Biotic's Gain

For a healthy adult dog, the hour on the clock matters far less than whether meals arrive at roughly predictable points in the day. A dog fed on a settled rhythm learns when food is coming, turns up hungry, and is much less inclined to hold out for something better. What causes trouble is not being half an hour late — it is a routine that keeps moving: meals at random times, a bowl left down all day, a top-up whenever it gets ignored. Puppies, very small breeds, older dogs, underweight dogs and any dog fed on veterinary advice are the exceptions to everything below, and their schedule should come from the vet.

Earlier in this series we looked at whether fussiness is learned and at what a dog responds to in the bowl. This one is about the structure around it — when food appears, how often, and where.

What a routine actually does

Dogs do not read clocks, but they read sequences very well. The kettle going on, the lead coming off the hook, a cupboard door at a particular point in the evening — a household that runs to a pattern hands a dog a reliable set of cues. A dog who knows food follows the evening walk stops asking all afternoon, because the question has been answered.

There is a physical side too. A digestive system fed at broadly the same times settles into a rhythm, and appetite arrives on cue rather than at random. That is the real value of a routine — not discipline, but a dog who is genuinely hungry when the bowl goes down.

Set meals, or food left down all day

Leaving a bowl down and topping it up — free feeding — is the usual arrangement in homes with a picky dog, and it usually makes things worse. You cannot tell how much has been eaten, or when. Dry food left in a warm room loses its aroma as the fat coating oxidises, which is why a dog who liked the bag a fortnight ago walks past it. In a multi-dog house the confident eater takes the lot. And a dog who can eat at any time is never properly hungry.

Set meals fix most of that, and the method is dull. Put the food down, leave it fifteen or twenty minutes, then lift what is left without comment, without a top-up and without an alternative. Put the next meal down at the usual time. Most healthy adult dogs adjust within days — nothing about it is a punishment, and the food is coming back shortly.

The limits matter more than the method. Puppies, very small breeds, elderly dogs, underweight dogs and any dog on a medically managed diet must not be left to go hungry to make a point — their schedule is a question for your vet.

How many meals a day

Twice a day is the usual arrangement for an adult dog in the UK: morning and early evening, roughly twelve hours apart. Some are fed once and do perfectly well. Puppies need more frequent, smaller meals, and the number comes down as they grow — your vet or the pack guide has the figure for the age you are at.

The number matters less than two other things. First, the day’s total is the day’s total: two meals means splitting the daily amount, not serving it twice. Second, consistency. Twice on weekdays and once at the weekend, or eight one day and eleven the next, gives a dog nothing to anticipate — and an unanticipated meal gets picked at.

Where the bowl sits, and who else is in the room

Location seems trivial and is not. Eating leaves a dog head-down and unable to watch the room, so most eat better somewhere settled: a corner rather than a doorway, off the main path through the kitchen, away from the washing machine and the bin. A bowl in a thoroughfare produces a dog who takes a mouthful, looks up, takes another and wanders off — which reads as disinterest and is not.

• Feed multiple dogs apart, far enough that neither eats with one eye on the other. Competition speeds one dog up and puts the other off entirely.
• Check the footing. A bowl on tiles slides, and an older dog whose back legs are less certain avoids a surface that moves. A non-slip mat costs very little.
• Look at the bowl itself. Some dogs eat more readily from a wide, shallow dish than a deep narrow one.
• Wash it properly. Old fat residue on plastic goes rancid and taints whatever is poured on top — wash bowls like plates, not rinse them.
• Keep water separate and always available, particularly on a dry diet.

Fitting meals around walks, work and the rest of the house

Anchor mealtimes to fixed points in your own day rather than numbers on a clock. “After the morning walk” and “once the tea things are cleared” are easier to keep to than 07:30 and 18:00, and give a dog a sequence to read.

It is common advice to leave a gap between a large meal and vigorous exercise, in both directions. How long, and how much it matters for your dog, depends on breed, size and build — ask your vet what suits yours rather than picking a number off the internet. Where there is no rush: walk first, settle, then feed.

Shift work does not rule a routine out: keep the gap between meals roughly even rather than the times identical, and have whoever is home do the same thing in the same order. For kennels and travelling, send the usual food in the usual quantities.

What else goes in during the day

A tidy mealtime routine achieves nothing if the gaps between meals get filled in. Treats are generally suggested to stay within about a tenth of a dog’s daily intake, and that allowance goes faster than people expect — a 10kg dog needs around 500 to 600 kcal a day in total, so a couple of biscuits and a corner of toast is a real proportion of it. Several people each handing something over independently is the usual way a dog stops needing their dinner; the arithmetic is in Is My Dog a Fussy Eater, or Have We Made Them One?.

Where a supplement fits in the routine

Biotic’s Gain 25-in-1 Multivitamin Soft Chews are a complementary feed, not a food and not a medicine. A complementary feed is given alongside a complete and balanced diet rather than instead of one, and cannot claim to treat, prevent or cure anything — including a poor appetite. A pack holds 120 soft chews and lasts roughly four months depending on the dog’s size, fed to the guide on the pack.

They come up here because routines are what make a daily chew get given at all. Attaching it to something fixed — the morning meal, the lead going back on the hook — is the difference between a pack that gets used and one that sits in the cupboard. Count it into the day’s treat allowance.

When a change in appetite needs a vet

All of the above assumes a well dog with an opinion about dinner. Book an appointment, rather than changing the schedule, if your dog:

• has eaten nothing at all for 24 hours, or noticeably less for several days running
• normally eats well and has suddenly stopped
• comes to the bowl keenly then backs away, drops food, chews on one side or paws at their mouth
• is losing weight, or their energy, coat or toileting has changed alongside the appetite
• is being sick, straining, restless or bloated after eating
• is a puppy, a very small breed, elderly, underweight or on a medically managed diet

Speak to your vet before adding any supplement to your dog’s routine, particularly if they are on medication, pregnant or being treated for anything. A change in appetite is one of the earliest signals a dog gives that something is wrong, and it deserves a professional opinion before it deserves a new schedule.

More on mealtimes and picky dogs on our fussy eater guide.

Biotic’s Gain chews are a complementary feed for dogs, not a medicine, and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any condition. Feed alongside a complete and balanced diet and follow the feeding guide on the pack. If your dog is unwell, pregnant, on medication or under veterinary care, speak to your vet before adding any supplement.