Feeding Time

MikaAndMe

I have a general question for everyone: Do you feed your dog on a schedule or do you put a certain amount in a bowl and let them eat when they choose? Also, feel free to explain the benefits of why you do it your way or perhaps why you can't do it the way you'd like. Mika tends to be picky about when she eats so when I was feeding her on a schedule sometimes she wouldn't want to eat right then. Now I just put the recommended amount in a bowl and let her eat when she wants. Should I not be doing this? Thanks in advance for your comments.

Romi

I feed my dogs on a schedule. I work from home, so my sleeping schedule varies, but I tend to wake up between 8-9am (sometimes later! :X) and take the dogs for their morning walk, which is about 45 minutes to an hour. When we get home, I shower and give time for the pups to catch their breath and relax. It's about a 30 minute break. Then I feed them. I give them 20 minutes to eat their food. If they don't eat all of it or any of it, I take it away. Then I take them outside to potty. Around 2 or 3pm I take them out for a short 15-20 minute walk, this is usually training time for me. And again around 630pm I feed them again - I give them 20 minutes to eat and if they don't eat or finish it all, I take it away and they have to wait until morning to get fed again. I then take them for their night walk around 8pm for an hour.

My reasons for setting a set schedule feeding time is so that there aren't any messes. When you let your dog free feed, you can't estimate when they will need to potty. Usually after a dog eats, they will need to go potty right after, or usually within an hour of eating. If you do not work from home, or aren't home for 8 hours a day like the average person, feeding on a schedule will definately benefit you.

But I do leave water out 24/7.

*edit* and if you have a picky eater - setting a schedule will also make the dog realize "crap, if i don't eat my food now, it will be taken away and I won't get any more for hours!" and they will most likely learn to eat when the food is available.

JessicaRabbit

The dogs are fed at 5am and then taken on a 2 mile (used to be 5 but Piggy isn't strong enough after her surgery yet) walk. They are taken on a short walk at around 12. Then they are fed a second time at 5:30 in the evening and then taken on another 2 mile walk.

Our dogs devour their food. It is gone in under a minute.

dlroberts

I'm also a schedule feeder. As long as you aren't having potty problems in the house and you don't have another dog to deal with its probably fine to free feed if that's what you prefer. Just be aware that if you plan to get another dog some day you may need to change Mika to a schedule which could be harder if done once she's older. When Joey was a young puppy, he ate 4 times a day, then 3, and now 2 just like Lucy. It took him a few months, but he went from being a picky eater to devouring his entire meal within 2-3 minutes, just like Romi suggested.

With all of Lucy's food allergies (and food possessiveness) feeding time has to be carefully supervised in my house. It would be impossible if I let them free feed.

MikaAndMe

I actually am home all day with Mika. I just go to college and I take online classes so I'm here pretty much all day with her. So, the potty thing isn't a problem as I always see when see eats, or rather hear it, lol. Nevertheless, I was mainly wondering about health. Like if they would eat more in one sitting just because food is left since I put a full days worth in her bowl. Does anyone have any idea about that?

JessicaRabbit

Many vets discourage free feeding as dogs will stuff themselves. And things can get messy if you ever decided to get a second dog.

ljowen123

I'm a schedule feeder, also. Jazz doesn't always eat her food, but when it's put down again, she snarfs it.

CrimsonO2

I'm a schedule feeder. Ichi used to be a picky eater but once he figured out the food disappears after 25 min. whether he's done or not, his finickiness disappeared.

It's harder to time his outdoor potty breaks if I don't schedule him.

Jesse

Kaddy

I feed our dogs at 6:30am and pm everyday ... which means I have to set an alarm to get up and feed them, cuz I do NOT get up at that silly hour!

I also give them 20 minutes and the bowl goes away whether they've eaten everything or nothing. Our vet said the Innova bag feeding guidelines were right on the money, so we just go by those amounts.

