When To Feed Your Pets?

It’s really important to feed your pet twice a day. Feeding pets at least 2x a day regulates blood sugar, reduces stress and improves digestion. Twice-daily meals can keep your pet's body running on schedule. Your pet's stomach will empty in 6-8 hours. Some pets do best when they have several small meals throughout the day. By feeding smaller and more frequent meals, you can help ease acid stomach and reduce the risk of bloat. Regular mealtimes provide security and may reduce anxious and destructive behavior. It can also help you identify potential health issues, as a change in eating habits can be an early warning sign of illness.

How can you feed more without your pet getting overweight?  Take the daily portion and put into containers so it measured out.  Adding vegetables to meals can also help pets feel more satiated.  Mix in vegetables like squash, pumpkin or green beans along with your pet’s food.

If your pet has acid stomach, feeding a small snack before bedtime can really help.  Many pet owners notice that if their dog eats his last meal around 6 pm and then doesn’t eat again u til the next morning, the dog may vomit bile in the morning.  Some ideas for a small snack would be a little canned or raw food or some raw freeze dried food mixed with water. You can also mix in raw goat milk as that helps to coat the stomach. Giving probiotics mixed into the snack can also help.

3 Easy Weight-Loss Tips For Pets

1) Add More Protein When a pet is constantly begging, it could be that they are not getting enough protein.  Think about it---when you eat too many carbohydrates--what happens?---you crave more carbs.  While dogs and cats are natural scavengers, some pets seem to be ravenous.  Check the ingredients on your pet's food label.  There may be too many carbohydrates in the form of grains, potatoes or peas. Carbohydrates are heavily used EVEN IN GRAIN-FREE DIETS to keep manufacturing costs down.  If your pet does not have a medical need for a reduced protein diet, switch to a high protein, raw or canned diet.  You will need to reduce the overall amount of food you were giving previously as pet foods with fillers often recommend much larger quantities.

2)   Carefully Measure Food Amounts— “Guesstimating” how much is in a cup can lead to obesity.  Many scoops are actually two cups not one. 


3) Feed At Least Two or Three Smaller Meals-Small meals regulate your pet's blood sugar and improve digestion.  We do not recommend FREE feeding.  This is a common practice especially in multi-cat households because some pets end up overeating while others undereat. Use a small amount of pumpkin or add some green vegetables to help your pet feel more satiated.