Free or Scheduled Feedings :/
 

Ok so i know a lot of people free feed their babies and let them eat freely throughout the day, and a lot of people have scheduled feedings where they feed their babies at certain times of the day.... So my reasoning for making this thread is to ask you guys if free feeding is irresponsible (letting them eat whenever they want how many times they want.. that could lead to gluttony). Or if you think scheduled feedings are being to strict on them (when they're hungry there's nothing there, why should they have to wait to eat, i don't). I just want to know because i've heard both sides and some people actually feel really, and i do mean REALLY, strongly about this. I just want to know what you all thing is the "better" (notice the quotations) way of meal time.

I schedule feed. Taycie comes to work with me where there is another dog. I personally, don't want to feed the other dog:) She also has food allergies so she is on a very strict RX diet, so I don't want her eating his food either:) I also don't want to bring along her food, if I don't have too, mostly because I end up forgetting it or I end up wasting it.. (If I am using wet mixed with dry) It really for me, in my situation is the most convienent.

I also like it because it was so easy to potty train her. I know when she needs to go out and I am able to keep track of how much she is eating. I also know when she is "off" her food and things are not right. Because of her special diet she only gets that and that is it. I do bring along a scoop of kibble in a tupperware for treats throughout the day and give them to her.

For us, that is why, and it works the best for us! In the end, I think what works for every individual dog is the most important. Some really do ok free feeding but if I ended up bringing food along, there is no doubt in my mind their dog would be eating her RX diet, and it is to expensive to do that .

I don't see a problem with free feeding as long as you have a dog that will not overeat. We free fed our first two for a long time until we switched to Honest Kitchen and Raw- which obviously cannot be free fed.

If your dog will overeat, then yes it is irresponsible to free feed, IMO.

I free feed and have never had an overeater.

I think it depends on the pup. I feed Levi on a schedule because he does not self-regulate his food intake well. He would eat until he made himself sick. I also like knowing how much and what time he has eaten. :)

I feed twice a day in their crates. I have 5 dogs and this is the easiest way to make sure everyone eats what they need. Free feeding would not work here. Only the two puppies get the same food. The three adults are on different diets and meds. Lily the Lab would eat every bowl empty, then whine for more.

I also like it because it was so easy to potty train her. I know when she needs to go out and I am able to keep track of how much she is eating.
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Disregard thet first post i messed up and now they wont let me change it. But Yes i also agree it depends on the dog itself because some will overeat (leading you to scheduled feedings) and some will eat the amount right for them (leading you to keep free feeding). But there are some people who just believe that one way is the only way, but there are plus sides to both. And they think I'm being irresponsible by free feeding... or I'm to strict by sceduled feedings...boy i wish they could see some of your replies. :/

I feed twice a day. Bentley is on special food for allergies and my Boxer has his own food. They also get their own treats twice a day in between their regular meals.

I schedule my feedings for a variety of reasons. It made potty training easier, as it regulates their systems. They eat, then five minutes later, they potty. Pups are remarkably consistent this way. Also, I have two, so if I just left food down I wouldn't have realized that Lucy wasn't eating very well a few weeks ago. So it helps you monitor how much or how little each pup is eating, which could help you to realize more quickly if there's a problem (in my case, there wasn't; her daddy was just sneaking her treats under the table, and she was being a little snot about her food - but I was able to catch them, lol). Another reason I schedule is because Lila would be a little porker if I didn't, lol! I call her my Chubba-Lou (her middle name/nickname is Lou) because she absolutely LOVES to eat! She's not fat, because I've always controlled her food intake very strictly... But if I didn't, I have no doubt she'd weigh around 8 lbs instead of 5, which would be EXTREMELY unhealthy for my baby. There are sooo many overweight dogs nowadays, and it is just as unhealthy for a dog to carry around excess weight as it is for a human (in fact, it's usually more so).


Those are my main reasons for scheduling my babies feedings... I do know plenty of people who free feed, but i can't say that I completely agree with it... Although if it works for them, who am I to judge. :) But I honestly believe that it's the better choice, at least for my girls and I.

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Yes you named every reason why i schedule feed now. Especially when you said you have a poker... Max would eat me out of a house and a home if i were to free feed and he would definitely steal all of my bichon's food. So i have to monitor him carefully because everyone in the house tries to give him table scraps when he gives them that "puppy look" lol.

I also like to do scheduled feedings for trick training, in addition to potty training. This way you will know when they are on an empty stomach and most likely will do whatever you want them to to get some kibble! :D Uni didn't know what a treat was until she was more than 2 yrs old. I think this really helped a lot with our trick training.

If I were to free feed, I would put out the alotted amount per day, and no more. They they will learn quickly if they eat it all too early, they will go hungry throughout the day.

I free feed and if I didnt Callie wouldnt eat enough. She picks at her food a few bites here a few bites there. She doesn't over eat. I really think it depends on the dog some will over eat and some wont. My aunt and uncle came over with there dog that they only feed once a day and she ate her food so fast like she was starving and it made me wanna cry. If you have a really over weight dog then yes it might irresponsible but I dont think in general free feeding is irresponsible.