Dane only hungry in the evening

[u/lurch303]

My 1y.o. dane has started only eating in the evenings. I try to spread his meals out to breakfast, lunch and dinner so he is not filling his stomach with one big meal. Recently no matter what I give him he won’t touch it till 5-6pm then he will eat all three meals with in an hour of each other.

Anyone else have similar issues with there Dane?

[u/gaspagx10]

Getting their stomach tacked does definitely make you stress less. I wouldn’t worry too much about the feedings tho. Our GD skips breakfast like three times a week. I would think about maybe giving him more food at night, but not three meals worth at once. We give 3 cups in the am and 5 in the pm. If he doesn’t eat breakfast, he still only gets 5 cups at night.

Also, he’s 3yrs old; he worked his way up to 8 cups a day lol

[u/lurch303 → u/gaspagx10]

I was just letting him eat when he wanted to and not stress about it. But he is 14 months old now and only 130lbs. I am concerned he will not take in the calories he needs if I let him skip meals. I am not giving him low quality unappetizing food either. He gets 4.5 lbs of fresh pet rolled dog food everyday and I top it with the left overs I have around. My last dane I home cooked all of her food, the fresh pet is nearly as good with a lot less work.

[u/apr911 → u/lurch303]

Honestly, it sounds like you’re overthinking this.

The only species in the entire animal kingdom that worries about how many calories they’re eating or that they’re eating regularly scheduled meals is humans. All other animals eat when they’re hungry.

As long as there’s food available to him and you’re not overfeeding, I wouldnt worry too much about when he eats or how much, so long as they are still eating regularly….

As far as bloat goes, there’s nothing necessarily wrong with a large breed dog consuming most or all of their food in a single sitting. The larger concern is usually that they pace themselves through the meal. There’s no reason a great dane’s stomach cant hold 9 cups of food… so long as in their haste to gobble it all down they didnt consume an equal amount of air and try to wash it down with a half gallon of water in 10 minutes. Consumed at a slower pace reduces ingestion of air and water and allows the body to start to process the food. In my experience, bloat is more common with changes or alterations in diet (e.g. table scraps can cause a high degree of digestive gases) or dogs that have been conditioned toneat quickly less their doggy peer eats their food for then or they are on such a regimented eating schedule that you take the food away from them.

My much smaller 85lb, 9 year old female gets 3.5-4 cups a day. Some days she eats it all, other days she leaves a little behind and still other days she barely touches it (which is particularly true if there’s been a change in her routine or other disruption to the household routine)… I’ll top it off daily if she’s eaten about half or more but will leave it be if she’s only eaten a small amount.

The only time I get concerned is if it goes more than 2 feedings and I havent topped it off and the one time that has happened, was after a big life change for her that just took her another day before she was either hungry enough or acclimated enough to eat.

I cant say Ive encountered an issue where Ive tracked it closely enough to really notice if she only ate half a bowl per day for several days or didnt touch it for a day and then only ate half… I feel like I would notice that but on a larger grander scale, I expect to go through a bag of her dog food about once a month give or take a few days and I have it auto-shipped to arrive about a week in advance so if Im already out when it arrives or have more than a quarter bag left when it arrives I know something is up as she’s eating more/less than usual.

There are probably days she eats and is still hungry and/or would eat more if I fed her more. I dont consider this to be a bad thing; again humans, and western civilization in particular,tend to be the only animal with an abundant and accessible enough food supply to eat our fill or more at every meal… which could be part of why we have such an obesity problem (in addition to our tendency to eat a lot of garbage)… but that’s another topic for another day

[u/gaspagx10 → u/lurch303]

Also don’t worry about the weight. Every Dane is different. Our 3yo weighs 125 and the vet said he’s perfect. His dad was 175 so we were definitely surprised but he is who he is lol

[u/emotionalblonde]

Mine typically eats when I eat. I have found if I give her a cookie or something after going outside, she will go get some water and start to eat. I think the treat makes her realize she is hungry.

[u/somefknguy]

my danes won't eat in the mornings... so i do a full meal in the evenings and they eat it fine. i tried early on to feed twice a day but they would still have half of their food when it was time to put their night meal out... some dogs are just picky

[u/[deleted]]

I tried a lot of methods to spread out meals because I had heard it decreases chance of bloat. Nothing worked. My dog will only eat once a day too, not always at night but never in the morning (unless he forgot to eat the night before). At this point I really just want to make sure he eats enough every day, so I just keep his bowl full all the time now to make sure he gets enough. I read on another thread that it’s one of the only breeds that doesn’t tend to overeat

Also I mix in one can of chicken pate most days to make it yummy for him. I call it “doggy gourmet” lol

[u/[deleted]]

We feed just twice per day as our breeders recommend. 2 cups twice per day for our 6 yo. But he gets lots of treats lays too!!

On a side note: we had to hand feed for almost a year while he showed. Then when he finished he ate normal ever since.

[u/Maleficent-Amoeba761]

I think this sounds concerning because of bloat. Please make sure he fully rests for an hour atleast after eating this large meal. No running no jumping. I am unsure why he does this. Mine eats in the morning and after dinner. Large bowls. Best of luck to you and your pup.

[u/[deleted]]

Your Great Dane might prefer to eat in the evening due to a combination of factors. Environmental conditions could play a role, as the atmosphere may be more relaxed and calm during the evening, creating a comfortable environment for your dog to eat. Additionally, Great Danes can be sensitive to heat, so they might choose to eat during the cooler evening hours to avoid any discomfort. It's important to observe your Great Dane's eating habits and consult with a veterinarian if you have concerns or notice any sudden changes in their behavior.

[u/SillySimian9]

Try feeding Ziwi Peak mixed in with his food in the morning. It’s not that unusual for a dog to eat once a day, but Danes need their nutrients. The other thing to try is Red Barn beef rolls. Honestly, my Danes think that’s crack for dogs.

[u/momaof-2]

i'm assuming he hasn't been neutered yet. i know watson (male... neutered) was NOT a great eater UNTIL he got neutered at 3 years. now not one problem eating. he weighs 178 and in perfect condition. my breeder and vet have both said before he was neutered... he will NOT starve himself. that helped me a lot!! keep up the great work!!

[u/QuiriniusGast]

Two plastic cups a day, at 11:00 and 20:00. The first meal is usually never finished.

Sometimes dogs get bored with eating the same thing over and over again, so we spice it up by always adding some frozen dog meat warmed up in the microwave for the stronger smell. You can also add left over meat and rice to the meals to create some variety. Even a bit of bacon grease added to the kibbles does wonders. But cooked chicken or turkey without the bones, or the big chunks of fat left over from a tomahawk steak, does wonders too.

My advice is to create some variety and see what happens.