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-   -   Need to stop free-feeding! Help! (https://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yorkie-health-diet/215743-need-stop-free-feeding-help.html)

juliaw04 11-03-2010 12:39 PM
Need to stop free-feeding! Help!
 
I have always free-fed A.J and KaCee but I need to stop. KaCee is weighing 7.25 pounds and the vet would like to see her lose a little weight. A.J does very well free-fed, he only eats when he's hungry and he is a very healthy weight. KaCee, on the other hand, grazes all day long. My question is, how do I transition them from having access to food all the time, to scheduled meals?

I'm assuming I probably need to buy another bowl so that I can feed them separately. How many times a day should I feed them? 2x? 3x? I would guess I'll have to separate them too while they eat because I can imagine KaCee will gobble hers down and then steal from A.J too. :rolleyes:

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I know this is the right thing to do for them, especially for KaCee's health, it will just be a hard transition for us.

DvlshAngel985 11-03-2010 04:51 PM
This is what I did when I transitioned Kaji from free feeding to scheduled feeding.

I would put out a measured portion of food and set it down for him for 1 hr. If he didn't eat the food would be picked up until the next feeding. I know it sounds mean, but they will not starve themselves and will quickly learn to eat the food when it's available. But if you're a big ol' softy like me, and have the time to, mid day give them a teeny tiny snack just so they don't all day without anything in their tummys. Then I would do the same thing for dinner, set it down for an hour and then pick it up. Every day, I made food available for less time. I kept reducing it by 5 mins until food was only down for 20 mins. We had several dogs where Kaji and I lived, when I made the transition, so I always fed Kaji in his ex-pen. My roomies dog would wolf his food down if given the chance. She was a porkie chi mix.

Seperate rooms, or crates would work well for feeding time if you don't have ex-pens.

Good luck! Getting the babies to lose weight is hard. They're really good at giving us the puppy eyes. I always feel so guilty!!

Reese1 11-04-2010 06:28 AM
We have never free fed, but we do feed all three in separate bowls.
They are all in the kitchen at the same time, but in different locations.
We feed twice a day!

Camden eats a little bit slower, ( she used to be the fastest ), so I mix her food and put it down first. Then I go back and mix the bowls for the other two. That way she has a head start before the pig & thief start eating! :rolleyes:

juliaw04 11-04-2010 08:47 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by DvlshAngel985 (Post 3318738)
This is what I did when I transitioned Kaji from free feeding to scheduled feeding.

I would put out a measured portion of food and set it down for him for 1 hr. If he didn't eat the food would be picked up until the next feeding. I know it sounds mean, but they will not starve themselves and will quickly learn to eat the food when it's available. But if you're a big ol' softy like me, and have the time to, mid day give them a teeny tiny snack just so they don't all day without anything in their tummys. Then I would do the same thing for dinner, set it down for an hour and then pick it up. Every day, I made food available for less time. I kept reducing it by 5 mins until food was only down for 20 mins. We had several dogs where Kaji and I lived, when I made the transition, so I always fed Kaji in his ex-pen. My roomies dog would wolf his food down if given the chance. She was a porkie chi mix.

Seperate rooms, or crates would work well for feeding time if you don't have ex-pens.

Good luck! Getting the babies to lose weight is hard. They're really good at giving us the puppy eyes. I always feel so guilty!!
That is really helpful, thank you! We're going out of town for the weekend so I plan to give it a try on Monday.

What times of the day do you recommend? First thing in the morning and then mid-evening? Since I'm home all day, I can probably do a little snack at noon too.

DvlshAngel985 11-04-2010 02:00 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by juliaw04 (Post 3319408)
That is really helpful, thank you! We're going out of town for the weekend so I plan to give it a try on Monday.

What times of the day do you recommend? First thing in the morning and then mid-evening? Since I'm home all day, I can probably do a little snack at noon too.
That'll depend on you. I started feeding Kaji around 8 am after our morning 30 min walk. Then I fed him dinner around 6-7 when I got home from work.

Now he eats breakfast at 6 am and dinner at 5-6 pm when I get home.


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