Free Feeding??

[nevikrmsw]

My family has had dogs since before i was born and we've always just kept the bowl full all the time and they could just eat whenever they wanted... it's always worked just fine for us and we've never had a problem. Levi is doing just fine with it, having no problems, if we're gonna be gone for more than a couple of hours our neighbor (who has his sister) comes over and lets him out as he gets free run of the house while we're gone... we've never had a problem but i was just wondering if there is anything wrong with this? The vet says he's perfect weight and healthy as an ox.

 

[Madea]

i do the same thing with Tyson. The vet says he is nice and healthy. The doggie daycare that i take him to, the owner has raised boxers for 23 years. She also says he is a good weight. He doesnt eat anymore than when i put him on a schedule, sometimes even less. By the way what part of Virginia are you from.

 

[Caney Creek]

In my experience every dog I have EVER known to be free-fed is either overweight or a picky eater (or both somehow). Free-feeding can also pose an issue with housebreaking puppies if you're not around to let them out often enough, because they don't "go" on a schedule like they would with twice daily feedings.

I must also point out that both of your dogs are under a year old They're barely done growing in height, much less filling out. You wouldn't likely start seeing weight problems this early on anyways. Even grossly overfed boxer puppies have a hard time keeping weight on!

 

[BxrMommieNAZ]

We free fed our first Boxer for a good portion of his life (until we got our second Boxer 4 years later) and when we free fed him (although I didn't know it at the time) he was overweight by probably 5 pounds maybe 8.

Also it helps to solidify you as the person they should respect because you supply the food, they eat when you say it is okay for them to eat, not when they say it's time for them to eat. And if you have more than one dog you will not know who is eating what nor how much so if one got sick, was having any problems, you wouldn't know when they stopped eating because the 2nd one may be eating enough food for both.

And like Caney said, they can be grossly overfed and still not be fat but be getting too much food when they are so long.

I personally having free fed and done 2 meals a day HIGHLY encourage people to do 2 meals a day, IMO it's healthier all the way around and is a better idea but that's JMO.

 

[nevikrmsw]

That's what i was worried about, him gettin fat, but ive always fed all my dogs this way ever since i was little and none of them have ever been overweight... if he starts getting fat when he gets older ill put him on a schedule but for now its workin for us he's our only dog because i lease my land and can only have one dog... and btw im from augusta county

 

[BxrMommieNAZ]

I will also add, if you ever have to board him it can make things very stressful for him as they more than likely will not free feed him (I cannot since I have other dogs and have never seen a facility that does), so not only does he stay somewhere else but feeding schedule is messed up. There's MUCH more to worry about in free feeding than simply becoming overweight...a lot.

 

[nevikrmsw]

But on second thought... he has been having accidents in the house while we are asleep... i just started a new job went from 5-6 8 hour days to 3 12's (nice) and she works three or four nights a week and our sleep schedule has been all jacked up and he's not adjusting well maybe putting him on a schedule is the thing to do... he won't be happy but ill try it.

 

[Swampo]

My experiences...

I personally, have always free-fed. My first two boxers were free-fed their entire lives and never developed a weight problem. They were actually very muscular and lean and lived to be 11 and 12 y.o.. We are currently free feeding our two 15 month old pups also. They each have their own bowl and we can tell who's eating what because they usually wait and eat when we are in the room. They are both within their ideal weight range and in great shape. That being said...they get A LOT of exercise. We have a big fenced in backyard for running wide open and playing....and they go to work with us every day. So, they're on the move a lot! Also..we don't board them so we don't have to worry about that! Free-feeding may not be ideal for everyone...but it's worked for us and ours!

 

[BxrMommieNAZ]

I personally, have always free-fed. My first two boxers were free-fed their entire lives and never developed a weight problem. They were actually very muscular and lean and lived to be 11 and 12 y.o.. We are currently free feeding our two 15 month old pups also. They each have their own bowl and we can tell who's eating what because they usually wait and eat when we are in the room. They are both within their ideal weight range and in great shape. That being said...they get A LOT of exercise. We have a big fenced in backyard for running wide open and playing....and they go to work with us every day. So, they're on the move a lot! Also..we don't board them so we don't have to worry about that! Free-feeding may not be ideal for everyone...but it's worked for us and ours!

Sorry when I said board I also meant for things like surgeries. I don't typically board my dogs either, but when my boy had his surgery he had to stay and when my other boy started having seizures he also had to stay for a couple of days so they could monitor him and get a handle on the triggers. Things come up when you sometimes don't have a choice.

 

[jessic]

I started free feeding with my boxer when he was a pup, but I quickly found out that when it come to training he wasn't to food/treat oriented because he had his bowl just around the corner, and he seemed to be full more. So I switched him and our other dog to scheduled twice a day feeding, and its totally different. He is more focused on food rewards, and its easier to scale back his food for training days. Plus with scheduled feeding, he has to work for his meal, NILIF! Just my experience.