Food & Water - When & How much?

[KanersHuman]

With Kaner (an APBT) we use one of those water bowls that just keeps filling the bowl as he drinks. With food we would fill a soup sized bowl with food and he would eat a little in the morning. Maybe some in the afternoon and finish it off before night time. He was never super annoying about food. No sitting right there at the table while you eat and no begging.

Kaner is a big fan of water. He drinks water all day long.... but then he has to pee all day. We take him out at least 10 times a day to pee. No problem for me because we just open the door and he runs out and back in minutes later. The problem is that i KNOW he sits there holding it all night while im sleeping and i cant handle it. Every little noise i hear i think its him crying to go out.

Kaner now lives with my sister (his original owner) and they dont have the luxury of a patio door with a fenced in yard. I want to make sure hes getting enough food and water but if possible i would like to keep him from needing to go out as often. I also just want to learn about this in general for when we get new dogs. I like that Kaner is mellow about food and not a beggar. I dont know if this was by accident or a direct result of how we have been feeding him.

How should i be doing this? Smaller portions of food at specific times? Limit water intake by the quantity or cut him off at a certain time or... What has worked for you?

[Curly_07]

When feeding and watering, you do it so you can control when they need to go. I feed 2x a day, and water is allowed whenever they are not crated. By controlling when they eat, you control when they need to poop. By not giving them water when crated, you cut out accidents in the crate. My girls probably dring about 2-3 cups of water a day each. You shouldn't allow food to be down all day. Give it to them, wait 15 mins, whatever isn't eaten in 15 mins get picked up until next feeding time.

[Murfins]

[KanersHuman]

Is there a calculator that gauges how much a dog should eat based on their size?

Kaner was eating 11 ounces of canned dog food per day. He would usually get 2 treats a day and a big bone with some meat on it every saturday afternoon.

Does this sound like enough? Too much?

[Curly_07]

You feed how ever much keeps them at a steady healthy weight start with the measurements on the bag, and trial and error from there.

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[MarMar]

Especially with puppies, chuck out those food bowls. All food should be from food dispensing toys or hand fed during training.

[Kingsgurl]

I measure all food obsessively, , but I never restrict water intake.

[afrikaPB]

I restrict water intake for Nugget, especially in the evening, or he'll drink non-stop and have accidents. He gets +/- 3 cups of kibble a day (partly in a bowl, partly as training treats) and a stuffed kong or raw bone. He is an adult and weighs 54 pounds (I weigh him weekly to be sure I'm not under or overfeeding).
Imo weighing often and looking objectively at the dog's shape is the best way to track how much to feed, since the quantity will change with life stages and activity levels, and the same half bowl of food will obviously not be appropriate at 8 weeks, 2 years and 10 years, or even within a few month period if you, for example, increase or decrease exercise dramatically.