Nocturnal Canine Feeding Question

Factual Questions
1

My 2-year old JRT starting doing something unusual about 3 months ago, which happens to coincide with the onset of cold weather where I live.

Up until about 3 months ago I would fill his dog dish in the morning with 2 cups of dry food, and it would pretty much be gone by the end of the day. He is an only dog, so there is no competition for food in our house, and he free feeds throughout the day. (His feeding behavior is different than any other dog I have had as they would devour their food as soon as it hit the bowl.)

Starting about 3 months ago he would only snack during the day, but then get up in the middle of the night and finish off whatever was left in his bowl. Sometimes that’s 3/4 of his total intake of food. He’s not starving, his weight is normal, and he gets a few dog treats throughout the day. I have never had a dog that ate the majority of their food in the middle of the night.

Is this common/normal behavior for a lot of dogs, or is this really as out of the ordinary as it seems to me?

2

With your approach he doesn’t have a fixed feeding schedule so it sounds like he developed his own.

3

Okay, well since he’s eating plenty each day to remain healthy I’m not going to worry about it. I’m wondering if the onset of cold weather had anything to do with it, or if that was just a coincidence. We’ll see if he switches back to day-eating next summer.

4

It could also has something to do with the fact that at two years old your dog has transitioned into adulthood, which changes their metabolic rate a bit …

(Could be that your dog is hittin’ the Mary Jane in the middle of the night and getting the munchies, too. :smiley: )