Dogs fed once a day ‘like wolves’ may age better

FEEDING your dog once a day could reduce their risk suffering age-related health issues, a study has claimed.

More than 20,000 owners were surveyed to gauge their pets’ cognitive ability and how feeding routines affected canine health.

The owners were grouped into two categories: those who fed their dogs once a day and those who fed them more than once a day.

Dogs fed once a day were considered to be inadvertently undergoing intermittent fasting, a diet fad in humans, in a manner similar to that of wild wolves.

These scored 0.63 points lower on a test for cognitive dysfunction than those fed more often, indicating superior mental performance. “This effect size of 0.63 points is roughly the same difference in mean score between 11 and seven-yearold dogs,” the researchers wrote in their paper, which was published as a pre-print on the website Biorxiv and has not been peer reviewed.

Analysis revealed that being fed once a day lowered a dog’s risk of liver issues by 59 per cent and gastrointestinal disease by 35 per cent. It also reduced the odds of kidney or urinary issues, orthopaedic problems and dental concerns by 28, 22 and 16 per cent, respectively.

“This is the largest study to date of feeding frequency conducted in companion dogs,” the researchers wrote.

“Given the limitations of this cross-sectional, observational study, the results of this investigation should not be used to make decisions about the feeding or clinical care of companion dogs.

“However, if supported by future studies, it may be prudent to revisit the currently predominant recommendation that adult dogs be fed twice daily. The rationale for twice-daily feeding in dogs is obscure, and our study suggests that more frequent feeding may, in fact, be suboptimal for several agerelated health outcomes.”

Dr Alex German, a vet at the University of Liverpool, said the findings should be approached with caution as they may change during the publication process. “As for what feeding pattern is best for dogs, no one knows, as there are few (if any) previous studies exploring this. For that reason, most owners likely choose a meal pattern that suits their dog and lifestyle,” he wrote on Twitter.