How often should you feed your dog? Giant Study Reveals Surprising Answer

For a long time, how we feed our dogs has been a hot topic of debate, and it still is. But a new study may well end that debate — at least in part — as it has demonstrated the optimal frequency at which to feed a dog to ensure its health and well-being.

According to the study results, dogs should only be fed once a day

While debates are heating up over the growing popularity of the vegan diet for dogs, there are still long-running controversies over domestic dog nutrition. Indeed, even if the human being has domesticated dogs for a very long time, his attachment for this animal has pushed him to be more and more concerned about the health and well-being of the canine members of the family. And, of course, the way we feed them is a very important point to take into account. When it comes to canine nutrition, it’s not obvious how often dogs are fed.

Fortunately, science is there to help us, and a new study published in the journal GeroScience brings us an edifying answer on how often dogs should be fed. The results of the study are somewhat startling, and even the researchers were taken aback. ” We weren’t at all convinced that we would see any differences in dogs’ health or cognition based on feeding frequency.n,” indeed said Kathleen Kerrlead author of the study, in a statement.

They found that the optimal frequency for properly feeding a dog is once a day. This is quite a worrying finding as the majority of owners tend to feed their dogs three times a day. However, the study has clearly demonstrated that dogs who eat only once a day are generally healthier. Specifically, dogs fed only once a day have been found to have fewer physical health issues and better cognitive scores compared to dogs fed more frequently.

Diet affects dog health in many areas

To reach this conclusion, the researchers used data from the study Dog Aging Project which provides various information about more than 10,000 dogs, including their breed, size, age, and eating habits. In particular, they explored the link between diet and various health problems. ” We found that dogs fed once a day rather than more frequently had lower mean scores on a cognitive dysfunction scale and a lower likelihood of having gastrointestinal, dental, orthopedic, kidney/urinary problems, and liver/pancreas disorders wrote the researchers in their paper.

Faced with these staggering results, the researchers explained that they had hoped to find an association between a dog’s diet and health in only one area. Despite the evidence, the researchers insisted that dog owners should not be in a rush to change their dogs’ eating habits. In addition, they also explained that further studies are still needed to determine if this result remains the same if we also take into account the environment in which the dogs are raised, as well as other parameters that have not. was taken into account in the study.