# 3rd meal time - when is it good to stop?



## hargyle (Mar 21, 2012)

Our puppy is PRETTY big now; when I give him his lunch in the afternoon he never seems very interested. Should I just leave it for him and when he wants he can go for it? ( I mean I do want to be able to trust him with free feeding AND the cats food so really I see it as a good thing) Or can I begin to slowly remove that meal all together?

I haven't really been able to find an answer on when to weed out the third meal - Is there an age, or is it just when seems right for your puppy (getting overweight etc) 

Loki, is 16 weeks and 45lbs. and the vet yesterday said he is a healthy weight


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## Gally (Jan 11, 2012)

How much are you feeding and what brand?

I wouldn't recommend free feeding, if he doesn't eat just pick it up after 10-20 minutes.


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## hargyle (Mar 21, 2012)

he gets about 2/3 cup of the Blue Buffalo Puppy formula


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## JulieK1967 (May 29, 2011)

hargyle said:


> Our puppy is PRETTY big now; when I give him his lunch in the afternoon he never seems very interested. Should I just leave it for him and when he wants he can go for it? ( I mean I do want to be able to trust him with free feeding AND the cats food so really I see it as a good thing) Or can I begin to slowly remove that meal all together?
> 
> I haven't really been able to find an answer on when to weed out the third meal - Is there an age, or is it just when seems right for your puppy (getting overweight etc)
> 
> Loki, is 16 weeks and 45lbs. and the vet yesterday said he is a healthy weight


I went to 2 feedings a day when Molly started to ignore her midday meal, which seems like where your puppy is at now. She was about 6 months old at the time.

Regarding free feeding, typically it's not a good idea if you keep filling up the bowl when it's empty because that will result in an overweight dog. Measuring out a specific amount and letting them feed throughout the day as the mood strikes them is okay, IMO. That's how I free-fed Molly before we switched to raw and her weight was fine.


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