Disclaimer: this article contains affiliate links, and we may receive a commission on sales when you use those links, at no additional cost to you. We only recommend products we use and genuinely love.
When you first bring a dog home, many questions arise in your mind: how to train them , what toys are best, what pet supplies and equipment are required, and of course what to feed them.
But there’s more to consider if you want to give your dog a full, healthy, and happy life. We are all aware that one of the most crucial aspects of raising a healthy dog is their diet, what goes in their bowl during the day.
What many new dog owners are unaware of is that how you feed your dog can be just as important as what you feed your dog.
How frequently should you feed your dog?
This is a question that every pet owner must confront at some point. There are various feeding patterns that dog owners use, each with advantages and disadvantages.
In this article, we will assist you in determining what is best for you and your pet.
Different Feeding Styles
Generally, the following three methods are followed by the most dog owner to feed their canine friends.
Free Feeding
The practice of leaving a bowl of food out for your cat or dog at all times is known as “free feeding.” In this feeding style, dogs are able to eat as it suits them, but have to self-regulate their portions. The dog owner replenishes the food it when it runs out or gets low. Your canine friend has free access to the food bowl all the time and can eat as often and as much as they want.
Portion Limited Feeding
In this method, the pet owners provide a predetermined quantity of food, and the pet chooses when to consume it. In this feeding style, the dog’s food consumption is regulated by providing them with a “cap” on their daily intake, but they may eat it whenever it suits them.
Time Limited / Scheduled Feeding
In this feeding schedule, the owner gives the dog a specific quantity of food for a limited time and then takes the food away from the dog when the time is up, giving the dog only a short window of time to eat a meal. This method has designated “mealtimes,” and has a number of benefits for dog training purposes.
Which Feeding Method Is Best?
Now, the question is: which method is best in general, and more importantly for you and your dog?
According to the veterinary experts, “time limited Or schedule feeding” is the best method to ensure the good health of your dog. This means that designated mealtimes with a reasonable time limit is going to suit most dogs best for their long-term health.
Designated mealtimes allows dog owners to monitor their dogs’ appetites and other eating patterns more effectively, as well.
From a behavioral or dog training perspective, placing a time cap on mealtimes also allows dogs to continue to value food, which is helpful when training using food reward. A dog that has constant access to food is going to in general be “pickier” about the food they work for, while a dog with designated mealtimes will have a stronger food drive and be more willing to work for kibble or treats.
It also leaves a little time between meals for that food drive to rise, as dogs will be just a little bit hungry before mealtimes, which will also influence their drive to work for food.
It also allows you to feed them in their crates, which helps with creating positive associations with crate time and eases crate training endeavors.
Should I Free-Feed My Dog?
Keeping in view the information above, it is very easy to come to the firm conclusion: no, you should not free feed your dog.
Although free feeding is the most convenient and easier method for manydog owners, it is not the best feeding method from your dog’s health point of view.
Free-feeding makes monitoring portions difficult, creates a lax attitude around food that can negatively impact training endeavors, and many dogs will not self-regulate well enough, which can lead to a number of health problems over time.
Free-feeding and canine obesity
Generally, when it comes to eating, dogs and cats don’t have a “off switch” button and they will continue to eat all the time.
Furthermore, just like humans, many dogs will turn to eating when getting bored. This is one of the reasons that, according to some studies, around 60% of dogs and cats are obese in the USA).
We’re believers that a fit dog is a happy dog. That said, being a little overweight is perfectly acceptable up to some extent and does not necessarily indicate poor health all on its own.
However, canine obesity is correlated with many chronic health problems (like diabetes, arthritis, heart disease, pancreatitis, chronic skin infections, recurrent anal gland impactions) and all have a negative effect on the quality of life of your pet. Keeping an eye on your pet’s weight can help identify health risk in other areas, and it’s likely that overeating has plenty to do with the comorbidities, as well.
Free-feeding and Health Monitoring
The appetite of our pets its a very important health indicator. Generally speaking, a lack of appetite is the first sign that your dog is not feeling well.
If your dog is grazing all the time, it is very difficult to know that they have not eaten yet.
On the other hand, in schedule feeding with designated mealtimes, when you will present a food bowl your dog will run to you and eat immediately, which serves as a reliable indication that all is well. You can see exactly how much your dog eats in a certain time frame, and take note of any changes in appetite.
Free-feeding and Potty Training
The free feeding method also has the potential to prolong and complicate the potty training of puppies.
Normally, puppies feel the need to urinate or defecate 10-15 minutes after a meal. This is due to something called gastrocolic reflux; entry of new food into the stomach sends a message to the large intestine to create room for the incoming meal.
This natural reflex works better when food is offered a few hours apart. It also helps in staying on top of scheduling your puppy’s potty breaks if you know when they’ve last eaten.
Free-feeding and Medication Administration
If there is certain medicine that you need to give before a meal, with the meal, or after the meal to your dog, free-feeding your pet causes a huge issue for administering their medicine.
If your dog has access to feed all the time, it will be difficult to manage the medicine as prescribed and to harvest maximum benefit from it.
Many medications indicate that a dog should have eaten recently before administering, and some need to be given on an empty stomach. Free-feeding makes monitoring this incredibly difficult, and can complicate the entire process.
Free-feeding and Food Freshness
Food that is left outside or even just out inside the home for a long duration is susceptible to wastage, spoilage, and bacterial contamination.
Free-fed food can also lure unnecessary critters like flies, rodents, ants, and other pests. These critters can not only be a nuisance, but some of them can also carry infectious disease that can affect your canine friend, as well as yourself and the other members of your family.
What’s more is that the higher-quality your food gets, the less easy it tends to be to free-feed your pet. If you feed a high-quality and less-processed kibble such as Ketona from KetoNatural Pet Food, keeping it out for long periods of time risks spoilage even further, and attract critters faster.
If you make your food from scratch like me, which you can read about in my article, How I Easily Make Healthy Homemade Dog Food, free-feeding is practically impossible due to the moisture. Also, if I had a steady supply of homemade dog food, my dogs would eat until they burst; they love the stuff.
If you raw feed, whether that be homemade or special-delivered from Darwins Naturals, Raw Wild, or Raw Paws Pet Food, free-feeding becomes basically impossible because raw food will garner bacteria at an alarming rate if left out at room temperature.
Free-feeding and Cost Over Time
In the end, food wastage, spoilage, and loss of medication due to problems associated with the free-feeding method will increase the cost of raising a puppy.
Food will go bad or be contaminated from being left out too long, and medications will be discarded from difficulty administering.
The cost risk of attracting pests or causing unnecessary health problems leading to vet visits is also even more significant. Vet visits and exterminators are expensive, and certainly outweigh the convenience of leaving food out all day.
Although the free feeding method is easy and convenient for dog owners, it is not in the best interest of your dog. When it comes to feeding schedules and meal plans, time-limited or scheduled feeding is the best way to go for many reasons.
