Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We've been free feeding our puppy (almost 6 months) since that's how he was fed before we got him. I know that free feeding is not a good thing and want to switch to scheduled feedings. I gave him breakfast this morning and he just finished it, almost 7 hours after I put the bowl down. How long should I wait before I take the food away and do I wait until the next meal to give it back to him? At this point, he will be fine with eating twice a day and he never really has an appetite, which is strange for the breed, so we're looking to feed him in the morning and evening. Thanks for any tips!
I feed my adult dogs twice per day at 7 AM and 5 PM. When I start scheduled feedings with foster and rescue dogs I keep the bowls down a max. of 15 minutes. If they don't eat within that time I pick up the bowls and present the food at the next scheduled feeding time. That ensures that they have an appetite and that they will eat. I also limit treats during the day. If I am training early in the day, I lighten up on the morning meal and the treats make up the total calorie needs. If I train in the afternoon they get less for dinner. It's important to figure in the treats when you calculate how much food you offer. I don't treat after the "dinner" feeding except a small tidbit right before bedtime as a "settle down" incentive.
I feed my adult dogs twice per day at 7 AM and 5 PM. When I start scheduled feedings with foster and rescue dogs I keep the bowls down a max. of 15 minutes. If they don't eat within that time I pick up the bowls and present the food at the next scheduled feeding time. That ensures that they have an appetite and that they will eat. I also limit treats during the day. If I am training early in the day, I lighten up on the morning meal and the treats make up the total calorie needs. If I train in the afternoon they get less for dinner. It's important to figure in the treats when you calculate how much food you offer. I don't treat after the "dinner" feeding except a small tidbit right before bedtime as a "settle down" incentive.
Same here! Works great for getting a dog on track. I feed a 5am and about 4pm. I leave it between 15 and 20 mins. I've not had a finicky eater in years. I also don't change out foods to often. They will get real finicky when offered too many choices.
Thanks for the tips! I will try this tonight and if he doesn't eat in 20 minutes, he's going to bed hungry. I hate to do that, but I know it has to be done. He just expects the food to be there all the time, so he eats as he pleases.
MAK
He will get use to it! And you know, it will be good for him!
Besides he will learn pretty quick to eat while it's there. And will make him actually hungry and Ready to eat.
Image if we just snacked all... day!
Sure you already know the benefits and all...
So you are on your way!
And I agree with the others here 15-20 down then pick it up and wait til next feeding...!
Huh...if a dog does not overeat when free-feeding, what's the point in putting them on a schedule? My dog does fine if I fill the bowl up in the morning and just leave it. Sometimes she eats it all, other times there's food left the next morning. And she's never gotten overweight from it.
Here are reasons why you should not free feed your dog:
1. Dogs are carnivores and are physiologically designed to eat larger meals (relatively, as opposed to grazing), digest quickly, then allow the digestive system to rest.
Animals who graze eat low nutrition 'foods' and have complex digestive systems in which the food must digest slowly for them to get enough nutrition. Carnivores on the other hand have much different systems that are not at all designed to work all day. For example a cow's digestive system is designed so that the work that goes into breaking up grasses begins in the mouth - like in all herbivores and true omnivores where at least a minimum of carbohydrate digestion begins with amylase enzymes in the saliva - and then continues in specialized portions of the stomachs; conversely a dog's system is meant to take in a bunch of meat, attack it with a high concentration of stomach acids and enzymes produced on demand by the pancreas, and then rest. Constant feeding requires organs like the pancreas to work constantly.
2. Dogs like structure and routine. Leaving food out all day makes it boring. It is no longer something to look forward to. Your dog may be more bored, and become more of a picky eater.
3. Dogs by nature guard food. By leaving food out all the time unguarded, even when you have no problem now, you are setting up the potential for this to become a resource to be guarded against, from children, other pets, even adults. You may have no problem for years and have this become an issue out of nowhere, in your own home, or especially when changes have occurred such as your dog being at a sitters.
4. Leaders control resources. By leaving food out all the time, you lose control. You may see it as you still being in control of the food, but you are in less control and you have reduced the connection between you and the food. While your dog may still see you as the leader, you have reduced your status as such.
Both 3 and 4 can create a heightened level of awareness and stress in a dog. A relaxed and balanced pet trusts his leader(s) - that's you - as being in control of all that is important. Even when they bark at the door over a potential 'intruder', they are telling you. When you create a situation where the primary resource is something they need to worry about, your dog now has concerns that are not ideal for the family pet.
5. Reducing the controlled aspect of the feeding situation makes it complicated should your dog require dietary changes in the future, for travel, health or other reasons.
mak802 -- that was a great post detailing the reasons a dog should have controlled feedings times. i've always wondered about that myself and had several conversations with a friend of mine about this same thing.
i will say this, though, i've never had my 12-year old dog on a controlled schedule...he's always been a grazer, and i've never had a problem with it, even with other dogs in the house. he's never overeaten, he's never become finicky, and he's never developed food competition even when we've lived with other dogs in the house.
when i've had to put him on a food schedule for months at the time over the last year because of illnesses he's contracted, it's been almost impossible to get him to eat twice a day, even luring him with his favorite foods. sometimes it's been hard to even get him to eat once a day.
this is not to say i disagree with your decision, though. of course i think you should do whatever works best for your dog. i just find this particular subject interesting b/c the exact opposite solution has worked so well for my dog.
(i think this may be like the argument for/against retractable leashes. some people HATE retractables, but they have been a lifesaver for me, and you couldn't pay me to use a regular leash! different strokes for different folks! )
mak802 -- that was a great post detailing the reasons a dog should have controlled feedings times. i've always wondered about that myself and had several conversations with a friend of mine about this same thing.
i will say this, though, i've never had my 12-year old dog on a controlled schedule...he's always been a grazer, and i've never had a problem with it, even with other dogs in the house. he's never overeaten, he's never become finicky, and he's never developed food competition even when we've lived with other dogs in the house.
when i've had to put him on a food schedule for months at the time over the last year because of illnesses he's contracted, it's been almost impossible to get him to eat twice a day, even luring him with his favorite foods. sometimes it's been hard to even get him to eat once a day.
this is not to say i disagree with your decision, though. of course i think you should do whatever works best for your dog. i just find this particular subject interesting b/c the exact opposite solution has worked so well for my dog.
(i think this may be like the argument for/against retractable leashes. some people HATE retractables, but they have been a lifesaver for me, and you couldn't pay me to use a regular leash! different strokes for different folks! )
good luck with your new puppy!
Good points. Free feeding does work well for many people and dogs. I tend to adopt older dogs and I also take in foster dogs, so schedules work for me on several levels, including managing housetraining, so that's why I've adopted a schedule.
Right now I have a glutton in my house. He takes anti-seizure meds and he'll eat anything, any time, all of the time.
Great post MAK, excellent points. Just make sure you are feeding that "carnivore" some real meat in true carnivore form, from time to time.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
it will be good for him! 
)
