In a way, it is Rossi gal, who "decides" she wants 1 meal instead of 2. I notice that she don't really have much of an appetite in the morning. She would still eat her breakfast when I feed her, but she would eat it kinda hesitantly. Then when it comes to dinner, she would anticipate her food and eat it up heartily, without hesitation.
Anyway, I have always observed that her appetite is much better after an exercise session (play or walk) & during the evening at dinner time, as compared to the morning. A reason why I hesitated to switch her to one meal all this while, is cos I'm afraid she would feel hungry during the day when daddy & I are at work. Therefore, since her kibble & homecook days to her current raw diet, I have been sticking to 2 meals a day.
I have read in various raw sites that it is recommended to feed 1 meal a day, though feeding 2 meals is fine too. Reasons for feeding 1 meal include; provides the opportunity to give a bigger & more challenging meal, provides the furkid with a more satisfying & "fuller" meal, easier to control food intake & *convenience. I do agree with them.
The thought of giving her 1 meal a day has always been at the back of my mind. As I continue to observe her having a lesser appetite in the morning, I decide to change her to 1 meal.
Till date, Rossi gal has been on 1 meal for a week. Her body is still in the midst of adjusting to having a meal a day, which is expected when there are changes in the diet, especially knowing that she is the sensitive type.
Based on what I observed during this one week, I do feel that that 1 full meal works better for her than 2 smaller meals. She has this satisfied look after her meal, an expression I dun really see when she was on 2 meals.
My usual practice every morning, is to leave a bowl of treats for her before I go off to work. For now, I increased the amount of treats for her, as she adjusts to the change to 1 meal. (Other than the amount shown in the bowl, I do give her abit more by hand. More treats needed during this time, which means more work for the dehydrator. LOL.)
Then I also take note not to give her too much in one meal at this transition stage. I would eventually work up to the desired quantity I wanna feed her. At the same time, I also feed her a higher/heavier bone content to help in her transition to 1 meal.
There are different ways to transit from 2 to 1 meal. For example, a way is by decreasing the amount of food fed in the morning, while increasing the amount fed at night. Another way is by feeding 2 meals closer to each other then eventually becoming 1 meal (read it somewhere, but not sure how its exactly done). One more way is by switching cold turkey.
My way trends towards cold turkey. Some might not agree with how I do it, like the giving of treats or going cold turkey, but that's my choice. Well, I must say I really hate to be questioned for my choices or my way of doing things.
Feeding one meal a day enables me to feed a big meal like this:
This whole leg is much bigger than as shown in the picture. After she finished this meal, she looked so satisfied & dozed off shortly. ^^
*No doubt feeding 1 meal a day is convenient, but convenience is never a reason for my wanting to change her to 1 meal. No matter how busy I am in the morning, rushing for work or wat, I will make sure I prepare the meal for her before going to work & I have been doing so from day 1 till now. Even when she was on homecook, I wake up earlier just to re-heat her food & feed her in the morning before going to work. I do not make excuses like I gota rush for work or it's too rushing for me to prepare her food in the morning. At times, when I really need to go out at night & daddy is not able to come home in time to feed her, I will go back home just to give her dinner & go out again for my appointment thereafter. I believe it is a matter of whether the pawrent/owner is willing to make the effort for the furkid.
Signing off with a cutie pic of my darling. :P
No comments:
Post a Comment