OK let me clarify.
This pup arrived with a very distended abdomen. He was uncomfortable but not to the extent of a torsion. I am doing the 10 quarantine period here as I am set up for that (and have an ICU room too). I noticed the abdomen and let my friend know. Called the breeder where he came from and talked at length. The breeder changed food a few weeks ago due to the one the pups were on was causing issues. After that change to help with diarrhea the pups were all fed on a 12 hour schedule or so (they are all over 12 weeks) and a few of the pups are now acting like this guy is.
So the breeder and my vet advised to soak the food completely and feed 4 small meals in attempts to teach him that he will be fed and prevent the bloat. When this guy is fed he is chomping at the metal bowl before it is even close to down! He eats and swallows the food whole and it is gone in 5-10 seconds
. So now I am adding so much water that the water covers the food to attempt to slow him down. The breeder had luck with this with his other ones and now they are eating ok.
As far as free feeding goes it is exactly that. I put food down for my dogs and it is always there. They never need to compete for food. If you own a few dogs and do this it is difficult to add a dog that gets bloat from overeating. This pup would literally eat till he was violently sick and even die from that. So if you put him into your mix, then you cannot free feed your dogs anymore. So then you must change all your dogs over to the new way, not advisable as far as I am concerned. I have no dogs that over eat, all of mine are ideal body weight, none are aggressive eaters, and the food dish is not an object of competition. This guys behavior would need to be modified before he would blend into the mix or even go to a pet home. He stares and whines like he is starving all the time. If he had gone to a pet home I cannot imagine the consequences
. I feel aweful by only feeding him 4 times a day because he acts so hungry.
So for the person to take him into the mix of her dogs will be difficult until he learns that he will be fed and that he does not have to fight or compete for food. That will take time according to my vet and some never stop that behavior....sad but true. So I will gain his trust and hopefully get the guy eating like a gentleman
. HE is so gorgeous and is such a cuddle bug!!