[TheLucyLee]

This might encompass several forum formats, so I thought I'd post it here. I'm sure Mods will move if more appropriate elsewhere

Ideally, a dog should be exercised/working and THEN fed ... following a recovery time. The recovery time is debatable apparently, as I've seen advice from 15-30 minutes or longer for recovery before feeding.

- The thing is, I feed my 6 1/2 month old pup Mason 3 times a day ... around about 8 A.M. Noon and 5-6 P.M.
- Mason gets exercised/worked (mandatory) a couple of times during the day to burn off puppy energy. This includes LONG walks, flirt pole, puppy spring pole and/or rope tug.
- Mason usually acts like he NEEDS to burn off that energy even shortly after eating.
- I weigh each meal of kibble Mason gets on Kitchen scales. He's fed 70-75 grams of kibble (seems like a small amount), topped with fish oil (one pump of the dispenser) and Apple Cider Vinegar (two pumps) ... 3 times a day.

How long do you wait AFTER feeding, before exercising/working ??
Is it important to wait after feeding before exercising/working ??
What are the real life risks, if any, to heavy exercise AFTER eating ??
Am I over thinking/concerned about this ??

Thanks !!!

[Desflahd]

You're welcome. I hope it's worth the little piece of internet it's printed on I'd just give it a shot. If he gets all vurpy then it was a little too soon.

[TheLucyLee]

Thanks Catchrcall !!! I KNEW you'd have a valuable real life opinion on this

[Buincchotourbss]

catchrcall and I pretty much do things the same way!

With the adults, I'll give a handful of kibble before a long run/competition/etc. for a little energy in their bellies, then I wait to feed until after they're done. I like to feed within an hour of stopping, if possible. I also modify the amount of food they get to the amount of work they did. On days like today, where it rained all day and we didn't do anything... they got fed this morning a fraction of what they'd normally eat on a working day. I would wait a good hour or so after a full meal before doing any really strenuous work/exercise.

Zealand gets fed a portion first thing in the morning, and I wait 1-2 hours for that to settle before we start training/playing/exercising. Then he gets fed in the evening, after I know we won't be doing too much more... he gets a full bully then passes out in my bed LOL

[QualityReachOut]

I feed half their daily kibble in the morning and half in the evening. Since I have 4 dogs who all think they are always starving and will try to eat each others food, I feed them in their crates and then leave them there for about an hour to nap and process before releasing them to play or taking them out for exercise.

I've heard dogs could puke if exercised too early or that exercising too close to a meal can be a cause of bloat. I don't know if it's true, but I have them rest a bit just in case. Besides, that hour in the crate means I can sweep and mop without 4 dogs sniffing through the pile (my dogs think they have to check to make sure I'm not throwing away anything good) or them leaving paw prints on the freshly washed floor

[TheLucyLee]

If "vurpy" is the worst that could happen ... I think I'm okay with that LOL.
Maybe I should trust that he knows when he needs/wants to be exercised and will hold back/refuse, when he shouldn't be exercised/worked. It's not like I'm exercising/working him so hard everyday, that he might burn up his kidneys or something over time.

[Desflahd]

Just my opinion, I ain't a vet.

On that small of an amount I wouldn't worry about it at all. If he acts like he needs to burn off some energy he probably does. He's working and playing, yes, but it's not a huge or extremely strenous workout. Hope that came out right.

I hunt my dogs on empty, or mostly empty stomachs, but that's a dog putting on a lot of miles at a run or baying so it's a pretty high level of activity, and mine only get fed once a day. I do it mainly for comfort and performance reasons. I wouldn't want to run 10-15 miles on a full stomach, I'd want to throw up. They get sluggish if they eat a big meal and then go hunt. I don't mind a handful of kibble to keep their bellies from rumbling but a big meal, no.

[TNgqZhLR]

Our dogs are fed 1/2 of their breakfast (1/4 of their daily portion) the morning before a performance event and the rest at the end of the day, once they have completely cooled down (usually 12-14 hours after eating breakfast).

[bppstorr]

I feed at 5am and 5pm.
With my dogs, I don't do a wait time for normal, daily activity (walks, obed. training,etc).
If we've been playing ball and they are panting before dinner, then I'll wait a while before feeding them.
Before going to agility practice in the evening, I'll feed dinner little before 5pm, then we leave for practice about 6pm, and it's a 1/2 hour drive, and practice starts at 7pm. So it's 2 hours after eating. Agility training isn't that strenous, it's more exciting, for Rosie anyway.