Free Feeding vs Fixed Feeding Times
by Scotty Valadao - Friends of the Dog - Canine Behaviourist
by Scotty Valadao - Friends of the Dog - Canine Behaviourist
There are still many owners that prefer the method of having food down all dog long for their dogs, topping up on a daily basis or when it is needed. This allows the dog to eat at will and as much, or as little. as he wants at a time. Definitely a more convenient way for us to feed our dogs (as long as we remember to top up the bowl!), however, is this really the best way to feed our dogs? Here I am going to give you some advantages and disadvantages, and then you can make up your own mind, and of course it will depend on your personal circumstances.
Free Feeding – pro’s
If you have a multi-dog home, it is always a good idea to feed the dogs in completely different areas where they cannot even see one another. At behaviour consults with clients, when one points out to owners the stress body language that is being exhibited when dogs are fed in close proximity, they are often surprised and did not realize that the dog was stressed at all. Many of these body language signs are very subtle, and if one was not familiar with dogs body language, can easily be missed.
Food for a dog is a very important part of its day and something to look forward too, and all dogs should be allowed to eat in peace and quiet. Ideally, and unless a pup or advised by a vet, dogs should eat twice a day – once in the morning and once in the evening, about 12 hours apart. If you are changing from free feeding to fixed times, dogs will often eat more at one meal than the other until they get used to it. Feeding twice a day helps to keep the serotine levels balanced.
Feeding apart also stops the dependency that some dogs develop, in that they will not eat if the other dog is not close by.
Cons of Fixed Feeding
If you do decide on fixed feeding, then decide on your times, where the dogs will be fed, and after requesting a simple Sit, place the food on the floor for the dog and give it about 10 to 15 minutes to eat.
At the end of the day its what is best for your and your dogs that will be your choice, and much of what you decide may depend about your working hours, whether you travel often and other personal circumstance. For those of you that do free feed, do give the idea of fixed feeling some though.
Free Feeding – pro’s
- Convenient, especially for people with long hours
- Great for kibble products
- It has been said that as the food is freely available there will be no resource guarding of this important resource, however this is not always the case. We have seen plenty cases of resource guarding of free feeding bowls over the year - it really does depend on the dogs involved.
- No need to rush home to feed the dogs
- Health – you may not see that a dog is off its food, especially in a multi-dog home, which is often our first sign of a potential health problem
- Can be expensive as dogs, out of boredom will often eat to keep themselves busy
- Can make toilet training more difficult
- Can lead to obesity by overeating, and also as we don’t know how much the dog is eating, we tend to be more liberal with treats, which can lead to weight gain, or the dog preferring the treats and not eating enough of the kibble.
- We loose out on a very important aspect – by taking control of the dogs daily ration of food we automatically control a very important resource to the dog, which helps to raise us in the combine human/canine social structure.
- Can be a trigger for aggressive behaviour if a multi dog home if resource guarding is present.
- Some dogs in a multi dog home will resource guard the bowl to an extent – this often means that another dog may have stress around the food bowl for fear of reprisals from the other dog.
- The above can lead to the nervous dog not eating enough and not receiving the nutrition it needs
- Food can become contaminated by weather and insects
- Can only be used for kibble type dog food
- Less bonding between owner and dog
If you have a multi-dog home, it is always a good idea to feed the dogs in completely different areas where they cannot even see one another. At behaviour consults with clients, when one points out to owners the stress body language that is being exhibited when dogs are fed in close proximity, they are often surprised and did not realize that the dog was stressed at all. Many of these body language signs are very subtle, and if one was not familiar with dogs body language, can easily be missed.
Food for a dog is a very important part of its day and something to look forward too, and all dogs should be allowed to eat in peace and quiet. Ideally, and unless a pup or advised by a vet, dogs should eat twice a day – once in the morning and once in the evening, about 12 hours apart. If you are changing from free feeding to fixed times, dogs will often eat more at one meal than the other until they get used to it. Feeding twice a day helps to keep the serotine levels balanced.
Feeding apart also stops the dependency that some dogs develop, in that they will not eat if the other dog is not close by.
- You can easily see if the dog is off its food, very often the very first sign of a brewing health problem. Remember, that the feeding guide on a pack of dog food is just a suggestion. The dog’s energy and activity levels to be taken into account.
- If you have a dog that tends to guzzle food, much easier to control and a bowl that assists with this can be used.
- By taking charge of the daily rations, we can utilize a very important resource and helps in the combined human/canine social structure to balance same.
- By knowing how much we are feeding, we tend to be more frugal with treats, helping to keep weight under control
- Feeding apart completely negates the chances of aggressive or fear behaviour from any of the dogs in the family that may be prone to same.
- There is more bonding between dogs and owner.
- Dogs like schedules and to know what is happening, and in times of stress in the home, the daily feeding schedule can help a dog to cope.
- Hunger is also a great motivator when embarking on training, and parts of your dogs daily allowance can be used as a motivator.
- If changing from one brand of food to another, this should always be done very, very gradually to ensure there are no side effects, or ill effects when changing food. Having a fixed feeding routine makes this much easier to achieve.
- Dogs have a simple stomach anatomy and empty approximately 8 to 10 hours after ingesting. Not only will an empty tummy send messages to the bring that it is time to eat again, it will make it easier for you to figure out regular elimination times.
- If you are making use of food toys that are stuffed with kibble or similar, very easy to calculate how much food to be put into the food toy.
- Much easier if feeding raw or cooked food.
- Toilet training is much easier as the dog will have a regular elimination routine.
Cons of Fixed Feeding
- Inconvenience and can be time consuming
- If one sticks to a very strict schedule and never varies the times (even by 10 or 15 minutes), some dogs can become stressed if their food is late.
If you do decide on fixed feeding, then decide on your times, where the dogs will be fed, and after requesting a simple Sit, place the food on the floor for the dog and give it about 10 to 15 minutes to eat.
At the end of the day its what is best for your and your dogs that will be your choice, and much of what you decide may depend about your working hours, whether you travel often and other personal circumstance. For those of you that do free feed, do give the idea of fixed feeling some though.
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