Free or Scheduled Feedings :/

[AprilLove]

I could never free feed, with multiple dogs I always want to know everyone is getting their share, and if it comes to having to feed a dog differently (due to illness, etc), it would be too hard to try to change. And because AprilLove would eat everyone elses food if I did, lol.
If I had only one dog, then I wouldn't be as concerned as I would know how much they were consuming each day.

[yorkiemini]

I schedule feed like others to regulate the potty issue.
I did free feed when Cali was a puppy but then someone I knew came home and found her dog dead from chocking on her kibbles that she was free feeding. Scared me so I went back to scheduled feeding when I was home. Never heard of another dog who chocked, but can see that it could happen.

[Britster]

I kind of do both. Jackson gets his breakfast in the AM
(1/4 kibble with some canned mixed). Then, usually
around 4PM, I put down the rest of his kibble for the day
and he will go and munch. He usually eats half of it
around 4-5 and the rest around 8. But it's basically
scheduled feeding, and I prefer it. I like to know exactly
when he is eating, how much, etc. Or, sometimes I'll do
opposite... put kibble down in the AM and if he eats it,
then I'll give him his dry/wet mixed for dinner. It all
depends on our schedule for the day and his activity.

[Lovetodream88]

Originally Posted by 1Ieisha

It's fine im glad someone answered my question... and i am so relieved to hear that its uncommon for adults so that i won't have to worry about it for Max's ENTIRE life. But that has to be scary to see your baby go limp .
P.S- I hope you feel better!!!

When her sugar goes low I dont have time to freak out until after I get it back up then I start freaking out I wont leave her for hours at a groomer or take her to doggie day care or board her because I'm afraid she will have one of those episodes and no one would see it. I make her eat before the groomer and then after and I get her groomed at the vets office and she is there for tops 2 hours and she is with my moms yorkie Sammy to try and keep the stress down. Thanks I hope I feel better soon too this is the worst I have ever been sick that I can remember.

[Lovetodream88]

Originally Posted by Kaos

Kaos also eats once a day, in the morning. He eats it all within 5 minutes. He gets multiple treats and bullsticks throughout the day. He's never starving but knows to eat his food when its given. As a puppy we used to free feed, and he used to eat a piece of kibble here and there, never amounted to daily amount needed. So we switched to scheduled feedings (2x day as a puppy). If he didn't eat he lost his food until the next feeding. Now he eats the daily recommened amount and is a perfect healthy weight. It also helped to potty train him. That's just what worked for my boy though.

But dont you worry hes hungry at night? I know one meal a day would not be enough for me.

[maci_mace]

I didn't read ALL the replies but here's what I am doing with maci.
Maci seems to be fine free feeding, I put less than 1/4 a cup in her bowl at noon and there is still some left at 10:30pm. Mind you she is in a new home, and maybe not too hungry. But she def. didn't gobble it all up at once, just kinda picked at it as needed.

If you try to free feed your dog but find that he gulps his food down before lunch time then free feeding probably isn't for you.

[Kaos]

Originally Posted by Lovetodream88

But dont you worry hes hungry at night? I know one meal a day would not be enough for me.

Nope not at all. He eats his reccommened daily amount. But instead of twice a day he eats it once. And besides that he gets plenty of treats through out the day between feedings to hold him over. His bowls are always left out and he never goes by the food bowl wanting more. (Like he tips his water bowl over, when he needs a refill.)

[MyTrixie143]

I do both.
My yorkies we free feed. We have the bowls down all the time but we only fill it up once every night. This way they can still eat when they want but they aren't going to be over eating as that is all they get. When I first started it they would pig it down. Now they have learned and will eat their portion on and off during the day. I have a few tiny ones so I feel more comfortable knowing that there is food available for them at all times.

Now my two big dogs of course I only do schedule feedings as they would never stop eating if it was up to them.

There are advantages to both.

When you do scheduled feedings they do have a more regular bathroom routine and you can monitor their weight more closely this way.

For me free feeding has the bigger advantage as my little ones need to eat several small meals a day and this way I don't have to worry about them as much. I also had some problems with poop eating when I was doing scheduled feedings. Ever since we did the free feeding that habit has completely stopped. And since they all go on pads the bathroom routine isn't a big deal other than having to change the pad a few more times which I don't mind.

You just do what works best for your dog and your situation. For some it is free feeding, others it is scheduled feeding. As long as your dog is satisfied and at a healthy weight you're doing the right thing.

[Harrysmum]

We do both, too. I feed Harry twice a day (mid-day and 6 p.m. ish) but always leave a bowl of his kibble down as well, for him to graze on whenever he wants. But he's a very fit, lean 16 lb-er . Up until he was about 6 months old, his food was very scheduled though! Sally + Harry x

[mky]

Originally Posted by Kaos

Nope not at all. He eats his reccommened daily amount. But instead of twice a day he eats it once. And besides that he gets plenty of treats through out the day between feedings to hold him over. His bowls are always left out and he never goes by the food bowl wanting more. (Like he tips his water bowl over, when he needs a refill.)

Kiko would pace and whine if her water bowl was empty. Her bowls are tiny, so this was happening regularly this summer, so we switched to a waterer (inverted bottle w/a bowl style), so it is not a problem any more.

[southernbelle04]

I think we are going to try to schedule our feedings.

[Princess10]

I free feed Princess since I may not be home or sleeping, etc. but only the amount she's supposed to have per day. She very, very rarely runs out & if she did I might give her a little more to make sure something's there for the remainder of the day. She uses pads so I don't have to feed her to revolve around a potty schedule but understand why people would.

[Belle Noir]

When I had larger dogs, and multiple dogs, I schedule fed, but because Pixie is so tiny, and an only dog, I free feed her kibble, and I give her canned food twice a day.
While it does make potty training a bit more difficult, I feel better knowing that she has food available, since she is so small, I'm concerned about her getting all the nutrients she needs, and preventing any hypoglycemic episodes.
Besides, her poos and wees are teeny, and not too much of an effort to clean up, unlike the monster piles and puddles my beauceron would leave, lol.

As an aside, we're in the process of switching her to Royal Canin. She had been on Science Diet puppy, but I knew I would switch when the food was almost gone, if I didn't like the results, and I don't.
Pixie is starting to grow in her adult coat, and in some places, the fur is just so thin, from it not coming in substantially, and her skin is too dry.
There is a HUGE difference in the SD and RC kibble. The RC smells more inviting, and obviously has more oils in it, and Pixie eats it better. In fact, if we didn't have a firm rule that no new food is put down until her bowl is empty, I think she would pick out the RC and leave the SD. So I put the RC in the SD bag to mingle the scents, lol.
The canned food she gets is Beneful.. which while not the best, by far, is the one she eats the best of all the foods I have tried with her. She gets a tablespoon of that morning and evening.

Aside from that, she gets treats in the form of Buddy Biscuits, which we call puppy crack. She'll stand on her head to get a Buddy Biscuit treat, and I also give her Red Barn beef roll, which she wouldn't eat as a food, but she will eat as a treat.

I don't think there is anyone that is completely adamant about how they feed their dogs. We all have to be flexible for the benefit of our individual dogs, and some can't free feed, and some have to.
I expect that if I still had my larger dogs, I would construct something like a creep feeder that she could access and the other dogs couldn't, because in the end, I feel better about her having access to food on an as needed basis.

[1Ieisha]

Originally Posted by southernbelle04

I think we are going to try to schedule our feedings.

When do you get your baby? or have you already gottne her?