# free feeding



## luvsmalts (Oct 21, 2008)

My breeder told me to feed Boomer 2 x a day when I got him at 18 weeks. I would put his food down but he was only taking a few bites.

My vet suggested I just leave it out all day so he could graze, and that's been working fine. Now that he's almost 9 mos old and 5 1/2 lbs I 'm thinking I should try two feelings a day again.

My question is when you feed your dogs do they gobble it all up at once or do you leave what they don't eat out, or do you take it up for the next feeding?


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## tokipoki (Jun 20, 2012)

I tried free-feeding Toki but some days she just wouldn't eat very much which bothered me.

What we do now is for breakfast, she gets either raw food or her regular kibble with a little canned mixed in so that she will eat it all and not have an empty stomach and get the empty-tummy-yaks. But for dinner, we set down just plain kibble at 6PM. She'll eat about a third to a half of it and finish the rest around 8...I leave out her evening kibble and throw out whatever is left at bedtime. 

I know some people only leave food down for 15-20 minutes and then take it back up to teach their dogs when to eat but I feel like that would encourage Toki to inhale her food which I don't want. 

So to answer your question, I take up whatever Toki doesn't eat at breakfast (she usually eats all of it since I add yummy things to it) but I put out her dinner at 6 and leave it out until bed so that she can eat at her own pace. Toki gobbles up breakfast and eats her dinner slower. This has worked well for us! I like scheduled feedings because you know exactly how much food your dog is eating and it makes weight control easier.


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## educ8m (May 19, 2010)

It seems like free feeding has worked well for your fluff. If she's a good weight it means she is eating only when she is hungry and is stopping when she is not hungry. Since you've done this since she was a puppy, she knows the food is always available and doesn't have the need to gobble it down until it is gone. Since it's worked so well, I don't know why you would want to change.

With my previous dogs, I did free feed. But now that mine are fed raw, they are obviously on a schdule.


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## pammy4501 (Aug 8, 2007)

I stopped free feeding long ago. I try to feed food that they are very interested in. I put the food down for about 20 minutes. I pick it up after that and feed again at night. Two meals a day. My dogs are perfectly weighted, have gorgeous coats and healthy. There is the occasional meal that one or the other will not take. But they always come around by the next one.


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## shellbeme (Mar 1, 2011)

When I first brought my boys home, they didn't eat well. They would nibble, I freaked. Eventually I put the food down, I leave food down for 15 minutes, if it is not eaten in 15 minutes they get nothing until next feeding. My boys now eat their dinner and their breakfast when it is served. Feeding this way, I also know if there is a problem, the only time they don't eat is if they have a tummy ache or something.


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## luvsmalts (Oct 21, 2008)

Thanks for all the comments, it appears most feed on a schedule. I'm going to try and see how it goes. I've been bad about just keeping his bowl full all the time and really have no clue how much he eats.


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