how do I go about this???
 

Ok....long story made short...Before I met my husband, I had always free fed all of my dogs and never had any problems with weight, food aggression, or the craziness that dogs tend to get when it is "dinner time". Well, when dh and I moved in together, his dog was very bad about over eating so he was fed on a strict schedule, a strict amount each feeding. I had to change my dog over to it because he (Rex) would eat all of the food that was left out. When maggie came along, I kept food in her crate because I feared a repeat in her hypoglycemia. But the other dogs could not get to it. Maggie had never been food motivated or even really cared about eating...I think because she knew she always had food when she needed it. but once I started feeding her on a schedule like Rex and Daisy, she started getting very food aggressive and is now starting to really drive me NUTS when there is food anywhere in smelling distance. wether it be people food or dog food. She doesn't even eat her food...she inhales it!!! and sadly, Daisy is kinda the same way now :( This is exactly why I have never schedule fed my dogs....and up until recently, Daisy has always had the best manners when it came to food, she never begged, and has never been overweight at all.


WELL.....Rex is no longer with us (R.I.P.) and I REALLY want to go back to free feeding...I HATE the way my dogs are acting about food....and I strongly feel that it is because they are fed on such strict schedules. dh agrees with me and this is just something we want to do (and we know that not everyone agrees with this...but to each his own, right?? :rolleyes: )

so my question is....how in the heck do you go from schedule feeding to free feeding? we usually feed the dogs a certain amount twice a day. For the "adjustment period", Do I just put their daily amount in their food bowls in the morning and let it go? should I put the food down in the morning or around noon?? I literally have always just filled a bowl up and it would last Daisy a couple of days. and when I noticed it was empty...or close to it, I would fill it up again. I really want to get back to free feeding but have never had to make this transition...so would appreciate any input....

Hi,

If you are feeding kibble try feeding them with treat balls, each dog will have their own ball to play with and feed you will be amazed how it slows up a dog who inhales and speeds up a dog who eats one piece at a time. I use an amaz a ball for Milo, and leave it out all day. Hope this helps

PS keep in mind this is not the neatest, there will be food on the floor but they usually eat it all up

I have heard of this too...but I am afraid they will kill each other over it. Maggie is super possessive over toys. Any time daisy has a toy, she runs to her, growls, and takes it away. every single time. we are working on this but she is just terrible about it.

Milo used to get growly with his sister whilw eating when they would come to visit, so what I would do is at first growl I would take his ball away and hold hom while he sat and watched her eat, after one or two times he got the message

Free Feeding
 

We have always free fed our Yorkies. When we purchased a new Yorkie about a year ago she was CRAZY for food. We continued to free feed, and eventually she learned to eat just when she was hungry. She is still kind of excited about human food, but is appropriate with her kibble. I'd suggest just putting down a little more than her normal feeding at each feeding time, and slowly increase it until you are free-feeding again.

good luck

Katelin

Thanks!!!!

well, this morning, I put each dog's full daily amount in the bowls....thinking they would get full and stop eating. nope. they both ate it all. well, we tried distracting them with toys to see if they would stop eating. they did....but maggie went back and finished hers...daisy left several kibbles in her bowl...maggie decided to have a couple of them LOL you would think I starve the poor girl the way she eats LOL

so we will just keep trying to do this...only put their food out once a day and hopefully they will learn to leave some. i doubt it...it just seems like there should be another way to do it. maybe i should keep food in the bowls all the time??? will they eat themselves stupid????

Mine would eat until they puked.

This is a totally random idea, but mine are schedule fed so I know what you're going through. They eat in 30 seconds when you put the food down and beg for more. Maybe you could try feeding them like 6-8 times a day for a couple days. That way, when you try to put down their entire day's ration, they aren't "starving". I also wouldn't try putting it down in the morning but in the afternoon. Also, do it when they are not watching. I do this with water for Loki because he will drink ALL of the water when I pour it so I pour it when he is not looking.

