Is leaving food out for your dog all day good?

Dobergirl · 01-06-2010, 07:55 AM

I know a lady with a lhasa apso and leaves food out for her all day. Is this good? Is it healthy?

**fawkese1** · 01-06-2010, 06:03 PM

a lot of people free feed successfully... but imo it is much better to schedule meal times...

scheduled mealtimes help you to keep track of how much your dog is eating,it is important to know if there are any appetite changes because this is a sign of possible illness and sometimes it is your only sign...
it also makes it easier to know when to expect the dog to eliminate (go to the bathroom) this is extremely helpful with house training....
some dogs just cannot be free-fed bc they will over-eat, and free feeding has been know to contribute to bloat...
oh, and food is a very important tool in training your dog... you can use scheduled meal times to help train many behaviors...like waiting patiently...

ScentHound · 01-06-2010, 06:16 PM

I free feed my two because I have such a messed up schedule myself. If I feed fresh, or canned as a treat, then I pick it up after a few hours just to be safe.

**Criosphynx** · 01-06-2010, 07:50 PM

I think it depends alot on the induvidual dog....I'd love to leave food down all the time...we did it with Scooter and Critter...but Emma and Tippy will just eat until they explode.

I like the structured feedings tho. Its much more work but Its a great training oportunity.

hkaga · 01-06-2010, 09:20 PM

i free feed with Ozzy and he does great with it.

Mikey · 01-07-2010, 01:26 AM

Totally depends on the animal-you'll likely never show me a lab who is being freefed.

If you schedule meals-there are benefits as the others have said. BUT you have to feed at the same time every day and you must ensure your feeding enough.

I free feed for several reasons. One-Mikey came to us skinny and I never want him to be hungry again. Two-I find dogs on 'meal plans' choke their food down quickly. Three-no way we could do set meal plans every day because of our schedules. Four-I find they are calmer eating and guard it less.

For me it works. For others it might not-just depends on you and the dog.

**kmes** · 01-07-2010, 03:17 PM

I would love to free feed my pekes but because of my pug and min pin there is absolutely no chance of that happening! Roxy and Penny devour everything in sight!

I do however like to have scheduled feeding as it provides a good chance for training and also makes the dogs focus on me more. This is especially good for Penny as Min Pins tend to be very independent.