Opinions on Free Feeding?

I think that it depends on the dog. I've had several dogs that can be free fed...Kaiser usually wont touch his bowl for hours...then he'll eat half. Wyatt is another story. I think that if i poured the entire bag onto the floor, he would eat every last particle.

I've always fed approximatly according to the feeding instructions on the food.  From working at a pet supplies store, I can tell you that most people with fat dogs told me that they didn't follow the feeding instructions and really didn't know there was one.  But, I do know a standard poodle breeder that free feeds and has never had a problem, however, she does tell her grooming clients to follow the feeding instructions.

Generally I am against it. As americans we tend to beef up our dogs more then necessary and we have a lot of obese dogs but I think thats also due to ignorant owners feeding their dogs table scraps......anywho like I said I think its a bad idea but ofr some reason I have found that Rory is super good about rationing herself but this could be due to specific issues with her,I'm not sure and this is why.
I get up in the morning and she'll eat while I am getting ready for work but will NOT touch her food again until I get home and have settled on the couch. My mom is with her most of the day, tries to get her to eat but she wont. She has recently been displaying a mild case of seperation anxiety even if my mom is home with her. Basically Rory will not eat unless she feels safe and secure so maybe thats why she dosnt gorge herself.
We are working on the seperation thing and my mom got her to eat the other day by bribing her with wet food!

I don't free feed because it's important to me to know exactly how much my puppy is eating and to have a predictable elimination schedule.  If she overeats she will get soft stools.

I don't free feed for a few reasons. One, I want to know when and how much Maddi has eaten. She can be picky, and will be if I let her.
 
Our previous dogs were free fed and were fat. They didn't get a specific alotment of food per day... empty bowls were filled.
 
I've read a few places that it's better for dogs to have larger meals as it more closely mimicks the way things are for wolves/that's what their stomachs were designed for.
 
Finally, I am the giver of all good things. Food doesn't magically appear in bowls... so I want my dog to know that it came from me (and I think it's difficult to pactice NILIF with FF dogs).
 
 
I don't think "free feeding" is specifically bad. But, I do think that there should be a specific amount given... once that day's amount is gone, the dog gets no more.

I too think it depends on the dog.  My samoyed would nibble a little here and there and manage to finish it all sometime during the day.  Never had a weight problem with her either.  My 2 labs - well, I honestly can't imagine how much food I'd have to give them before they'd walk away and leave any.  They barely take a breath while they're eating and I do have to watch their weight and I actually feed them both on the lower end of what the bag recommends.

I think if you have only one dog and measure it out and dont refill after the days quantities then theres nothing wrong with it... other than if your dogs eating patterns change you wont be as aware of it.
 
If there are multiple dogs you just shouldnt do it because one may be eating way more and one not nearly enough.. you have no way to monitor eating habbits... and thats very important IMO.
 
Kayla didnt eat for a few days which prompted me to bring her to the vet and it turned out to be pancreatitis, which she actually died from even after her treatment.  I would have taken a lot longer to notice she wasnt eating the same if I was free feeding, and may have never noticed if more than one dog was around to eat her food for her.

I have no choice but to free feed because my pup will not eat dry at a certain time no matter what.  He is perfectly healthy (could afford to put on a few) so it works for me.  I think with smaller dogs it is necessary because they don't eat very much (of course there are exceptions, but you get what I mean). 

I free feed my little Sammy.  He's not a big eater and probably eats small amounts thru the day.  I do give him a little can food in the morning, usually only about 1/4 c.
I started that to mix his meds in there in order to get him to eat it....now its routine and his special treat after our long morning walk.  I make sure he gets enuf exercise too.  So far its worked out good, but ive only had him a month now.
Jo

we cant free feed with the dogs. if we did, sydney would eat it all and amelia would get little or none.

we do free feed our cats. i would like to get them on a feeding schedule, but they are very resistant to changes. one of our cats is most definitely fat, and she has been for a while. we have tried all kinds of different foods and nothing is working. so i would have to say that free feeding for her isnt a good thing. our other cat is fine. she was actually getting too skinny when we had them on a weight loss formula, but she is back to her old self since we switched off of that. i would say that any cats we have after these will not be free fed.

With three dogs I can't free-feed, I want to know when someone doesn't eat and for how long. That said, they have regulated themselves back so much since it's turned hot that I'm letting them eat as much as they want twice a day. Some days they eat more than usual, some days they eat little or nothing. It's odd though, they're all fed in different rooms out of sight of each other, but they all still seem to have the same eating patterns. If I open one door and see a barely touched bowl, then I know the other two probably didn't eat either. Weird. I'm sure during winter we'll go back to measuring each meal.

I'm not sure how you can get a dog that you CAN free feed or one that you can't.  I have always had dogs that when you put down their food their dish, they wolf it down.
Now for Bubby, I add real meat (or raw egg in the AM) yogurt and sometimes veggies....and I add supplement to her kibble with some water. Its NOT good to let kibble sit with water,,it kind of ferments, and I don't want the other stuff sitting there all day so I'm happy she eats it right away,,I wash her dish and wipe her mouth (so she doesn't drool food----shes a great dane you know) and we're done until next meal.

I used to free feed my dogs until they started having squabbles over the food. I guess it will be better in the end because Sydnee was starting to get a bit obese....she would eat 20 pounds of food a day if we let her!

I find it really depends on the dog.  Baily would eat everything in sight if left to his own devices.  OTOH I have a friend with a male Jack Russel.  She fills his bowl to the brim with dry kibble and it takes him 3-4 days to eat it.  Not overweight at all.