Grazing

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

Is grazing really that horrible of a thing? Do people still let their dogs graze? Was wondering what the possible pros and cons are. I know the pretty obvious ones but was curious if people could leave their experiences with one or the other.

[Frank & TeddyToyDoodle]

I've heard so many contradictory things, I have given up trying to figure out if it's tolerable or really bad.

Teddy doesn't do it as much as when he was younger (he's now 8 months old), but sometimes he really digs deep into the roots of some grass.  I don't know why he does that; it's not like he's going after the lush-green tops.  He seems to be digging up the stem area.

He also has an annoying habit of putting grass & dirt clumps into his mouth after the lawn mowers create them. I remove these immediately.

[Lori, Daphne, Lucy & Pippa]

Are you talking about free feeding or actually grazing on grass?

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

Free feeding lol sorry for the confusion!

[Wendy and Myla]

Funny, I've been thinking about that lately.  It's never been an issue for us because Myla finishes her food immediately and actually lets us know when it's 6:00 pm and she hasn't been fed yet but for the past week I have been looking after our grand-dog (Karlos) and grand-cat (Fenton).  Karlos is a grazer.  It's been a pain to make sure that Myla doesn't go near his food all day.  On top of that, Karlos likes Fenton's food better than his own, so he's always trying to eat Fenton's food.  We actually put Fenton in a room  while he eats and then take it away. What I've sort of figured out is that grazing would be fine if you only had one dog but if you ever added another dog, you would never really know who was eating what and again, that might not be a problem if they could always eat the same food but if you had one with allergies, or one where you had to add medicine, it would be very hard to control.  Because of all of this, I think I would train any dog to eat at meal time and then take away the food until the next meal time.  It sure would make things easier around here right now. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I agree completely. I learned this the hard way when I started fostering. 

[Lori, Winnie, Bob and Indie]

I've always done scheduled feedings with my dogs for several reasons.

First of all, it just makes life so much easier. We put their food down, they eat, they are done. We never have to futz around waiting for them to eat. Or, worry that we are taking them someplace (like doggy daycare )without having eaten. When traveling, it makes the routine quick and easy. Clean up is easier, too, and bowel movements are more predictable as well.

Weight control is easier, too. I know exactly how much they are eating at each meal, and know how to tweak the amounts if they have had days where they have gotten more exercise or less exercise than usual. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

All good points! 

[EJ & Dante]

We have been trying to strictly follow doggy dan on this, which is to pick up the food IMMEDIATELY if they walk away. The issue we have is Dante is a 12 week old puppy.  He seems to have to go poop 1/4 way through eating.  If I take him out and let him resume eating, he will eat it all immediately after coming in from me taking him out.  If I take it away, it happens again at the same meal.  I asked about this on the doggy dan forum, and they said to pick it up.  Seems like he's being penalized for having to go potty.....

[Alexandra Meir]

Maybe try taking him out directly prior to feeding him. This works intermittently with my 10 month old golden lab. She'll also only ever eat her food if I'm eating too. I just don't always have the time to eat when she needs to. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Yep, dogs eat in packs, and most of them like company when they eat. 

[Alexandra Meir]

Oh I get that, but with Flame it's me only. She won't eat unless I'm eating. It doesn't matter if our other dog is eating at the same time or if the other two humans in the house are eating. It has to be me and she's constantly looking up at me to make sure I'm eating.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

And then there is Ned!  Alone, in the dark and never with humans watching.