Hello--many questions :)

[Dillydoodle]

I will respectfully put in my two cents. I personally feel that breaking up the food into two feedings 12 hours apart is over all healthier for a dog as well as makes for a happier dog. So they have to poop twice a day, i think basing a decision on if you feed a dog once or twice a day soley on the inconvenience of having to let your dog out twice a day rather than once is unfair to the dog. My feeling is that a dog should be taken out morning and evening for walks anyway. Dogs that eat only one large meal a day are more prone to Bloat...so i would rather break up the food into two equal feedings and to make sure i dont allow any running or playing directly after a meal...This is just my opinion.
Emilie

[Peggy]

Originally Posted by Dillydoodle

I will respectfully put in my two cents. I personally feel that breaking up the food into two feedings 12 hours apart is over all healthier for a dog as well as makes for a happier dog. So they have to poop twice a day, i think basing a decision on if you feed a dog once or twice a day soley on the inconvenience of having to let your dog out twice a day rather than once is unfair to the dog. My feeling is that a dog should be taken out morning and evening for walks anyway. Dogs that eat only one large meal a day are more prone to Bloat...so i would rather break up the food into two equal feedings and to make sure i dont allow any running or playing directly after a meal...This is just my opinion.
Emilie

Emilie, I respect your opinion, and my opinion is that feeding an adult dog (or any dog over 6 mos. of age) is up to the owner. For their convience.

A dogs digestive system is not made to eat multiple times a day. Wild dogs eat once a day if they're lucky. They make a kill and george themsleves and might not eat again for a couple of days or sometimes even a week.

Wild dog cubs/puppies that have been weaned eat when the adults eat. IMO, that's not ideal for our puppies and I don't recommend that for puppies under 3 mos.

I did not say that my dogs only get to go out once a day. What I said is that a PUPPY will need to have a bowle movement after every meal. Not feeding them multiple times a day helps with housebreaking. You adjust the number of times as they grow and their stomach enlarges so they can eat more at one time.

The reason we feed puppies and/or babies every few hours is that they are growing fast and have small stomachs. So they need to eat frequently. That changes as they grow.

If you want to feed your dogs twice a day that's fine. Mine eat once a day (and yes, they go out many more times than that!), because with mutliple dogs that is what works for us. And it does not harm the dogs.

Ok, now it's time to feed the humans here....
Peggy

[nrhareiner]

My dogs even pups have free choise of when they want to eat. Even with the food down all the time they still only eat 1 maybe 2 times a day. Pups will eat several times a day as they feel they need it. I have feed this way for over 30 years and have never had any problems with it with any of the dogs I have had. They are in good waight and not at all heavy. They do not clean up the bowl unless there is very little in it to begine with.

This works great for what goes on here. If at any time I get a dog that eats like my horses then some things will change however until then this works great.

Heidi

[Dillydoodle]

well you do now have a corgi! i can't imagine trying to free feed a corgi...Dillon would be the size of a house. He had one experience with "free feeding" when he was only about 4 months old We left to go out to dinner one evening and put him in his soft crate. We came home to discover that he 1) was able to unzip his softcrate from the inside and let himself out -( there is a Zipper lock that we never used to use ...) and 2) he had gone down stairs and found the cat's dry food bowl...filled with about 2 1/2 cups of dry HIGH fiber cat food, which he gorged himself on ( keep in mind we fed him shortly before we had left which means he already had his normal dinner in his tummy... his belly was a basketball and hard as a rock, i nearly rushed him to the ER...he turned out fine but if i let him eat all the time, he would eat all the time. I really do think that most corgis are like that ( most not all).

Emilie

[nrhareiner]

I have found that most dogs will gordge on cat food. Even my dogs will when they will not with dog food. I do not know if it tast better to them or if it is something they know they are not supost to have to it make it better.?

Even Libby my corgi does not eat everything in front of her. Even when I give her Raw she eats part and leaves the rast. I really hope she keeps doing this as it makes things easyer around here.

Heidi

[Elysia]

Thanks for all your feedback. Interesting that there are so many varying opinions. I guess I'll have to talk to my individual breeder about what they think is best practice.

