|
Do you leave food available all the time? Both my husband and I work, so our 4 month puppy is left at home from around 8Am till 6-7pm. He's not potty trained, so we leave in a separate room (the laundry) where he has his bed, his toys, water and food. We leave the food available all the time, so he can eat whenever he feels like. I am not sure if it's a good thing to do though. He's became very picky eater and while he is all active and full of energy, I did notice he lost some weight. He's still healthy and not looking thin, though. But he's not into eating that much. He seems to be eating more when I feed him from my hand. What should we do? Also, this might look like he's home alone all the time, but in reality we do have a cleaning lady who comes in once-twice per day when we are gone to check on him and clean up his area. It's just that we do not control her schedule, so she comes in whenever she has time, that's why we prefer to leave food for him available. But is it a good thing to do? |
We have free fed Lana for all eight years of her life. With that being said...she is overweight. So about 2 weeks ago we changed to 2 times a day and believe me, she doesn't like it, but she is dropping weight! I think there was too much snacking going on before. I don't know. Hope that helps! |
Personally, I think it's easier to regulate the potty schedule if you don't leave food out all day long. My b/f and I both work also. Ozzy is in his crate while we're out. I get up early enough that I can take him for a walk in the morning, feed him and make sure he has water, and play with him. He goes in the crate at about 7:45 a.m. He has no food or water in the crate. My b/f is home by 2:30 p.m. and he takes him out for a walk, then he has free roam of the main floor for the rest of the night. We feed him dinner between 6:30 and 7:00 then its off to the park or another walk around our townhouse complex. I think this is really helping Ozzy with potty training. We know exactly when he's going to need to go poop, which is really the hard part of training IMO because he doesn't do it as often as peeing, so the reward is not reinforced as much. |
Quote:
They also go through growth stages, where he may be looking pudgy one day and then thin the next, which can be attributed to growth (not literally in one day) then he'll put on weight again, and then seem to lose it , just appearing thinner and maybe taller. You may want to gradually increase the amount he eats in the upcoming months, as he grows, he'll need to eat a bit more. Try taking pics of him once a week to document his growth, that way you have something to compare to. |
We have 4 dogs and have always free fed them. We have both the 2.5 gallon LeBistro feeder and water container/bowl. We keep food and water out all the time and our dogs eat and drink whenever they want. We don't put them in kennels for long periods of time when we're out and they are never home alone for very long. This works well for us. With just one dog, I would probably keep food and water available but try to better regulate the food since it is not being shared with other dogs. This would help prevent the dog from becoming sick from not eating or drinking for long periods of time. You have to be careful with small dogs like yorkies. |
A 4 month old puppy should have food & water available at all time...they only eat a few kibbles at a time and there is less chance of hyperglycemia occurring I free feed all of my dogs adults & puppies |
Bentley has food left out all day but I think I want to change that because a pet trainer said that it's not a good idea for me to do that he should have like 10 min to eat and then the food should be taken away or wen the are dome the food should be moved .... |
Yorkies eating habits are very different from most others they nibble where some others gulp all of the food they see and look for more |
Quote:
Thank you everyone for your input. It seems I will keep free feeding him. |
My puppy is also 4 months old now! I leave dry food available all the time. And, I give her a little of wet food 3 times a day. However, once she gets older, in a few months, I ll stop the wet food and start feeding her dry food on a schedule. At only 4 months, it is better to live her food at all time so that she doesn't get hypoglycemia! |
I learned this the hard way, and in my opinion the answer is...NO !! I did for years with no problem, they were all standard size, very well proportioned and healthy Yorkiees. But it is a whole different story now, my yorkies just blew up. I'm convinced that is is due to the spay and neutering. Could also be over eating and competition for food. So now they have been on a diet for the past 18 months or so. I have four Porky Yorkies that are not happy about having their food limited to three portioned feedings per day. On a good note 3 out of the 4 have lost some weight. not much but it is a start. |
Regardless of his age, you may want to start him on a feeding schedule so that you can also get him started on potty training! It is much harder to potty train a pup that is being free fed. Puppy just need to eat more frequently and than should be reduced with age as they grow and the belly/blatter gets larger and they are able to hold more in between each feeding. But, thats just me... others may not see my point of view. |
When I first got coco, i fed her 3x a day because thats what the breeder told me. and I kept with her feeding schedule. once at 7am 12pm and 6pm. I gave her breakfast and dinner and because I'm at work and i can't check up on her until 1pm or 2.30pm I purchased an automatic feeder. Now lets fast forward. I noticed that coco is not eating her 1/2 cup serving split into 3 meals. I spoke to the vet and the vet was confused why i was feeding her 3x a day and told me to feed her two times. But then I decided to do the whole I'll leave it for the whole day and she can eat it whenever she is hungry. It actually works out better for her. I noticed her eating 80% of her daily serving. Before it was only 30%. So i guess this all depends on how old your dog is. But if your dog is loosing weight= not eating much, leaving the food out might help! Coco is now 7.5 months old. I started free feeding her at 7 months. her potty went from several times a day to 3 times a day once when i wake up, once when im at work in her play pen in her pee pad and once around 9pmish and she poops shortly after i get in from work. |
