Feeding Schedules

[theGOOCH]

Why are so many trainers and owners adamant about having a set feeding schedule where your dog eats all the food it’s given in one sitting? I've read books where they tell you to take away the bowl after 15 minutes so they will get used to eating in that time.

My dogs get a set amount of food, but they can nibble on it all day for all I care. First of all, I see no reason to encourage them to eat fast, plus it seems to me it is beneficial for breeds susceptible to bloat to eat more gradually throughout the day rather than pig out all at once.

[mrsgrubby]

I am not a trainer, but this is what my trainer told me. It's a four part answer.

leaving the food out all day tends to make dogs more food aggressive and protective of their bowls and even sometimes the room the food is in.

Also if you have multiple dogs than it is hard to determine which dog is really eating all the food. Are they both eating 1/2 or is one eating more and the other barely eating? It is easier to catch an illness quicker if they are on a feeding schedule because you know right away one dog isn't eating right.

Many folks have dogs who are not on the same food. Puppies need puppy food for one year, while dogs should not be eating puppy food. Senior dogs need senior food.

Food is a way of showing your dog both affection and leadership. So by giving your dog the food on a schedule, they can better reckognize that the food is coming from you, and it establishes you as the leader, and is seen by them as a reward.

[Jessica Dawn]

When I fed my dogs at a certain time, every day for a few months - they started throwing up if it was even only 15 minutes late. They get to accustomed to it.

I don't believe in feeding at the same time every day.

What if one day I was a few hours late home? They would be STARVING.

My dogs are usually fed somewhere between 4:30 and 6:00.

[theGOOCH]

I can kind of see some of your points Mrs. Grubby, but I think this kind of schedule just creates an unnecessary level of stress (for me LOL) trying to get them do do something that is so against their nature. I don't know if all dobies are like this, but mine aren't really big eaters and prefer to eat a little at a time. Maybe I have lucked out, but I have never had a problem with food aggression either. My boy doesn't have an aggressive bone in his body. I can even reach down and take his rawhide or bone right out of his mouth and he is fine with it.

....plus the whole bloat issue freaks me out and I don't think forcing them to eat quickly is a great idea for some breeds

I also think the whole dominance/discipline thing is overplayed by many people. I went that route with Blitz when he was a pup and I think it made him timid when he was younger. He actually is still kind of timid in some situations.

[KennelMom]

I don't like free feeding for several reasons.

A change in appetite is often the first indication that something is wrong with a dog. If you have multiple dogs and free feed, you have no idea who may not be eating until you actually start to see weight loss. Personally, I want to know immediately if one of my dogs is refusing food or decreasing their intake.

If you control the food, you control the dog. Having a boarding kennel I often get lots of questions from owners on how they can get their dog to behave better or listen to them. 9 times out of 10 these are homes that free feed. Their dog has no REASON to listen to them because the owner controls very few resources that are important to the dog. With our regular boarders, I've found that owners who make this one simple change (going to scheduled feedings vs free feeding) makes a marked difference in their relationship with the dog.

For dogs with housetraining issues, a scheduled time for food in generally correlates to a scheduled time for the food to come out, if you know what I mean.

As for breeds susceptable to bloat...of course there is a lot of controversy over dietary and non-dietary factors that may lead to bloat. My opinion, based on what I've read, is that stress is a leading factor outside of genetics. Our dogs do not eat within at least an hour of a stressful event...physical or mental. So if I'm taking them running or to the vet, I want to know when they last ate and how much they ate.

eta: I don't believe it is a dog's nature to graze. They are predators, so they are designed to eat a meal in one sitting, whereas prey animals tend to be animals that graze all day long. A dog that killed a rabbit certainly wouldn't nibble on the kill all day long. That would open them up to losing their meal to another animal. Not to mention grazers graze because their primary food isn't nutritionally dense, requiring them to eat almost constantly to get their nutrients. A predators meal of meat is very nutritionally dense so they don't have to eat all day long to fulfill their caloric and nutrient requirements. Certainly dogs can get used to grazing on kibble all day, but I don't think it's necessarily a dog's nature to do so. It's just what they get used to.

That said, if free feeding works for you and your dogs, then that's a choice you are free to make. For us and our dogs, there are just too many drawbacks and really no benefits to free feeding so we don't do it.

[mulroony]

I went from free feeding to a semi schedule for many of the reasons given above. Not sure why but Shelby is a bit food aggressive when it omes to other dogs. I can have my face in the bowl with her and it is no big deal, but it Kenzie or another dog comes near her and her food she gets on edge.

Also do not make the mistake of saying ok it is 5 and you have 2 minutes to eat type thing. My dogs have up to half an hour to eat their food, and if they do not finish it I will remove it and they can finish it later. (PS if you are worried aboiut bloat the actually make bowls now that are designed to slow down a dogs eatting to prevent bloat, I can find them if you are interested just send me a PM)

It does make it a lot easier to monitor the amount of food each dog is getting. When you mix small breeds with larger ones you really have to watch portions. Kenzie only gets a under a cup a day because even a couple pounds makes a big difference on a dog her size and Shelby gets a lot more, but she is on a fixed diet too (trying to shave a couple pounds) and adding Kenzie's cup to what she already gets is way too much.

[theGOOCH]

I can sort of agree with the "you don't know who's eating what" argument, that's the only one I see that makes sense to me.

As far as the dogs nature being a predator we have to realize that domestic dogs are very far removed from their wolf anscestors and we may have disturbed certain things through breeding. With my older dog, it was torture trying to get him to eat like that (reminded me of those parents who force their kids to eat and make every meal an argument), then he would often throw up (at least twice a week) now that doesn't happen.