I also take them out at scheduled potty times. 6:30am, 10:00am, 4:00pm, 7:30pm and 10:30 pm... if they need additional potty times they let us know! ) (We actually adopted this schedule because these were the times they would look at us and whine to go out... so it just seemed natural to use that to our advantage!)

MikaAndMe

Looks like I am going to start feeding on a schedule, lol. It seems to be the obviously best way to go for my dog to be healthy and prepared in case I get another dog. Thanks again for all of the input. I got the answer I was looking for.

santuzza

With my last dog, a notoriously fussy eater, I found that free feeding made her more picky about what was in her bowl as well. She'd hold out for over 24 to 48 hours to see if, when we changed the food, we'd give in and give her a steak or something. Tightening her schedule helped a lot. Best of luck.

tsukitsune

We used to free feed, it helped with the swinging door of dogs I had all the time. But when I adopted a resident dog (tsuki), we had to get puppy formula food, so she had to eat on her own, on a schedule. Than our second resident dog would gorge himself and fought over the food bowl, so we switched to scheduled feedings.
I think it helps the potty schedule, even if you are home during the day - which I am this semester for 3 days then I work 4.
I'm sure if I didn't, I'd have very picky shiba eaters. The more you restrict their eating times, the less picky they are. Its the honest to goodness truth.

I have found that the older dogs become, the more they rely on patterns and predictability. Like Romi said, my dogs know that when I get out of bed, they get to walk, then I eat, then they eat, then I go to work or I do whatever at home. They know after work, they get let out, we eat, they eat then we all walk. They are on a schedule and it is so much easier that way and I think they enjoy it.

KFontaine04

I am a free feeder. Miso tends to be picky and for some reason likes to eat around 2am. He doesn't have any messes and it seems to fit him better.

Now, on that note, we just got a puppy and she HAS to be on a schedule because of the potty thing. So poor Miso is learning to eat when the food dish hits the floor because it gets picked up and put away while we are at work. He seems to be okay with the situation, but I know he would rather eat on his own schedule. He never stuffed himself so there wasn't a problem with leaving food out.

Sake stuffs herself so we can't leave food out, hopefully she will get over the stuffing so we can free feed again because Miso likes his 2am snacks...

sunyata

With my pups, I have always been a free feeder. It seems to work out better (especially for these lovely cat-like dogs). I have never had a problem with messes or gorging. Although, I may just be lucky. I put the recommended daily amount in the bowls for each pup, and they eat as necessary. Sometimes it is gone at the end of the day, sometimes not. It depends on their activity level for the day, I suppose.

brandon_w

Nemo is fed at 5:30 am and 6:00 pm. 1/2 cup of food plus supplements per feeding. He eats in 30 seconds.

kwyld

My dogs eat at scheduled times twice per day, once in the am, once in the pm. They scarf their food and it's gone in under a minute. I believe free feeding a dog can lead to behavioral issues and weight gain issues. If you had a cat it could be free fed and not potentially be a problem(even though I had cats that ate at scheduled times) but I personally would not recommend free feeding a dog. If you fed your pups on a schedule, I'll guarantee they will not be picky about their food for long, as long as you pick the food up if they don't finish within 10 minutes or so.

If I free fed my dogs there would be fights, blood and fur flying around my house every minute of the day, not to mention my Dutch Shepherd would probably bloat and my two little ones would be really fat.

CrimsonO2

When do you switch a dog from 3 meals to 2 meals a day?

Jesse

AkiraleShiba

Akira is free fed, that's what our vet liked best and we have not had any problem with it. Recently I read that shibas do well on free feeding because they are primitive breed and do not respond as well to having a feeding ritual.

Akira is not gaining weight, had never had accidents in the appartment, loves his kibble so he's no fussy eater but he likes to eat late, he'll eat his bowl in two shots but not always at the same time. I guess for us it works, but it might not for everyone.

