BIG meals

I have read about people giving big meals and then fasting their dogs for a couple of days - anyone on here tried it?

reason I am asking is I got a turkey leg really cheep today - it is cut in 1/2 and thats about as little as I can make it - but each 1/2 is about 4 days worth of food for my little guys

I doubt they will eat it all in one go but just wondered if anyone else has experience of this?
Do I let them eat their fill and then give it back in a day or so
Do I take it away when they have eaten a days worth or so?
If they eat the whole thing do I really give them nothing for 4 days?

I personally wouldn't do the feast/fast method. There are studies shown that starving an animal can lengthen its lifespan and it's been debated in the fancy rat world (as obviously the studies were done on rats so very applicable to pet rats) but the general consensus was that short-term, it would result in hungry, unhappy rats - no point extending life if they're going to spend half of it starving hungry!
My dogs are used to a routine and start to get antsy if dinner is more than a couple of hours late (they're used to some flexibility as dinner depends on walks which depends on weather, traffic, other plans, etc) so I would dread to think what they're like if I was to not feed them for 4 days, even after a huge meal! The most I'll go is skipping dinner if they've had half a rabbit each for "brunch" (I purposely tend to feed that a little later in the day)

how small are ur guys

couple of mine naturally fast if they've gorged the day before.

personally i would let them eat their 'quota' then pop the rest back in the freezer for tomorrow.

You could try letting them eat the big meal and then feeding something light, like maybe just a stripped bone or some veg so that they arent starving but arent getting too much food neither.

I don't fast my dogs because I am usually training or competing my dogs daily unlike in the wild where, if the dogs gorge they just lay around for a few days before they go hunting again!

My dogs would not get particularly worried about missing a meal as they often do in terms of "freebie in a bowl" but get fed whilst training and they are fed at all sorts of times of day anyway in order that they do not become slaves to routine.

I believe too much routine can be harmful as dogs stress out if something is different, so they eat when they eat!

A turkey leg is a normal meal for my two, a bigger meal for one and a smaller one for another. (they usually weigh about 750g.


If you think about it, if they are full they cannot be starving...................... so missing a meal aint going to be an issue!

lol they are each around 10Kg and get 200 - 300g food a day
Which restricts us to pretty small things I really just want to see them with something they really have to attack

Thanks everyone, I think I will see what they do - and if needs be then give them small meals for the rest of the week not something I am gonna try often

I bet I do all this worrying and they decide they dont fancy it or something

wow, four days is a bit long

If they have eaten plenty and are not fussed on eating the next day then I wouldnt worry too much and that is perhaps a 'natural fast' but I wouldnt fast my dog for four days. You will perhaps find they will eat loads the first night, it goes into the freezer and they dont eat quite so much the next day....half a turkey leg lasting four days though, are they small like Pom's or something? (sorry just thought yours were bigger) Some dogs just dont need to eat that much in a day though so compared to Loui its maybe just hard for me to comprehend

Edit; haha just seen your post above
10kg's, I honestly thought they looked bigger in photos lol One of my cats is almost that weight and yeah, I think half a turkey leg would last a long time for him

hehe yes I always think they are bigger than they are - till I see them with another person and I realise they are mini collies

Well worry over, they ate a sensible amount and then got bored - although Mia is looking offended that I wraped her bit up and put it away - I am sure she had plans for surprising me going to bed tonigh!

haha, glad they enjoyed their meal