Is it better to feed dogs on a schedule or free feeding

Free-Feeding vs Scheduled Feeding for Dogs: What Should You Do?

Disclosure: Our recommendations are based on our testing, research and analysis. We may earn a commission on products purchased using links on this page.

When it comes to feeding a dog, the food options are varied but what is the best way to feed a dog?

By Laura Pakis, Certified Professional Dog Trainer and Cynologist

When it comes to feeding a dog, the food options are varied: meals in a crate or loose in the kitchen, free feed, or meals served only at a certain time? What about food dispensers?

It turns out that theres a lot to think about when it comes to feeding your four-legged friend.

Heres a quick rundown on feeding options for your dog. Of course, there are pros and cons to each method (as well as variations to each). Check them out and decide which way of feeding is right for you and your pup.

Free-feeding

Free feeding is a method in which you leave a bowl of food out for your dog at all times. Your dog has constant access to this food bowl and can eat whenever he feels like it.

Pros

• Convenient especially if you have a busy schedule
• This method allows the dog to eat on its own terms.
• You can use food dispensing toys
• You can leave the food in the crate if your dog is crated for the day

Cons

• You will need to watch your dogs condition carefully and pay attention to how much he eats each week. Since one of the signs of illness in a dog is being off its feed, a free-fed dog wouldnt show illness very quickly unless the owner is very observant.
• Can lead to obesity
• This method works best in a one-dog household where there is no competition for food.
• works best on a dry dog food diet
• Many dogs pick up the habit of taking food from their bowls and eating it somewhere else. Kind of messy.

Scheduled feeding

Scheduled feeding is when you give your dog meals at set times every day (ideally, twice a day for adult dogs and three times a day for puppies). It also limits the time the food is down (15 minutes to an hour) If the dog doesnt finish the meal, it is given to him at a later meal.

Pros

• This method is much easier to know how much you are feeding your dog.
• Its the most suitable way to feed wet or fresh foods that might go bad if left out for too long.
• Meals can be used as a reward or bonding experience.
• It gets your dog into a routine, which can help calm anxious pooches.
• This method helps with housetraining a dog since you know when you fed the dog and when to take it out to eliminate.
• Bloat is one good reason. The man across the street let his dog have free food all day and night in the basement.with stairshe would shut the basement doorI told him his dog could get bloat from eating and then running up and down the stairs.sure enough it happened.
• Many dogs look forward to that second feeding and I have found, especially with my older girl, Autumn, she seems to do better as she gets to sleep on a little fuller stomach.

Cons

• You need to be around at the time to feed your dog.
• You may accidentally be feeding your dog too much or too little.
• Your dog might feel pressured to eat, even if hes not hungry.

9 Dog Experts Weigh In: Is Free Feeding or Scheduled Feeding Better?

From the pros and cons, you can see there are clearly more advantages to feeding scheduled meals than allowing your dog to free feed. Most pet-care professionals will also agree that feeding scheduled meals is the healthiest option for your pet. However, I understand that scheduled meals might not work for everyone so I am sharing the thoughts of trained professionals below to help you with your decision.

There are those who insist that dogs will self-regulate their weight if free-fed. Ive not found that to be so. I feed morning and night (one dog has a sensitive stomach and this regimen keeps the urps from occurring) and measure it in the bowls. If they dont eat it within 15 minutes, I pick it up until the next meal. That way I know if a dog is off food right away,Lyn Kalinoski of Fireside Tervuren, Toledo, Oh

When my two 5/8yr old neutered sheep guard dogs bowls are empty we fill them with high-quality kibble and Im considering buying a demand feeder. Both are skinny/fit. I put down a full bowl for my five inside sheepdogs in the am after theyre walked and pick the half-full bowl up at noon or when I think of it. None is overweight. I dont think our method would work with all breeds; not even with ill-reared or confused Border Collies. Many of our boarders are obese and I measure their food, Donald McCaig

It depends on what free feed means. My last two dogs, Ive had never adapted to scheduled feedings (to the point of dropping weight when I was hard-nosed about it), Ive free-fed with no weight or housebreaking problems. They were also only dogs, so no competition. Premium kibble, no additions/toppings, dry.

