanks to a patented dispensing mechanism, with no auger, which is why it doesn't jam with large-breed kibble.
What a Producan doesn't do is weigh the dry food: it dispenses by opening time, not exact grams. For the first few days it's worth catching what comes out in one feed, weighing it on kitchen scales and adjusting the settings until the serving is right.
If you're comparing it with other systems, the differences are explained in the guide to choosing an automatic dog feeder.
For a dog that eats in a yard, a garden or on a smallholding with a socket nearby, the Producan P1 feeder, on 220 V, is the right model.