Free feeding vs Scheduled

[Super Boo]

Had a "discussion" with my mother in law during Christmas over dog feeding. Her theory is: the reason my dogs are "starving" all the time is because we don't free feed (we feed 2 scheduled feedings). Evidently her dogs never overeat and are never hungry because food is always available.

My theory: my female (who runs a little chubby) would go thru 35lbs of dog food in 3 days if we let her. I had one dog die of bloat and I like to monitor their eating times/behavior.

Any thoughts??

 

[SoleilBxrs]

i think you are totally right! keep w/ it.. better a healthy boxer look a bit thinner, than having an overweight boxer!

-Kat

 

[abby's mum]

My answer - you are right , your MIL is wrong!

 

[ses02e]

You are correct.

You are definitely right. Having scheduled feeding times is very important. Puppies should be fed 3 to 4 times daily and the older dog, twice a day no more than twelve hours apart. I know lots of people that free feed and don't understand why Mischka has a schedule. My sister couldn't believe I planned on feeding her three times a day but the thing is, is that their little bellies cannot digest that much at once. So if they had food to eat whenever they please, this could lead to bigger problems.

 

[BooBoo & Riley]

Stick with what's been working for you...

Your MIL probably never had a dog that is food driven and so free feeding turned out ok for her... but like you said, you have 2 big reasons to keep your babies monitored and on a schedule.

 

[hanley]

Do what is best for your dogs,you know them better than anyone

I have always free fed my dogs dry kibble,but I also feed 1 can mixed with 1cup kibble at night, my dogs aren't food driven or over weight, for my dogs this keeps gas down & stomach problems, they never over load their stomach at 1 feeding or 2 this way, & never have problems with food aggression either. Hanley

 

[kit02]

I had one dog die of bloat and I like to monitor their eating times/behavior

Totally stick with scheduled feeding. I would never free feed for a few reasons but this is a major one. ONE of the things you can try and do to help prevent bloat is not let them rough play an hour after eating, if they free feed, when do they get to play??

 

[victore1123]

Yeah, I feed both my dogs twice a day. I used to "free feed" my first boxer who has now passed (not because of that) which made sense because he seemed to know best when he was hungry and never ate too much at one time. At the time I didn't know about bloating and how prone boxers were to such an ailment, which is why I now feed my boys twice a day.

 

[harleyboxer]

I sort of free feed. If Harley's bowl is empty I put 3 more cups in. He usually eats 6 cups a day, sometimes more, sometimes less. He is really hard to keep weight on and has stomach issues so if he feels like eating I let him, but I know how much he has eaten and he can't gorge himself all at once. Usually he eats about half and then comes back later for the rest.