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Jackie
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27-05-2013, 04:30 PM
I am not a fan of free feeding, I think it makes picky eaters if food is always around for them to graze on, also my dogs like routine , and part of that routine is feeding times.

I disagree that a dog won't gorge themselves on food, or stop when they are full, dogs are opportunists, and will eat till there is nothing left to eat.

Plus I don't like food hanging around , my dogs get fed, the Bowls are then taken up and washed after each feed.
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Tang
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27-05-2013, 04:33 PM
I too do not like food left anywhere let alone on the floor where all the pests are. And it gets dusty. I too like to wash the dishes every time they are used.

If dogs knew to stop eating when they've had enough there'd be no overweight dogs!
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mjfromga
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27-05-2013, 09:03 PM
Of course some dogs gorge themselves on food, and for those dogs... free feeding is a really bad idea.

If dogs knew to stop eating when they've had enough there'd be no overweight dogs!

Absolutely untrue. The wrong diet and lack of exercise can make any dog overweight, even if they are fed portions. I knew a man who fed his dog a diet of boiled chicken and rice.

He didn't feed them tons of it, normal meals. But the dogs never got proper walks and one was spayed and she just gained so much weight.

I disagree that a dog won't gorge themselves on food, or stop when they are full, dogs are opportunists, and will eat till there is nothing left to eat.

Not all dogs are like that. Neither Nigredo nor my previous dog Brownie are mega greedy and gorge themselves on food. Jade is like that, but NOT all dogs are like that. If all dogs were like that, then free feeding wouldn't even be an option at all for a method of feeding dogs.
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Jackie
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28-05-2013, 07:58 AM
Originally Posted by mjfromga View Post
Absolutely untrue. The wrong diet and lack of exercise can make any dog overweight, even if they are fed portions. I knew a man who fed his dog a diet of boiled chicken and rice.

.
I disagree..
Dogs by their very nature are scavengers, their mind set will tell them to eat what is in front of them, they have no conception that there will be more food coming later.

I assume when you "free feed" your dogs , they are only getting the daily allowance for said dogs, so in effect, free feeding or dividing it up into separate meals throughout the day should NOT make any difference to a dogs weight., this is totally different to a dog gorging himself on what ever food he can find, which instigated my reply to your comment .......

Dogs are not stupid for the most part and I don't think most family pets would eat WAY more than they should.
I completely disagree with that thinking, if you left food around most dogs will eat it , regardless of whether you have just fed them or not.

Why do you think dogs beg for food and eat table scraps? its not because they are hungry, its because its there, and they have been given the opportunity to eat it.

Of course you will get some dogs that are picky eater, and pick at their food, that goes without saying, but for the most part a dog will eat till its belly is bursting if given the chance.
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Florence
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28-05-2013, 09:04 AM
Originally Posted by mjfromga View Post
Thanks everyone for the comments. I personally would not recommend free feeding to most people either, but it works for my dog and some of the reasons I see against it are just silly!
So why wouldn't you recommed it to most people? If you disagree with the reasons stated, then for you to discourage other people from free feeding you must have other reasons why it's not ideal for most dogs..
Also, this basically means all that you stated in the first post is solely based on your experience and your dogs. You dismiss those reasons because they don't apply to your dogs. But they probably apply to the majority of dogs out there. And also, remember not everybody has a well trained dog. Most people just teach their dogs sit and give paw and that's about it (not people here, obvs) so their dogs wouldn't be as well behaved to not eat other dog's food etc.

Originally Posted by Jackbox View Post
I disagree..
Dogs by their very nature are scavengers, their mind set will tell them to eat what is in front of them, they have no conception that there will be more food coming later.

I assume when you "free feed" your dogs , they are only getting the daily allowance for said dogs, so in effect, free feeding or dividing it up into separate meals throughout the day should NOT make any difference to a dogs weight., this is totally different to a dog gorging himself on what ever food he can find, which instigated my reply to your comment .......



I completely disagree with that thinking, if you left food around most dogs will eat it , regardless of whether you have just fed them or not.

Why do you think dogs beg for food and eat table scraps? its not because they are hungry, its because its there, and they have been given the opportunity to eat it.

