|
Free feeding ?? Hello: I was wondering how many of your free feed your Yorkies (ie - leave the food down all the time). We were doing this originally until the trainer in puppy class said not to. I've been going home at lunch to feed Brady but we are moving and I won't be able to come home so I was thinking I would leave her food down all day. Any opinions? |
I have always done free feeding with my poodles, I had over the last 32 years, and now doing it with my first Yorkie. I dont have a problem with it, why did the trainer say its a no-no??? Inquiring paw would like to know?? Chelsea'sMom :aimeeyork |
Sully gets food twice a day. At around 11 a.m. and about 5 p.m. If he does not eat his food while it's out, it gets put away and he must wait until the next meal-time. We were advised this by our breeder AND by the trainer at PetSmart and has worked well for Sully! He knows to eat his food when it's there....and by now, if he doesn't, I know he must not have been hungry. |
Yup! Baily has food down all the time, as well as water. I remove the water/food from the floor at around 7pm for the night (he goes in his crate anywhere between 9-11pm). |
Stewie has food down all the time. He usually only eats it two or three times a day, though. I too am curious as to why it woudln't be advised to free feed. |
One major reason for not free feeding all the time is housebreaking the dog. It is much easier to house train them if they are on a regular schedule of being fed. But, if you own a tiny, it is recommemded to free feed because they can only eat a little at a time, and the tinies are more prone to have hypogycemic attacks if they do not eat enough. My dogs are fed twice a day, once in the early morning and once in the late afternoon. |
I also do the free feeding. Cordelia eats a lot, but not too much to wear she is being a little pig. I think puppies should have access to their food. That’s just my opinion, plus the vet said it wasn't a problem |
Quote:
|
I feed at specific times, but I guess it started that way because of necessity. I work during the day, so the dogs are crated. They eat in the morning, at like 5:30 and then at night around 5:30. I agree that it helps having scheduled eating times for potty training. I know to expect poop in the morning and when I get home from work from Hercules. Now with the new baby, Athena, I don't quite have a great schedule like that yet. She goes whenever she wants!! By the way, I've never had a problem with hypoglocemia with either puppy. So I guess that's why it's worked so well for me. |
I was also recommended by the breeder not to free feed Mojo. I knew from experience that teaching commands and potty training are way easier when the dog is in a scheduled eating habits. |
Being in control Lucy's trainer also told our class not to leave the food down as this is a way to show you are the one in control. She said leave the food down for 30 minutes max and then pick up the bowl whether it still had food in it or not and put it up on the counter. She explained this method on more of a "you are the one in control" focus versus it being a potty training thing, although it most likely does help with the potty training as well. |
When Lucy was a puppy we used to only put food down for half an hour a couple of times a day, but now she is older and house broken we free feed and have had no problems :) |
I have small yorkies so the dry food is out all the time! Ithink another reason a trainer may not want food out all the time is so you can time the training sessions appropriately so they are really hungry. My puppies seem to always be willing to work for a treat rather than the dry kibble. |
I have food and water available at all times. He eats in the morning and when I get home in the evening, but his dry is always available to him. |
Free feeding 1 Attachment(s) I got Riley three weeks ago, and the vet recommended free feeding. I gave him a sample of five premium foods for the first few days. He chose his favorite (Science Diet original puppy food) and I have kept his bowl full at all times. Sometimes he will eat a handful- other times just a piece or two for a snack. It seems to be working well! |
I free feed Fred as well.. maybe that's why I can't keep up with his peeing! I'm scared he might be hungry and I don't know it. Maybe I'm just paranoid! :rolleyes: But what would you guys recommend? I really need to potty train him to alarm us when he needs to pee. It hasn't happened yet because I'm so paranoid of him being hungry! |
My vet recommended free feeding Archie, because he is a picky eater. I give him fresh food every morning and every evening. I couldn't bear the thought of not leaving food for him to eat all day, and plus...what if I get it wrong? What if I don't feed him enough, or maybe too much?! Too much to worry about...I just let Archie decide. He also gets taken out three times a day, and I don't really see a problem. He knows when he gets taken out and if it's a real emergency, there's a wee wee pad in the bathroom which he uses (like in the middle of the night). When potty training Archie, I knew that he needed to go out because he'd start sniffing around and acting really hyper, so I'd take him out at that point. When he went, I'd praise him a lot. if he went in the house, I'd say "NO!" and bring him to the wee wee pad. Somehow, he figured out that he must go outside, or he must go on the wee wee pad (and alert me after he does so I can throw the pad away). He's surprisingly good about that! |
I just want to add that although I free feed Archie, he still eats at the same time everyday. He'll eat after his walk in the morning and between 10 and 11 at night. |
Thanks for all the tips, I think I'm going to start leaving Brady's kibble down all day and give him his breakfast and dinner the way we have been (7:30 and 6) - I also can't bare the thought of my baby being hungry and not having food to eat. I'm amazed that Archie will go outside and on the pee pad...Brady will only go on the pee pad. For Nathalie: controlling his pee pee will be harder, Fred needs to learn to hold his pee until he's taken out. It's really important for them to have access to water whenever they need it..... I honestly don't know what we would've done without the pads cause in the beginning Brady was going every half hour. |
yeah, I didn't think that it was unusual that Archie did this, but I guess it is...It's very funny because I didn't exactly plan for it to be this way. He just started peeing in the bathroom in the middle of the night when my boyfriend got home and went to the bathroom. Archie would follow him in and when he was done with the bowl, Archie would lean up against it and go...so we just put wee wee pads in the bathroom and the rest is history. By the way, I found out that hospitals use wee wee pads for patients. I asked my friend who is an EMT to ask a doctor at the hospital for wee wee pad. If you have any friends or family in hospitals, this is an option. |
| All times are GMT -8. The time now is 03:11 AM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2026, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Copyright ©2003 - 2018 YorkieTalk.com
Privacy Policy - Terms of Use