Sometimes being the third dog in the family has advantages. When we sprang ahead this spring, we decided that Poppy's meals would stay on Eastern Standard Time. She usually started the day with breakfast at 8 am, we just moved this to 9 am. In the fall, we'll go back to 8 am.
If Poppy (above) wakes at dawn, Penny will give her a tiny snack to keep her empty tummy from causing the morning upsets that Westies are known to have. (They vomit yellow bile.) She also gets a small snack before bed to keep this issue under control.
We feed her 3 times a day with meals and snacks spaced out evenly. We find that helps keep both her hunger and her weight under control. Ed weighs her every week and we adjust the amount of food we give her if she is gaining or losing weight.
Maggie (above, on vacation in Maine) used to protest time changes. She would get up early in the fall and pester us for her meals on her normal (DST) schedule. Now that we are both freelancers, it's easier to simply let our dog stay on the same time frame year round.
Sassy, our first Westie girl (above, on vacation on Martha's Vineyard), was a total food brat and would ask for food all day everyday. We quickly learned to measure out her food for the day and put her daily ration in a jar because she could convince either of us that someone had forgotten to feed her.
Do you feed your dog on a set schedule? How many times a day do you feed? And, how often do you weigh your dog?
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Words: Penny Cherubino
Photography: © 2008-2014 Ed Cherubino (Sassy's photo was a gift from a fan of hers.)