Of course you will get some dogs that are picky eater, and pick at their food, that goes without saying, but for the most part a dog will eat till its belly is bursting if given the chance.
I agree with Jackbox.
It's in the dog's nature to eat whenever they can because they might not find something for a while again. I understand some dogs can be free fed, Ella for example isn't very food driven and I have to almost force her to eat her food. But that's probably because she used to be fed human food all the time so now she's not used to dog food anymore.
But I feed her set meals because I want to know when she needs to go. If I have to leave her alone for longer I will feed her less so she won't need a poo as quickly, and will give her another meal when I'm back.
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Tang
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28-05-2013, 09:18 AM
I don't think it is untrue. If a dog gets no exercise it shouldn't need as much food as one that does exercise regularly.

Just as with humans - if you take in more food / calories than you need for the activity level you have - (barring some medical conditions) you will become overweight.

Some dogs, just like some people, will eat 'for the sake of it' or 'out of habit' or just because they crave stuff they like the taste of. Not because they need the food to maintain their energy levels.
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catrinsparkles
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28-05-2013, 02:20 PM
Originally Posted by Jackbox View Post
I disagree..
Dogs by their very nature are scavengers, their mind set will tell them to eat what is in front of them, they have no conception that there will be more food coming later.

I assume when you "free feed" your dogs , they are only getting the daily allowance for said dogs, so in effect, free feeding or dividing it up into separate meals throughout the day should NOT make any difference to a dogs weight., this is totally different to a dog gorging himself on what ever food he can find, which instigated my reply to your comment .......



I completely disagree with that thinking, if you left food around most dogs will eat it , regardless of whether you have just fed them or not.

Why do you think dogs beg for food and eat table scraps? its not because they are hungry, its because its there, and they have been given the opportunity to eat it.

Of course you will get some dogs that are picky eater, and pick at their food, that goes without saying, but for the most part a dog will eat till its belly is bursting if given the chance.
I think it completely depends on the dog, I've four dogs as an adult and two of them were free fed all their lives and definitely wouldn't keep eating after they were feeling full. Tonks was free fed as a puppy and will still choose to leave food if she had had enough. Remus is another matter as he spent most of the his first 12 weeks of life without enough food and fed very infrequently. I'm sure he'd keep eating until it hurt.
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Jackie
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28-05-2013, 03:54 PM
Originally Posted by catrinsparkles View Post
I think it completely depends on the dog, I've four dogs as an adult and two of them were free fed all their lives and definitely wouldn't keep eating after they were feeling full. Tonks was free fed as a puppy and will still choose to leave food if she had had enough. Remus is another matter as he spent most of the his first 12 weeks of life without enough food and fed very infrequently. I'm sure he'd keep eating until it hurt.
As I said, there will be exceptions to the rule , but most dogs will eat any food that is around if they can get to it,

Free feeding a daily intake at the dogs leisure , is not the same as a dog having the discipline/ reasoning to stop when they are full.
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mjfromga
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28-05-2013, 06:12 PM
The reasons I'd not recommend it for most people is because it's simply not a good idea in most cases. In lots of multiple dog households, it just doesn't work well. Then you have people who have the classic greedy dogs and it's not a good idea. Then you also have people who don't feed only kibble (big one here), which makes it completely out.

Tons of variables make it generally something that I'd not recommend. If a person had only one dog, and the dog wasn't mega greedy, I'd always recommend it.

Anyway, my main point was to argue some of the reasons people say it's a bad idea, not to convince people one way or the other.

So, in turn.. I don't think the majority of people could really use this method. THAT is why I'd not recommend it to most people. I realize that most people dislike this method.

I've had two dogs personally that would never empty a bowl at one sitting, they simply weren't greedy enough. Also, I think some people would be surprised at their dogs level of greed.

Also, dogs beg for food and table scraps because to them it's a treat. It's like feeling kind of full after your dinner and REALLY wanting that piece of cake you see there.

If dogs knew to stop eating when they've had enough there'd be no overweight dogs!

No matter how you try and twist it, this is still a blatantly untrue statement...

Providing that owners feed their dogs exactly the right amount, and never feed anything with excess carbs or indigestible matter, and getting their dog exactly the right amount of exercise, and no dogs took medication that could cause weight gain, and no dogs have hormonal or other problems, THEN there'd be no overweight dogs.
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catrinsparkles
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28-05-2013, 06:21 PM
Originally Posted by Jackbox View Post
As I said, there will be exceptions to the rule , but most dogs will eat any food that is around if they can get to it,

Free feeding a daily intake at the dogs leisure , is not the same as a dog having the discipline/ reasoning to stop when they are full.
Sorry I'm confused by the last bit. Why isn't it the same? If the dog stops eating and still leaves some in the bowl by the end of the day...isn't that stopping because they are full?
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