Opinions on Free Feeding?

P.S. Yes, dogs are primarily carnivores, but they are omnivorous in the sense that they are opportunistic feeders and will consume berries and other fruit/vegetable matter from time to time, and when meat is unavailable.  It's part of what makes canids so adaptable to living among humans!

Shadow free-feeds. Jade, also a stray, has been starving for so long that she eats in a hurry.
 
Shadow will hardly eat a bite unless we are there. His breed is rank-oriented. To withhold his food to be the "giver of all things good" would be like trying to be alpha, wouldn't it? Oops, I said that word. If I were to institute nilif I would be trying to be alpha (oops). Out in the wild, no one decides when a canid may or may not eat. Wild dogs are free-feeders. Except they usually "allow" one dog to go first. The alpha (oops). There may be a whole herd of deer or bison but they only bring down on and eat that and it tides them over for a while, in spite of the temptation to bring down another.
 
I do agree that free-feeding depends on the social dynamic.  I say Shadow free-feeds because I will set down a bowl of food. If he's not hungry, he will leave it. Then, he will eat later if he's hungry, and in my presence. Yes, that created a problem when we flew to New Jersey last September. He hardly ate a bite for most of 3 days. But he survived.

ORIGINAL: LizzieCollie

FINALLY, someone that free feeds! lol, I was just dying to hear the other side of the story, not just the 'i free fed but it didnt work'

But as for the table scarps I honestly wouldnt feed them. Maybe there are healthy things you give them, but its annoying to have a dog (big or small) in your face when you are eating.Lizzie knows this is a big no and she will not beg at all. She so good at it that she no longer tries to steal my sons cookies out of his hands.
....Now if I could only get my son to stop trying to shove food at her [:-]

 
I would just like to mention that if you are trying to save money on food, free feeding may not be the best option.  I know that Sally would just eat 2 or 3 times what she is supposed to get if left on her own.  Just a thought.

I have 5 dogs, they all live in the house. 3 are free feeders and 2 are not.

My 3 mastiffs are free feeders. Bentley is not a big eater what-so-ever and has been this way since he was a pup. He also used to be picky when he was a pup, which I cured him of using "tough love". Now he will eat any kibble that is placed in front of him (well I am assuming, he's fine with the "premium" brands: TO, Innova, SG and has eaten Wellness in the past). However, I tried to do scheduled feeding with him and he would never eat more than 1 1/2 cup per sitting. It just became easier for me to leave food out all the time and he could eat as he wanted instead of trying to force him to eat the recommended amount in two feedings. Even being free fed, he has always stayed a bit on the lean side, which I have just come to realize is normal for him (my vet thinks he looks fine and I'd rather have him lean than fat). My other 2 mastiffs came after Bentley and just sorta adopted his eating style. When they were pups I tried feeding them from different bowls, but they always wanted to eat from the same bowl, so they do. They are not food aggressive with each other but do have their order. It seems that Bentley determines eating time (he always eats when I come home from work, he does eat some throughout the day, but he prefers to eat when I am home), Fahren eats after Bentley and then Tempyst gets to eat. They all eat their fill. Fahren and Tempyst are not overweight either. Someone is always home with them so it is noticed if one of them isn't eating. I am also very intune to my dogs so I can almost always tell if/when something is wrong.  It seems from reading this post that many people don't agree with free feeding, but for my mastiffs it works.

My boxer is not free fed because she is a glutton and would eat until she exploded. She is also dog aggressive and isn't allowed to be with the others.

My new baby, Graison the Frenchie pup, is fed every 4 hours. I am hoping that he will free feed with the mastiffs when he is full grown, but time will tell on that. He is already trying to eat of of their bowl, but since they have a raised feeder he can't reach it. Plus he's on puppy food.
 
Here's a photo of Bentley - he's my pride and joy. I waited almost a year for him and it about killed me, and worked many hours of over time to afford to buy him. He's my lap dog (even though he mostly suffocates me):
 

LizzieCollie, I can't help but wonder if you are failing to see the side of the question that really matters. 

 
I made my comment because evryone had said they were against it and I had not heard one person say they currently are free feeding and if it works for them. I am trying to see both sides, which is why i was glad someone said they free fed.
 
I free fed with past dogs and it worked out great but with Lizzie she is fed on schedule because she loves to eat and will eat all her food in 20-25 minutes, sometimes less depending what shes getting. Her raw meals are gone in 5 minutes top.
 
I think everything depends on the dog and how much an owner free feeds. I.E. if you have a total chow hound that inhales food and everytime he empties the bowl you fill it up you can bet youll have an overweight dog. If you put the days meal in the bowl and your dog rations it throughout the day you probably wont have an overweight pup.
 

In the past yes.
Single dogs who were kibble fed and were never overweight, in fact I had to feed high calorie extras to put weight on them for showing.

I now feed home cooked or raw for the main meal and raw chicken necks for breakfast in separate meals but Canidae kibble is available 24/7. So still free feeding in a way.
My dog is still underweight for showing ~ in other words about right []

I have never owned a single dog who over ate on free feeding but there was no competition from other dogs. Chow, setter, xbreed, springer etc now a Cavalier.

When owning more than one, the dogs were fed at set times and would all over eat given half a chance.

IMO most multiple dogs free fed will become over weight (i said most) simply because there is another dog present and they will feel the need to scarf down food so the other doesnt eat it. Also with multiple dogs I feel its a bad idea because it is hard to know which dog is getting what.