I have a pug and a KC spaniel puppy, both 9 months, they are currently having Orijen on a morning, followed by science plan lunch time and tea time they have JWB or Natures Diet

I only give them small meals but I have been told I should be giving them 2 meals a day now, however would it matter if I continued to feed them 3 smaller meals?

I don;t leave the bowls down, they eat it up and then the bowls are removed

What do you guys think?

I would be feeding pups that age 2 meals per day.................but may I ask? Why are you feeding 3 different brands throughout the day?

Ditto, at 9 months they should now be on two larger meals a day.

The reason that we give 3-4 smalls meals a day when pups are younger is because their tums can only take so much food at a time. As they grow their tummy stretches too, so they can fit more in and this is why we can now give two larger portions a day instead. A dog likes to feel full, so giving the small portions to a dog at full growth will leave it feeling hungry.

So increase the food meaning you can decrease the number of times it needs to be given. :-)

Two meals aday at that age is ideal but as Jolene mentioned, why 3 types of food? Best to use one and stick to it. :-)

> Best to use one and stick to it.

I don't see any problem with feeding different foods if that's what the OP wants to do. Variety, after all, is the spice of life.

Cant agree with that, but each to their own.:-)

> I don't see any problem with feeding different foods if that's what the OP wants to do. Variety, after all, is the spice of life.

I sort of agree with you on variety but I'd get mine from adding things to a single brand, a little touch here and a little touch there.

Shopping for a dog in 3 varieties of food would drive me nuts in the long run.

Whatever though, I'd say to OP twice a day and a slightly larger meal.

I'd also be feeding 2 meals by now.

If the OP is happy feeding 3 varieties of food, which are all completes, I can see no problem mixing between them. Like you Pinky, I add things to a single brand and it would drive me mad shopping for 3 lots of food, but it certainly won't do the dogs any harm.

I believe it is better to give the dogs variety in the diet, purely because they can have sensitive tums if they are not used to variety, so that when a change does come about it can cause upsets.
Karen

I believe it is better to give the dogs variety in the diet, purely because they can have sensitive tums if they are not used to variety, so that when a change does come about it can cause upsets.
Two larger meals a day for me too.
Karen

Two meals for me too Karen, and I also feed more than one complete brand.  Mixed with the meat of the day.

I couldn't be bothered with shopping around, I like mine delivered!

Hi I feed 3 different brand to give my dogs variation. Orijen is high in protein and they are only small dogs so I don;t want to give them 2 meals of that a day as i've heard it can cause problems with their kidneys?

I also thought it would be nice to give them variation so they don't get used to eating the same boring food everyday

I think this is one of those myths that has been around for years.

From the Champion Petfood website:
Q. PROTEIN LEVELS - Does higher dietary protein stress the kidneys?
 
A. No. There is no study in science to show a higher protein diet has any negative effect on the kidneys of dogs or cats. In fact, scientific studies show quite the opposite; dogs with poor kidney functions or dogs that had only one kidney showed improved health on higher protein diets.

For more info on Orijen see the Q and A page on http://www.championpetfoods.com/faq/

There is protein and protein, not all protein in dog food is readily available to the dog. Agree 2 meals a day and think one type of food would be best but can see no reason to say there is a problem in feeding different foods. Try changing one of the meals to a meaty bone, removed after say half an hour and placed in a plastic bag into the fridge for tomorrow.

Thank you, feel more at ease now that I know the protein levels are ok for my small boys

Thank god there a sites like this for amateurs like me to come on