You can see by my avatar he doesn't have any weight issues. I don't have any problems with his obeying me either. I guess it just depends on the dog. We'll see how it works out as the puppy gets older

...and when neither of them pig out they each have an equal chance at the food

[bigdoglover]

I feed on a schedule as well. Having 4 dogs in the house continually, and one that drops in every couple of weeks (with the hubby) it is important that they all eat seperately, and at a certain time.

I have large breed dogs, and on a schedule, I monitor how much each gets, and how much they are actually eating. Not to mention each one gets a different food. The Rott is fed in his crate, one GS in one room, the other GS in the kitchen, and the JRT on the other side of the kitchen. Each one has their own space and therefore, no fights.

Also, as Kennelmom said, I know exactly when I can train, go to the vet, etc without causing stress and bloat. I can also watch the "output" of each dog, in case something might be going wrong.

I am a pretty lenient "mom", but of the few things I control, it is their food and water.....and I can use this to my benefit.

[britishbandit]

I have to feed on schedule, my two would be cows if I didn't. They'll eat and eat and eat till it's all gone. I'm not against free feeding, but I like to be able to know they've ate, how often, and who actually ate it..LOL. My cats also have no problem dipping into the dogs food dishes if it isn't eaten right away (which is very rare that they don't gobble it up).

[theGOOCH]

... I just also wanted to clarify that unless my terminology is wrong what I do is not free-feeding. To my understanding free-feeding is when you just keep the bowls full and they can eat all they want. I measure out the appropriate amounts, I just don't set a time limit on when they need to be finished with it.

[KennelMom]

As far as the dogs nature being a predator we have to realize that domestic dogs are very far removed from their wolf anscestors and we may have disturbed certain things through breeding.

Yes, but they are physically still dogs. Domestication may have changed, enhanced or selected for a lot of behavioral and physical characteristics but the physiology of their digestive system has not change radically. Deepening the chest and breeding giant and extra-large breeds we have created a scenario in which a dog is much more likely to bloat. Domestic dogs thrive on a raw/natural diet, just as their ancestors would have generations ago. I have often seen the question raised as to whether man-made kibble may contribute to an increase in diseases such as cancer. I'd love to see an imperical study on the subject. I've certainly read anecdotal evidence that a kibble based diet contributes to bloat much more than a raw diet in great danes. So, not all man-made interventions in the domestic dog are necessarily beneficial. IMHO, a grazing-type diet for a dog is a man-made intervention and isn't necessarily how a dog would naturally eat.

Again, though, I don't think free feeding vs scheduled feeding is a life or death decision that you make for your dog. Though, with giant and large breed dogs I do think that it may be an imporant decision in preventing bloat - especially if there is already a genetic component present.

To my understanding free-feeding is when you just keep the bowls full and they can eat all they want.

In my mind free feeding is allowing the dog to eat whenever they choose whether or not you limit the amount of kibble put down during the course of the day or not.

[KennelMom]

Interesting discussion btw! Thanks for bringing it up

[bigdoglover]

For me, I think it is easier with a puppy to feed on a schedule. This allows for better timing for going potty and house training.

I have to agree that free-feeding means food is always in the bowl, no matter if you keep it full throughout the day, or the dog just eats a few pieces sporadically.

With my big dogs, they know that after they eat, they go outside. Then, when they come back in, they rest for at least an hour before any play, training, etc. Bloat is a big concern for me as well....hence the resting and schedule. JMO

[mrsgrubby]

Originally Posted by Jessica Dawn

When I fed my dogs at a certain time, every day for a few months - they started throwing up if it was even only 15 minutes late. They get to accustomed to it.

I don't believe in feeding at the same time every day.

What if one day I was a few hours late home? They would be STARVING.

My dogs are usually fed somewhere between 4:30 and 6:00.

I've never heard of dogs getting sick because food was 15 minutes late. I think that is probably very, very rare.

I feed on a schedule, but it is my schedule, not theirs. Some mornings breakfast comes at 5:30am, others not until 10:30am. Some nights dinner comes at 5:00pm and others 8:00pm.

My dogs get fed when I feed them. Period. I am not on their schedule, they are on mine.

Once the food is down, they have 1/2 hour to eat, anything left is put away until the next meal.

[c0_re]

Originally Posted by mrsgrubby

I've never heard of dogs getting sick because food was 15 minutes late. I think that is probably very, very rare.

I feed on a schedule, but it is my schedule, not theirs. Some mornings breakfast comes at 5:30am, others not until 10:30am. Some nights dinner comes at 5:00pm and others 8:00pm.

My dogs get fed when I feed them. Period. I am not on their schedule, they are on mine.

Once the food is down, they have 1/2 hour to eat, anything left is put away until the next meal.

Exactly, my dog "expecting" to be fed at a certain time just doesn’t fly, nothing annoys me more than dogs that start freaking out barking jumping ect because they know it's time to eat and it's all they have to look forward to.

Molson knows he isn't even allowed in the kitchen, he'll sit just outside the doorway and quietly(with his nub waggin like crazy) watch me make his dinner if it's not his usual kibble anyways. If he's just getting kibble that day I'm just lazy and fill his little bowl of food and water before I leave for work in the morning(and that’s all he gets for the day)

I currently only have one dog and he weighs about 25 lbs so I don't have the concerns many other do in this thread with multiple dog or large breeds.