I did until doing more research. Free feeding tells a dog they are in charge. As the alpha, I am in charge and they eat when I say. I now feed them 4 small meals per day. I want to make sure they were eating every few hours, and it does help with a potty schedule. I use potty pads but I also take them to the garage after meals, upon waking, and before bedtime and tell them go potty-on their potty pads out there. (after having Noah get sick, I'm not too keen on having them in my front yard and the back yard is being revamped right now so I don't want them out there with power tools, lumber, etc) |
Darwin & Mabel have always had access to food & water. Like a lot of pack animals, they usually eat when we do. They eat a little bit at a time and have never had a weight issue. Works for us but I am almost always at home with them. Even if I'm out for the day, they can go for 7 hours without needing to go out. |
I feed my pup 3 times a day. If I left food out for him he would eat allllll day! I feel like it's a good training method (has to earn his food), as well as helpful for potty training, and it lets him know that I am his pack leader and he doesn't get to control his life. My husband and I are lucky though- we work at home except for just a few hours in the afternoon... so we're usually around to feed him. When we're gone he goes in his crate and usually just sleeps. Not free feeding is what works for us and our vet discouraged free feeding also. -elyse |
Leaving food for them all day long, works best for my babies. I changed from commerical dog food to natural food (live longer, no health issues, skin & coat shinnier, even attitude changed ...now they think their human babies)....& I have NO REGRET!!! Fresh veggies & fruit, liver, chicken, beef...new receipes all the time so they dont get bored and eat healthly...excercise them at a nearby park once or twice daily or - let them run around, chase birds, squirrels & chipmunks....I let them be dogs! They live life to the fullest! |
I have 4 so I have always fed them by hand to make sure they get their share. The one time I put food down for them, my baby Sassy almost choked to death on a piece of kibble. I had to do the Heimlich maneuver on her to save her life. Another YT member posted last week that she was free feeding her yorkie and came home and he had choked on his food and died. I just don't want that to happen to anyone. I did change my dogs food to much smaller pieces, they are 6-16 lbs, all Yorkies. |
Quote:
I know for me I don't free feed and I don't leave treats or chewies out either when I am gone. Too many things can happen. |
Quote:
|
For Ellie her kibble is in her playpen and she goes in there throughout the day to chill and eat. So she eats when she feels like it. Usually I don't give her any when I leave. Depends on how long I will be gone. My other (non Yorkie) puppy eats 2x daily. |
Joey's breeder said to free feed till they are 6-7 months in order to prevent hypoglycemia. I don't think you really need to worry about weight the first 6 months, they go through growth spurts and some days will eat twice as much as other days, and you want that food available until they have at least reached 4 pounds. After that, twice a day is fine for most dogs, but some dogs are free fed their entire lives and never get fat. |
No. She is 12 weeks and gets fed 3 times a day. Homegirl LOVES to eat and if I free fed her she would eat all.day.long. |
I free feed pups until they are 6 months old or 5 pounds....whichever comes first. My first two, I free fed until they were 2 years old. Then we got a Westie puppy and she is the type that will eat until there is no food left. So, we started scheduled feedings when she hit 5 pounds. None of my 4 have weight issues. |
My Tibbs did this and still acted like he was starving. SO now I feed him and Bella on a schedule 3 times a day. Once at 8am when I get up again about noon and then between 4-6. Hope this helps. |
Because I stay at home right now, I feed 5 to 6 tiny meals. Yorkies are not like my Jack Russell, he eats every morning and every night. My yorkie eats tiny portions. If I had to work, I too would have to leave out her kibble so she could nibble from time to time during the day, but the amount I feed for a whole day would still be the same, this kibble I left out wouldn't be in addition to her meals. |
I have always scheduled fed Taycie. For me, and Taycie it works the best. When she was a puppy I was trying to free feed her but she would linger at her food dish and sometimes I got worried she wasn't eating enough. Scheduled feedings helped her learn to eat when food was available. That is what worked for us, but ...every dog is different. I feed first thing after her morning potty then when I get home from work anywhere between 5 and 6. Right before bed I usually give her a small handful of kibble as a treat. |
I tried to follow the schedule her breeder gave me, but Gracie was so inconsistent she started losing a little weight. I hand fed, played games with food, did just about everything but stand on my head to get her to eat consistently. She was eating, but not her full 3 meals per day and if I took the food away after 10 or 20 minutes, she wouldn't have eaten at all. Don't want to free feed for all the reasons listed though. So yesterday, I got a small can of Science Diet wet food and mixed a TEENY bit with her kibble and she practically inhaled her meal. Same thing this morning. I'm using so little that the small can should last 3 or 4 days. What a difference. I want to keep her on kibble for her teeth, and didn't want to change her kibble so soon, but wanted her to eat regularly. Problem solved. I'm home all day, but if I weren't I'd probably mix the wet and dry for breakfast and dinner then leave a signle meal-portion amount of kibble out during the day. For Gracie, I'd know at least that the was eating a good breakfast before I left for work. |
We free feed our Sophie. She eats until she's full and then walks away from her bowl not to return until she is hungry again. Works great for all of us :) |
If you don't mind spending some money, let me suggest getting an automatic feeder which can help portion your meal and your pup can be on a schedule! Search on eBay for some cheap ones. I dont think you should leave too much food for him. First, they might eat too quickly or too much (making them get fat!) and second (just my thought) its in the laundry room so there may be a lot of dust and bacteria that might get into his food while its in the plate! |
| All times are GMT -8. The time now is 03:39 PM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2026, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Copyright ©2003 - 2018 YorkieTalk.com
Privacy Policy - Terms of Use