# Free feeding?



## rellek (Jun 12, 2013)

Please excuse me if this has been asked, but I did a search and didn't see a thread specifically on this -

Is it alright to free feed your puppy? I try to give Ludo 1/2-cup in the morning and 1/2-cup in the evening, but he is quite picky and unless I mix in yummies, he will not eat it a lot of it. If I leave the food out, he will come back to it and eat more later. Our vet told us he is skinny, so I am not worried about free feeding causing him to become overweight. I hear it can mess with potty training too, but he's doing pretty good with that and I am home a lot so I take him out every few hours regardless.

What are your opinions on this? He is a little over 13 weeks.


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## wellerfeller (Jul 12, 2011)

It is entirely your choice. Not every dog is the same so it may well suit him to graze as and when he wants. 
I am not a fan of free feeding but there are others on here that do it and its fine for them.
I prefer my dog to earn at least some of his daily feed and I do try to find ways to make him work for it. My dog as a pup did hit a fussy stage as he hit his teen time and I feel it could have gone either way. I chose to stick it out with set meals as I have children around and so don't want food left lying around all day. It can also encourage flys in hot weather. Plus it can make it more difficult to monitor what your dog is eating or if they are off colour. 
It's really what ever suits you, your dog and your lifestyle.


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## tessybear (May 1, 2011)

I agree with Karen, its depends what suits you. My cavalier was quite skinny and a fussy eater. I used to leave dried food out for him all the time in his bowl and he liked to graze at it throughout the day. He never became overweight. 
My two now get two meals a day, as if I left food out Dexter would eat it all!


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## lady amanda (Nov 26, 2010)

I started out free feeding....she would never eat her daily reccomended amount...the Vet said she was skinny, and virging on too skinny....so I switched her food to a moist fresh food, and she now loves her food, she is still skinny, but not too skinny, and she enjoys eating much more. 
Also you can train them that the food comes from you, and this can help your place in the pecking order. when you free feed, it is kind of just a magic bowl that keeps refilling. I think the training element in timed feeding can really help.


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## emjon123 (Apr 9, 2013)

I do not free feed Bailey mainly bacause I cannot stand food lying around. 

The other reason is the puppy training I go to discourages this because they believe in the Alpha role and say that a dog should be fed when the owner decides and taken away with ten minutes of it being left.

I honestly don't know if there is a right or wrong answer to the way dogs are fed but I do prefer not to have any type of food lying uncovered.

Taking away the food has worked for us, thankfully. Bailey is 12 weeks.


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## Florida Cockapoo (Aug 24, 2012)

I will not be free feeding our dog, being we have a cat and she would eat his food. Easier to get to than hers... We do free feed our cat, but that works more for cats. The dogs a had as a kid we never free fed.


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## Lexi&Beemer (May 5, 2013)

I would imagine it would be tough to keep track of your poo's poo. And poo 24/7. Mine seem to have a set schedule about 4 times a day. Early on that helped me keep track of when to expect those little nugget gifts. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2


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## tessybear (May 1, 2011)

Little nugget gifts haha!


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## rellek (Jun 12, 2013)

Haha  Well, it's been about three days of doing it (1/2-cup morning and night, and then just leave it out for him to finish) and he seems to be doing well. No accidents in the house (in fact, he hasn't pooped in the house in a couple weeks), and the food is gone eventually.


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