I am planning on taking at least a week off when I first bring a puppy home, and I my job does allow me to come home at least every four hours after that. (Days I work 8-5 I am still able to spend at least a half hour at home over noon.)

Another question I have is regarding shedding. I know that Corgis shed a lot; this is really my only major concern right now as far as whether or not they are the right breed for me. I haven't had any other pets in a long time and I'm trying to figure out how I will handle the shedding.

Do you feel that combing/brushing daily makes a difference in how much hair ends up floating around your house? Is it manageable with a weekly vaccuum, or is their hair pretty much everywhere all the time? Any other strategies for keeping the house relatively clean?

I don't know that the shedding would necessarily deter me--just want to be sure I know what I'm getting into. : )

Thanks,

Elysia

[Fluffypants]

Great idea to talk to your breeder and get their advice, Elysia. You will always find many different viewpoints here. Everyone must do what works for them, and your breeder will be your best source of info on your new puppy (another reason why it's a good idea to take Emilie's - Dillydoodle - advice and find a good breeder).

I brush my fluffy girl every day, and I find that it helps a lot. I am a little bit of a neat freak (can hear my husband laughing in my head as I type this). But brushing her for 5-10 minutes every night (right before we brush her teeth) keeps the hair at a reasonable level. Yes, I still have hairs on my clothes, and my furniture . . . but it's nothing that causes me to have a meltdown. We vacuum the floors and furniture once / week, and find that keeps us (read: me) happy. Also it keep my fluffy free of mats, so we like that benefit of daily brushing too.

Again, I have heard that fluffs (in general) shed less than "regulars", so . . .

[corgimom]

Well, if you comb or brush daily, more hair will end up in the garbage rather than on your floor, however, if you would prefer a cleaner house with a dog that doesn't shed much, I would not put a Corgi into that category. I vacuum more than once a week, but I have cats also. I don't brush Cody every day; more like twice a week; I get plenty of his hair on lots of things.

[Chip's Mom]

I brush Chip just about every evening but when we go in the car or he sits on my lap, I still have corgi hair on me. You may want to try to find a corgi and hold him or her for a little while and see what you think. Everyone has a different opinion on hair shedding and some of them can shed tons of hair very quickly.

[Jeni D]

The hair is definitely something to contend with, but I am also a bit of a germophobe It does seem to go everywhere (see The Hair thread) though. I brush Dudley, ideally, once a day, but sometimes it is every other day and I will still find hairs on all of my things, particularly my clothes.
When all is said and done though, Dudley is more than worth it.

[Chip's Mom]

I agree Jeni - Chip is too but sometimes people just can't deal with all that hair and it is hard for some people to imagine that much hair floating around when they are blowing their coat.

[Jeni D]

Oh Bonnie! I completely agree and my post was not in response to yours at all..I actually think I was posting at the exact same time you were and I know your pups mean more to you than anything Sometimes Dudley's hair is too much for me, especially when I need to go someplace nice and the last thing I want to do is show up covered in dog hair. I agree that it would probably be in Elysia's best interest to cuddle with a corgi before deciding on one for sure.

[Fluffypants]

Look at it this way - it's like having him with you everywhere you go. He leaves those hairs on you to let you know he loves you and is thinking of you - like a loved one leaving you little notes in your pockets. Only your corgi can't write, so he gives you the only thing he has to give . . . hair.

[nrhareiner]

dcnndsee mdfmn df xdnmnf fgc dds xc

rn tmj

Ok let me interpet again, Heidi

What do you mean we cant wright?

Libby

[Chip's Mom]

One good thing about it - everyone knows you are a dog lover - the evidence is written all over your clothes Jeni - No problem - you and I always agree When I posted that I was actually thinking about a lady who had two corgi pups that were banished to the backyard because the husband couldn't take the dog hair so I wasn't even really thinking of your post except to agree with you on how much we all love our corgi boys and girls. These two were left outside 24 - 7 because of the dog hair. I don't think non corgi people realize just how much hair one little corgi boy or girl can produce in a day. It is said that a corgi sheds twice a year - January thru June and July thru December. One of the things my breeder asked me was if I knew they were shedders.