Free feeding questions..yes I know..just questions.

[Ellen Sneve]

Ok, so when I was growing up we fed our dogs three times a day with the total being the amount they needed per day. When I met my husband he had a dog (and we still have) who was a complete free feeder. He isn't food obsessed or anything, he takes all day to eat his days worth of food. (He is a german shepherd/border collie mix btw). When we got our little pit/lab mix female we just had her do the same thing, and it worked out really well. We have no food aggression or fast eaters. Now we have a new bullmastiff puppy and I am wondering...what would the harm be for her if she did free feed, even if we kept the amount of food for her within the limits of what she is supposed to eat per day. (she only eats for about a minute at a time and then leaves it alone...no binge eating where i would worry about bloat) Just curious, please don't get mad at me

 

[morrigan05]

everyone has different opinions on free feeding. the first thing i would do is make sure your mastiff is only eating the food for big dogs. personally, i dont do free feeding. for puppies, you would have to let him outside all day virtually if he is eating throughout the whole entire days. i feed my mastiff pups twice a day. i let the bowl stay on the floor for about 10 minutes after they walk away. if they become that hungry again during the day, they let me know. i think it also depends on the number of dogs you have as well. if becomes a problem when you have dogs that eat a different type of food. i have 4 dogs in total and 2 different kinds of food. i would not let either of my mastiffs get a hold of food other than thier large breed food. it can mess up thier growth. so if you do the free food, just be conscience what kind of food your mastiff is getting to.

 

[Takoda]

Hello everyone I am new to this forum and glad i found it. Well I just got my dog and he is 2 yrs old French Mastiff/ Bull Mastiff I am feeding him 5 cups a day of dry food and would like to know what everyone is feeding there dog he weight 110 ibs please advise thanks in advance looking forward to hearing for you.

 

[Enzos Dad]

I feed my 5 month old English Mastiff Taste of the wild pacific stream about 5 cups a day.

 

[Cody]

My Boxer and my first CC always free fed. I loved it!
No issues at all. Is better as far as food aggression and bloat. My dogs have always been in awesome shape and not over weight.
However, I only put in the allotted daily amount in their bowls. My 2nd Corso I got at 8 months and free feeding was not an option so we no longer do it. But I must say I loved it.
Do what works for you and your dog.

 

[monkeys23]

I do not and probably will never free feed.

I feed twice daily and feeding time goes something like this:
I grab the baggies out of the fridge or sink, both kennel up, I drop Lily's baggie on top of her kennel as she waits inside, I give Scout her food in her kennel and close/latch the door, then I give Lily her food and may or may not close the door of her kennel. Lily will actually keep her food in one spot, so I could feed her on the kitchen floor if I wanted. But Scout wants to pack it off and hide it, so that'd suck since the place is carpeted and its a bitch to clean up blood on beige carpet. She will stay in one place if I leash her, but why do that when the kennel is right there?

 

[Fixer]

For you free feeders with multiple dogs, how do you teach each dog to only eat from their own bowl?

 

[Ripsmom]

I personally do not like free feeding, especially with large breeds since if they eat the whole ration at once it can be a higher risk for bloating not to mention they are then walking around at suppertime looking for food since they wouldn't have eaten since 7 a.m. The other reasons: with multiple dogs you may not know who is eating what, which very often can tip you off to a health problem and there is a higher tendency for a dog fight to ensue if there's food available all the time. My dogs are like vacuums so the food would never sit there more than a few minutes anyway.

 

[Mongo]

I dont like free feeding puppies... food should be on a schedule so they also have a poop schedule. Its easier for potty training. Also free feeding can lead to over eating which can cause diarrhea. Since puppies are so susceptible to infections and parasites it can be a real hassel trying to determine what the diarrhea is coming from. Thats just what I think. I like that Zuko has a poop schedule... it makes it easier.

 

[lilliesmomma]

I have 3 dogs a yr old EM, a 2 yr old Golden and a 3 yr Chow/shepard mix. I feed the EM apart from the other 2 dogs. I feed her in the am and pm. Usually she eats 6/7 cups a day. I put 4 cups down for the other 2 dogs. I have fed the EM away from the other dogs because I wanted to know how much she was getting as she was growing up. I have always free fed any of my dogs. I do take it up at night though if there is any left in the dishes.

 

[Cody]

I have never had the problem of over eating or fighting over food when free feeding. I feed all stages food so again no worries.
My last CC and Boxer would share a bowl and eat together, each taking a bite and stepping back to chew so the other could get a bite.
Now, although on a schedule my dogs eat 2 feet apart and no worries. Once a week they do raw and again they are in the laundry room 2 feet away and no issues at all.
Also my boxer has never been over weight, nor does/did he gulp or my CC so the worry of bloat with free feeding was eliminated. I have only had good experiences with free feeding. I actually miss it but...

 

[Marrowshard]

We don't free-feed, but quite honestly it's mostly due to our cats. One of our cats has a urinary disorder (FLUTD, for anyone who's run into it) that's easier to manage on a feeding schedule. So because he gets fed twice a day, our other cat gets fed at the same time. When we brought Ebony home from the shelter, it was just easier to have her adapt to the cats' feeding schedules. Also, she had been pretty overweight before coming to the shelter (in their words, she was a "sausage") so we try to make sure she doesn't get more than she absolutely needs. That's just what works for us, but I know a lot of people who free-feed, and I agree it depends a lot on the dog.

~Marrow