feeding schedule...

[Formula86]

well, as some of you guys know, i used to live in an apt. i would feed the dogs at about 8pm and chaquita would eat about 1/2 her daily amount. penny wouldn't touch her food till right before bed (about 3ish) and that's when chaquita would finish up.

then i said to the apt!

now that i'm in the house, i have a doggy door to the yard which is open all day. the only time they don't have yard access is when we are asleep at night and they are crated (they are perfect in the crate).

anyways...
it is much easier to just leave food in the bowls since they can just go to the bathroom whenever they want. so that's what i've been doing. they like to eat at different times. neither has a weight problem and there have been no accidents in the house.

is this ok, since they have yard access all day long?

thanks guys!

[lixx]

Well, I am no expert but the only thing I would say is that I have heard that one of the main reasons to have your dog on a feeding schedual is to establish & keep dominance. I.E. the food is coming from you not the bowl/floor. If that's not an issue for you then I don't see why not, as long as you are sure each dog is still getting the correct amount, and you don't get tempted into "always filling the bowl".

[pihlaja]

Well, we DON'T have yard access, and while Seamus gets fed only at certain times, we try to keep Kirby's food bowl full and down for him all the time. However, we do this in hopes that he will eat more than usual! Samoyed have a bad, bad habit of NOT eating enough food and at this point in time Kirby's habit has caused him to lose weight.

I personally see nothing wrong with leaving food out. It was common practise where I lived in the country. My family always kept our dog's food bowl full outside so that Dudley could come and eat when he wanted; he spent a lot of time with my grandfather working or in the woods chasing squirrels or killing snakes, so it was much easier to do this than keep him on a feeding schedule.

I would say just watch their weight, since you and I both know little dogs are prone to put on some pounds.

[Formula86]

thanks guys! yah...penny weighs in at a hefty 6 lbs! chaquita has gained about 3-4 lbs since i got her last sept., but she's been stable ever since. thanks again.

[Jodi]

Since all of my kids are potty trained and dominance isn't an issue, we free feed. We've always free fed. None of my kids are overweight.

Now, of course when we were potty training we feed on a schedule... but that's about the only time.

It's worked great for us!