Spoiled dog

well im certainly apalled at people letting their animals get like that but quite honestly i never see overweight dogs except my friends golden retriever, but that was one of those "everytime i get mcdonalds my dog should too" kind of things

i rescue pits and rotts and dobes and all the dogs that people are usually affraid to take in after they have been abused and neglected, so most of the dogs i rehabilitate are super skinny, but quickly learn that the food isnt gonna run away, i also keep my dogs SUPER active, long runs, lots of frisbees and tennis balls and playing at the beach, agility, so they just eat when they're hungry.

It's really sad to see them in that shape.

I keep mine quite active, as well, but they've both been overweight (Em by a pound, Teenie by over ten pounds, I've had Em since puppyhood) so I know they'll overeat. I decided to try free feeding Emma, at one point. I filled the bowl, and she ate it, so I refilled it, and she ate it again. Surely, she wouldn't eat it a third time? She ate til she *yelped* when she swallowed, and I decided no more free feeding. I need the control of the food, anyways, with the terrier personalities[]

every dog i have ever trained or brought into my house has been free fed and they have never gotten fat or created an issue out of it, none of them are food aggressive towardds people or each other either therefor it obviously isnt such a bad idea, eating little bits all throughout the day instead of larger portions just 2 times a day helps them actually keep trim. not to mention the perk of only having to fill the bowl when its empty lol

 
I don't even know how to comment on your lack of knowledge.
Dogs that are free fed in a group?  How on earth would you ever know if one of them was off its feed?   Pffft.

When my cockers were free fed, one of my girls turned into a porker.  She'd simply take everyone elses food.
 
I find it easier to housetrain with scheduled feedings because I have a darned good idea when they are going to need to poop if I control when they eat.
 
With 6 german shepherds, some of whom ALWAYS think that they are hungry, free feeding just flat would not work.  Someone would do without food while someone else would scarf down every ounce he could find.  The only time there is the slightest agression is with fresh bones and that's easy enough to fix by given those in crates.  We have set times to feed and if someone doesn't eat, well, then someone looses their bowl until the next regular meal time, but I also keep a CLOSE eye to be sure that the next meal is eaten because not eating is the first sign that someone isn't feeling up to par.  Perhaps in a ONE dog household this would work, but I want my dogs to eat when it's time to eat....did the same thing with my KIDS too.

ORIGINAL: spiritdogs

I don't even know how to comment on your lack of knowledge.
Dogs that are free fed in a group?  How on earth would you ever know if one of them was off its feed?   Pffft.

i dont even know how to comment how unbelievably rude that is of you, your not here to correct people or tell them how to raise their dogs when there is nothing wrong, your here to help people who need your experience and not your attitude

and for a "lack of knowledge" my dogs do pretty darn well. just because they are free fed doesnt mean that i dont pay attention to how much each of them eats, they make their own schedule, and they do just fine. they dont NEED me to tell them when they can and can't eat, they're obviously intelligent enough if they figured things out on their own to know when they are hungry and when they are full

OK, I'll jump in here to say that Max free feeds, but with a specific amount of food that I put in his dish every morning.  I don't just fill up the bowl and refill it when it's empty.  Every a.m. he gets 1-1/2 c., which he might or might not finish.  If he finishes by early evening, he'll get another 1/2 c., which again, he might or might not finish.  If he hasn't finished what I gave him in the a.m., he doesn't get any more.  This way, he gets to eat when he wants to, but I can tell by looking in the dish how much he has eaten. On really hot days, sometimes he doesn't eat anything until night, then he eats it all.  He's not terribly food motivated and this method works for him.  I know that the amount of food he eats is roughly between 1-1/2 c. and 2 c., mostly 1-1/2 c.  He was at the vet yesterday and weighed in at 63 lbs., which she said was perfect for him.

Joyce

An older couple I know has a yellow lab (at the fat farm now) who was easily 200 lbs. or more.  She was the first dog I've ever seen whose belly touched the ground when she sat.  She was free fed and given lots of treats.  Their second dog is also on the road to obesity.  It's kind of sad, but whenever we see Sandy (the second dog) at the park, Xerxes gets her to play with him for a few minutes.

puppy_luv,
I think the issue Anne has is that the advice you are giving is not good "general" training/behavioral advice.  Maybe it worked in your situation, but with a little more experience you will see that free feeding is not proper protocol in 99% of situations.  This applies to a lot of the training advice you give. 
 
I was under the impression that you claimed to be a trainer. If this is the case you need some more experience.  Giving advice on here as a dog owner is great, but if you are going to give professional training advice you need to broaden your scope and give more generally effective information...not just what has worked for your dogs.
 
If you want to just give info that has worked with your dogs that's great, but at least preface the advice with that point. 

IMHO its not about ‘will the dog become overweight if its free fed#%92 Everything depends on HOW you free feed and how your dog is. My shih tzu was free fed because she was a very picky eater, so we always left food out. We did not fill up the bowl everytime it was empty, we measured her food out in the morning and that is what she got all day. Same with my mothers Golden Retriever.
 
Lizzie on the other hand gets fed in the morning and gobbles up her food. At night she is fed again and anything not eaten within 20 minutes gets picked up, and only because when my baby brother comes visiting he will try to eat her food. Lol
 
My fathers pit bull become overweight in her later years because she was free fed and had to go on a strict diet to get that weight off.
 
So I really don#%92t think that no free feeding applies to every dog

My shih tzu was free fed because she was a very picky eater,

 
Just as a side note...free feeding actually causes picky eating.  Schedule feeding helps encourage more ravenous eating.
 
In my experience most free fed dogs have some type of behavior/weight/training issues. 
 
Free feeding is not how dogs naturally eat.

Back to the OP - I don't understand the use of the word "spoiled" in the context given.  Is it simply because the dog doesn't like to eat outside, by himself?   How much time does he spend outside, by himself?  Maybe that's the problem. 
 
PLEASE - don't tell us that you've all gone away somewhere and left the dog to his own devices and you're concerned that he will starve with no-one there to "spoil" him.   I hope you come back to the board and update us.  I notice you haven't posted on this thread since starting it.

Mic,
 
I'm wondering if you would recommend free feeding to a sighthound (with a very tight under tuck) or more of a rigorous schedule.  I regulate the amount per day that he eats, but he's not a ravenous eater, and I don't really want that due to the possibility of bloat.  Should I just do 4 small portions per day rather than the 2 that he gets currently?
 
I apologize for the thread hijack.

I would feed him on a standard schedule, but I would be more cautious of bowl height and placement.  I would feed twice a day for 20 minutes, and pull the food at the 20 minute mark as long as the dogs head isn't in the bowl.
 
Twenty minutes is ample time to eat safely.
 
 

Honestly?  I couldn't keep an eye on SIX food bowls all day everyday to monitor who is eating what and when and how much.  I'm home full time, but I do get to have a life other than dogs.........

An older couple I know has a yellow lab (at the fat farm now) who was easily 200 lbs. or more. She was the first dog I've ever seen whose belly touched the ground when she sat.

Teenie's belly touched the ground when she stood, but... she's a Dachshund[]