free feeding / grazing

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

Hello all! 

So to fill everyone in on our situation, Yeti is just not food motivated. He likes his food for a couple of days (when he gets a flavor change) and then it's back to his usual antics. He hardly eats breakfast and doesn't usually finish his dinner either (though he does eat more at night than he does in the morning). According to our wellness simple LID bag he can have anywhere from 1 1/2 - 2 1/3 cups a day. We give him one cup around 7am and one cup around 5-6pm. I thought perhaps he would do better on a lunch and dinner schedule but we didn't really see much of a difference. We give him 10 minutes to eat and if he doesn't finish then it gets taken away *usually.* Last week sometime his breakfast accidentally got left out and around 1pm we heard him snacking on it in the next room, then again around 3 he finished it off. We have him dinner at his usual time and of course he didn't eat much but we left it out to see if he would snack on it later that night. He did. He ended up finishing it off before his 10 pm bedtime. This was the first time he finished his full 2 cups in one day since we switched flavors last about a month ago. 

I was wondering what YOU think the pros and cons might be of free feeding. Some of you have already listed them in the other discussion I started and I thank you so much for that, but if you have any other pros or cons please let me know.

By the way in case anyone was wondering, Yeti is just over a year old and he weighs 30-33 pounds. Our breeder estimated them to be in between 35-45 pounds so he is considered a medium f1bb goldendoodle.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I think a couple of the responses you got in your other discussion hit the nail on the head perfectly.

Reply by Wendy and Myla 3 hours ago

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. 

Read more here: http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/grazing#ixzz4b9QmX6ib

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

And this one:

Reply by Lori and Winnie and Bob 2 hours ago

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. 

Read more here: http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/grazing#ixzz4b9QzpBBo

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I so agree with all of the points Lori and Wendy have made. Regulating bowel movements, weight control, needing a dog to eat at a certain time because he's going to the groomer, or day care, or having a veterinary procedure, etc., all good reasons not to free feed.

Free feeding works just fine until you have another dog in your house, and then it can be a huge problem. 

Since Jack's IBD diagnosis 5 years ago, Jack can no longer play or even visit at his best friend's house (right across the street) because they leave food out. I can't ever watch their dog here in an emergency, because he free feeds and we can't have that here. 

You might not ever want another dog. But sometimes, a friend or family member has an emergency and needs you to take their dog(s) for a period of time. 

But there are other reasons it might not work, even if another dog never sets foot in your home for Yeti's entire life. God forbid Yeti ever gets sick and needs a special diet that can't sit in the bowl for any length of time. (This is the case with my guy).

And what about if you ever need to board him, or leave him at someone else's home?  

There's also the issue of you being the one who controls the food dish, and not Yeti. This might never be an issue for some dogs, but for other dogs with certain types of behavioral issues, control of the food dish is important when trying to implement a "Nothing In Life is Free" program to modify behavior. 

[Stacy]

I agree with what everyone has said so far. But I liked free feeding when I just had one dog. And ironically, I think that free feeding helped with weight control vs. scheduled meals for us. I feel like in Katie's mind with no competition or threat of the food going away she felt free to eat what she wanted and leave the rest. And she seemed to be pretty good at self regulating. There was still a finite amount of food, but she didn't always eat all of it.

Then when Ava came I had to rethink everything because if Katie didn't finish Ava would. And then Ava was getting too much and Katie wasn't getting enough. So now they each get two meals a day and Ava eats in the kitchen and Katie eats in the living room so there is no food stealing going on. And they both finish their food like power eaters. But then Katie started getting a little extra fluffy so I had to rethink how much she needed now that she was licking her bowl clean at each meal.

I personally didn't have any trouble transitioning away from free feeding. So I think if that's what seems to work best for Yeti now and down the road there's another dog that you can certainly adapt your feeding schedule. And possibly having another dog around would motivate him to be a better eater.

Another thought I have is that in general, I think people get a little preoccupied with the idea that their dog isn't getting enough to eat. I think it's a great thing that Yeti isn't super food motivated. From everything I understand it's better for a dog to be a little thin than a little fat. That extra weight is hard on their joints. (Just like it's hard on human joints, but I have thumbs, and it's much harder to keep me out of the extra treats I don't need!) I think Yeti looks very healthy. And as he gets older he will probably fill out some. I don't see a problem with him being lean and lanky as a teenager. He's a beautiful boy!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I so agree with you about people worrying that their dogs aren't eating enough, and the fact that it's always better for a dog (or a person) to be a little bit too thin versus a little bit too fat, lol.  :)

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

First of all your breeder's size prediction is only a guesstimate. It is not  that Yeti must weigh that.  Does the vet consider him underweight?  If not, then however much Yeti actually consumes must be the absolute correct amount to maintain his proper weight.

We have a dog that wants to eat when he is alone.  We used to leave his bowl down for him if he didn't eat dinner and we would hear him crunching away - late at night, when it was dark and quiet.  He still prefers to eat alone, and does NOT want me standing around watching him, so I get your difficulty.

Free-feeding can be problematic as Karen pointed out, however if you feel that is best for Yeti, make sure that you never overfeed which is pretty easy to do (just keep topping off that dish).  Many years ago we free-fed our dogs which worked for years and years, but when that dog began to age and slow down, she gained too much weight.  It was very gradual so we didn't notice until it actually was a problem. 

[DonMarie and Picco]

I keep Picco's dish full all the time but it's because he set himself on a schedule - breakfast, then evening when we eat (or a little later).  I've had dogs in the past that were pigs and had to regulate their foods.  If we get another pup I'll probably have to adjust.

       BTW that photo is sooo cute!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Topping off the dish all of the time was our downfall - not when our Springer was young like Pico is now, but as she aged and slowed down, she didn't continue to moderate her food intake.  We didn't notice for a while so then we had to put her on a diet that we could have avoided.  You, however, would be aware.

[DonMarie and Picco]

Thanks, that's something to watch out for.  Picco's like a little athlete with his ball playing and strict diet but you know what athletes do - get old, slow down  = get fat!  :-)

[Kaitee and Orwell]

I've never allowed Orwell to free feed. He is also not the most food motivated dog, especially compared to my late yellow lab that I was used to for years. I don't allow him to free feed for two reasons. 

1) I find it is easier to monitor his health. If he refuses food now, I become somewhat concerned (since he knows well by now that if he doesn't eat right away, I'll take the food away and he won't get a meal until later) that he is not feeling well and keep a close eye on him. 

2) My boyfriend/fiance wants to get a Newfoundland eventually. I want both of them to eat at the same time out of their own bowls so they each get the allotted amount they need. Orwell especially needs all that he can get because he has such a fast metabolism it is hard to keep weight on him even if he misses just a couple of meals. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

These are good reasons. And as you probably know, most Newfs do not have fast metabolisms, lol, so monitoring how much each dog is eating will be important. 

[Kaitee and Orwell]

Yep! We will have to watch the Newfie for the exact opposite reason than Orwell, lol. Though, hopefully s/he will be more food motivated for the sake of first time training purposes for my fiance.