Dog Community

Eating Habits

Posted : 1/8/2007 1:16:48 PM

We have a 14yr old German Shepard/Brittany mix. She was raised in a pack for most of her life and she has an eating habit that is seeming unusal. We keep her bowl stocked, and she only eats what she needs, the other dogs from her "pack" were the same way. All other dogs I have seen will empty their bowl every time. My question is: can I teach my new puppy to be the same way? Does anyone else have a dog with this eating style? Can it be learned?
Donna

fuzzy_dogs_mom

Posted : 1/8/2007 1:36:20 PM

I've had two dogs that would only eat what they needed even if the bowl was full. It wasn't anything they were taught - it's just the way they were/are. I put a specific amount of food in the bowl in the a.m. (1-1/2 c.) and Max just grazes and nibbles throughout the day. At night, if he ate it all, he gets another 1/2 c. I always know how much food he's eating over the course of the day, but he certainly doesn't stand at his bowl and finish it all at once. My sister, on the other hand, used to have a dog that would continue to eat as long as food was available - he'd eat until he puked, then he'd eat some more - so she could never keep his bowl full. Just like with people, every dog is different.

Joyce

pamdb

Posted : 1/8/2007 1:51:45 PM

Boy would I love to have a dog like that!

Our puppy (is 15months still considered a puppy?) is of the inhaling style of eating.
THe other one is better,but will still eat all of it.

sweetbon

Posted : 1/8/2007 3:09:13 PM

I free feed Zoe as well. I give 1 cup of NB sweet potato and fish kibble and she eats when she is hungry, usually more in the evening.

houndlove

Posted : 1/8/2007 3:27:13 PM

You can transition from free-feeding to scheduled feedings. You just have to be patient and a little willing to do the "it hurts me more than it hurts you" thing for a few days. Decide on feeding times and amounts, and set the bowl down. After 15 minutes, pick it up again and don't put it back down until the next feeding time.

I've never free fed (I'm not such a fan, though I also have dogs that would eat a 20 lb. bag of dog food faster than you could blink), and in the past year or so I've transitioned to mainly feeding from Kongs and puzzle toys instead of bowls. My dogs work for their meals [

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jeano

Posted : 1/8/2007 5:48:00 PM

Sofia and her sister are both natural free-feeders. Sofia maintains a healthy, slim figure.

I had a housewarming party last week and a friend of mine who has a lab said, while standing in the kitchen, "I am standing here looking at your dog's dish and I don't believe my eyes! There's a full bowl of food just SITTING there! That would NEVER happen in my house!"

She has named her lab "Hoover." [

]

Athena has a "little sister" who is beagle and pit bull. I say that beagle + pit bull= Piggle. [

] Lily snorks down ALL the food and my son couldn't figure out why Athena was getting so thin. HA! I told him he HAD to feed them separately, and different foods, too. He has followed Mom's directions and now both dogs are much happier.

There was no way the piggle was going to learn to free feed!

Aina

Posted : 1/8/2007 6:40:10 PM

Maggie free feeds. She won't eat her kibble until she is hungery.
But if she finds human food she will eat until she vomits.

CoCo Chanel

Posted : 1/8/2007 8:19:37 PM

i free feed my puppy as well.

when i first got her, she did not have a healthy appetite at all since she was sick.

once she felt better, she ate more...but only when she's hungry.

i dont even think she eats all of the "recommeneded" amount on the labels...

but's she's very healthy otherwise in terms of weight and health.