Kaddy

Crimson - we switched from 3 meals a day to 2 meals as soon as Keiko seemed uninterested in one of the meals. I think it was around 4 months, but I'm sure that could vary with every dog.

kwyld

I would say for a Shiba 6-8 months of age. 4 mons is fine too, every dog is different

CrimsonO2

He's only at 11 weeks but I'm starting to see him get disinterested in 1 of his 3 meals (6:00 a.m., 11:30 a.m., and 6:00 p.m.). Just wanted to know whether there would be a "too early" age to switch from 3 to two.

Thanks,
Jesse

BradA1878

We feed our pups on a schedule, one in the AM and once in the PM. Some of our pups would probably do ok if free fed, and one of them [Maui] would probably do better if free fed.

We don't free feed for three reasons, the first being rather obvious:

1 - We have to many dogs, they would fight over food.

2 - (most important, imo) Feeding your dog on a schedule helps to keep the value of the food high in your dog's mind, and so that can help in training.

3 - Feeding your dog on a schedule helps them associate the food with you and not the food with the bowl, and that helps to build their respect for you because they will see you as a "provider".

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MikaAndMe

That makes sense Brad, I never looked at it that way. I am switching to a schedule just because it seemed like to me that Mika would eat too much in one sitting. Some days I was having to put extra food in her bowl at night or else she would whine because her bowl was already empty. Another reason is because I am training her more now and I don't want her eating extra food while getting extra treats. I feed her Orijen Puppy and she loves it so I'm sure this new schedule won't be a problem.

CrimsonO2

There was a time when Ichi porked out on the Orijen puppy and I had to cut his afternoon meal back some. I think placing that higher value on food freaked him out and swung the pendulum from finicky to gluttony. He's balanced out now but it's amazing to see the behavioral adjustments a dog will make in a matter of days once you enforce a feeding schedule.

Good luck with Mika.

Thanks,
Jesse

the_november_rain

One more thing, a feeding schedule allows you to detect a loss in appetite much easier. A loss in appetite can usually be related to an illness or problem of some sort. Scheduled feeding is another way to gauge the well being of your animal.

Honey's mom

We free feed honey. She is SUCH a slow eater. She takes ONE kibble and carries it away from the bowl and then eats it. Then goes back for another. When she's REALLY hungry, like after a long walk or a trip to the dog park, she will stay at her bowl and eat more.....but still doesnt gorge herself.

Since we have only Her, this works for us. All of the info given is wonderful. Gives me alot to think about. But for now......free feeding just works best for Honey and I.

tobyshiba

Because of schedule conflicts, Toby never had a third meal as a puppy, he was always strictly on two meals a day. Everyone had work, I had school. Toby never had any issues. He certainly never really skipped a meal ( except for the one time he had major diarrhea and wasn't feeling good ). He's always eaten his food everytime he is offered it.

MommyofNiko

I also do schedule. Niko was fine free feeding but when we got Sasha she needed to loose a lot of weight (she has lost 15 lb since we got her).
I understand what you all are saying that free feed about being picky and not eating much, but when they are on a schedule they learn to eat when it is given to them or they wont eat until next time.

Hinata23

@brada1878

Hey Brad, we've been feeding ChoCho a little off schedule... She won't eat until we take her on walks in the morning... We take her out around 9am and feed her around 10:30-11am. We take her out again between 6-8pm and she'll eat around 9pm sometimes even later.

Could this be one of the reasons why her tummy is so upset (aside from everything else)?

BradA1878

@Hinata23 - No, I don't think so. She's been with you long enough to where she would have adapted to a new schedule. Are the meds not helping her loose poo?

Hinata23

@brada1878 She's done with the med. Poop is a bit more solid, but still greenish and she's still gassy.

She won't go potty in the backyard... pee or poo

Is it ok for her to only out 2x a day? We take her on 3 sometimes, but since she's stops walking and sits down as far as a 30 mins away from the house (i can't carry her that far!) it's becoming harder to take her out more... So walks are very long and very tiring, for me at least (she's getting heavy!). As soon as she realizes that we're turning around she plops on the ground. I have to have jeff come pick me up and vis a versa most of the time.

I'm worried that holding her poop could also be a factor.