Just an idea!

very good ideas!!! thank you!!!

thanks for the support!!! I just really believe that this scheduled feeding is what is causing them to act so insane at food time. i have never had any dog act like that about food...but I have always free fed until now. so I am really hoping I can work it out.

have all of your dogs always been free fed?? if not, was there something you did to get them used to the transition?? anything you can think of that I shouldn't do?? I agree with Erin, I think feeding them first thing in the morning is a bad idea...because then they go all day feeling like they have been neglected. I think I will feed around noon...or something like that. I am just afraid of making a mistake LOL

Sorry I can't help you as I'm in the same boat with my little doxie Dixie. Before we got her we would sorta free feed Max. I would break his daily portion into 3 servings but he would always have food in his bowl except at night that I would put it up. Sometimes I would give him his morning portion at 6am and at 2pm he still had it in his bowl. Once we got Dixie it was a different story she would eat hers and his so I've had to feed them on a schedule. She gained weight so quickly so the vet told me to control her feedings. She was 3 months and already 6lbs which was to much weight on her small body. Max is very good about it, it seems it doesn't bother him much but Dixie devours her food within seconds and then tries to eat Max's food. So once you find what works for you let me know so maybe I can try it with my two.

well, so far today...once their food was gone and they were outside potty'ing, I filled their bowls up. they haven't touched it and that was about 2 hours ago. I am hoping that them seeing that they have food all the time will help them not devour it all at once. we'll see. I am sure I will try it a few different ways until I find what really works :rolleyes:

I would keep the bowls full and let them eat..mine free feed and most of the time just pick away all day long..once they realize the bowl isnt going up they wont attack the food with a fury to eat it all in one sitting..plus they doubt they will be able to eat it all in one sitting either..

Dawn

ok, so far, so good today. the food has been in the bowls all day. They just went outside to potty, came back in, and each of them ate a few kibbles and then went to play. sooo...maybe this is a good sign?? :hands:

Congrats! We Yorkie parents have to stick together. So happy you are having good results.

Katelin

free feeding
 

I understand your problem.
I started free feeding yesterday and they ate every piece.
today they drank all the water and ate all the food and they were so full they were bursting.
I am not feeding them again today.I am afraid they could die.
maybe in a couple days it will even out as they see the food is always there.

I don't think I can go through this though.

good luck
and keep up posted on how it goes.

Great thread, Mandee! My two are both food crazy-though Emma more than Milli. We had to start feeding her on a schedule per her behaviorist to help with her separation anxiety. That DID help with that, but my two both just wolf down food like you wouldn't believe. Emma doesn't even chew anymore-she swallows it most of the time.

I can't really leave it down all the time since I home prepare food and a lot of it's raw meat...not sure what to do with my two either!

it is so hard to know what to do to make this transition....
I thought "maybe if I keep food in the bowls all the time, they will realize that it is always there and not scarf it down" but they are eating sooooooooo much. all day long, they are snacking at the bowls. in the last 2 days, maggie has eaten 4 days worth of food!!!! I try distracting them and playing with them, but every chance they get, they are at the food bowl. so I just don't know. dh thinks that they will get used to the food being out all the time and not do this after a few days but I don't know. maggie looks like she is about to burst open!!!!

we had an idea (kinda like what someone posted earlier) to take her daily amount of food and just break it up into several feedings throughout the day...but I don't know if that will accomplish what we are trying to do. but seriously...I think maggie will eat herself to death....she just lost all this weight and got down to an "ideal weight"...she is going to get so fat and burst right open..I swear it. so i really don't know how to get her to adjust.

she isn't eating the food like she used to. she isn't scarfing it down. she is eating it slowly...and even grabbing a kibble or 2 and bringing them into the living room, eating them, then going to get some more...and so on. so she is eating slowly...but she is eating all day long and eating a LOT.

I want to stick with it and am sure they will eventually catch on...but in the mean time, maggie is going to eat herself to death :(

yeah, with the home cooked food, that wouldn't work out too good :(

Ok, so I think they might eat themselves to death. hopefully not but sheesh..they don't want to stop eating!!!!

today was better...but they both still ate a lot. I hope it gets better soon!!!

I free feed all 7 of mine and they always have a full bowl and none of them overeat. My smallest dog Spicy (3.6 LB Papillion) nibbles all day. My male big Yorkie eats in the morning and evenings. The others eat when it suits their fancy. My 5 yr old Mandy is over 6 lbs now and always weighted 4.8 or less so her I will watch. If she gains more I may need to discontinue free feeding:confused:

How is it going, Mandee?