However, my free fed doesnt mean dumping a 10 lb bag in a bowl and eventually noticing when its gone. The maximum allowed 2 cups are measured out in the AM, and 1/2 put in the bowl. When that is gone, more goes in until the days supply is finished. That way it is easy to tell if a dog is off its feed or what its eating patterns might be,Andrea Eardley, MA of Canine Behavior Modification, Columbus/Plain City, Ohio

Ive free-fed and schedule fed and combinations over the years. When I had a single dog, free-feeding worked just fine and I did not have overweight dogs. With multiple dogs, there seems to be a contest evolve and one doesnt know which dog is eating what.

In a wild situation, dogs and their relatives engorge when food is available and may go a long time without eating again. Our dogs are a bit removed from that environment and can live longer if food is a bit more regulated than that. I think there are a lot of feeding methods out there, and you have to find the one that works for you and your dogs. It is not true that all free-fed dogs remain slim and trim and the reverse is not true either. I could play devils advocate either way, but right now I schedule to feed my dogs two meals a day, and frequently mealtime is a part of training time. The two feeding times are done differently with dif. types of food. I let things get away from me and am currently trying to take excess weight off a couple of them. Thats easier to do on a schedule. Tawni McBee, PDTI,Animal Attitudes Dog Training

As for weight control, I found that if I have a problem with gaining weight, I feed a smaller meal in the evening and the larger portion in the AM so they are more likely to work that off.Helen Marie, Companion Dog Specialist

Some dogs wont over-eat, but the vast majority will. Why? Its hard-wired into instinct. Predatory animals must gorge when they can because there is no telling how long it will be until the next meal. Domesticated canines may have lost some things along the road being with us, but there are fundamental things that havent changed.

Wild canids must work for their meals- they dont have a bowl set out at all times. So, its also psychologically important for our dogs to have to work for their food to be content. Obviously, this doesnt mean they have to run something down and kill it, but it does mean that they should have to do *something* before being fed. It also has everything to do with pack status- if the dog has access to food at all times, that is one less thing the pack leader has a say-so in. The leader decides where to go when to sleep when to eat, and who to hunt.. this is about rank and status, not just weight. Kim Walker,Cactus Canine Center &Tucson GSP Rescue

Down to earth, common sense, proven DOG adviceWelcome to Spikes Dog Blog by Acme Canine. Throughout the site, you will find a variety of helpful dog training articles, insightful dog behavior tips, and truthful product reviews from nationally-recognized canine trainers and professionals.

How Often Should Dogs Eat?

Paid Advertisement

Among the many questions new and experienced dog owners face is an especially important one. How often should dogs eat? Diet and nutrition are crucial components to keeping your dog a healthy member of the family for years to come.

Though theres no hard-and-fast rule to how often a dog should eat, twice a day is generally a good place to start. However, more important than feeding frequency is meal portion size. Portion size may vary based on breed, age, and health condition, and settling on the right amount can be tricky.

Dog meal delivery services can make it easy to serve your canine companion delicious, nutritious, and appropriately-portioned meals that even humans can eat. Ollie is a service that delivers fresh, human-grade dog food customized for your pups unique nutritional needs. Ollie works with vet nutritionists to formulate a perfect plan specifically for your dog based on weight, breed, and allergies. Plus they make it easy for us humans all of Ollies recipes are pre-portioned and your pup will be set up with their own feeding schedule so you dont have to worry about overfeeding or underfeeding.

What Affects How Often a Dog Should Eat?

Veterinarians recommend feeding a dog at least twice per day. Dogs with medical issues or dietary needs may require specialized feeding schedules or restrictions on what they eat. Talk to your veterinarian about your dogs eating habits to make sure youre meeting their nutritional needs and healthcare requirements.

Breed plays a large role when deciding how often to feed your dog. Common large breed dogs, for instance, will often require more feedings and more calories per day than medium and small breed dogs.Age is also another important consideration. The caloric requirements for a two-month-old Yorkshire Terrier varies greatly compared to a two-year-old Yorkie.

How Much Should Puppies Eat?

A fresh meal servicelike Ollie helps change your feeding approachas your dog changes ages from puppy to adult so you dont have to worry about portions during different life stages.

Since puppies are growing rapidly, they need more food than adult dogs. Puppy nutrition is crucial for developing a foundation for future growth, as well as their bone and organ development. Puppies must have a specific amount of calcium in their diet, otherwise, they can develop metabolic bone disease or orthopedic conditions like early-onset arthritis. Toy-breed puppies, in particular, are prone to hypoglycemia.

Puppies need small, frequent feedings. For the first few months of a puppys life, they will need small meals of food throughout the day as they transition from their mothers milk to solid food. Starting around four months, puppies can begin eating about three times a day, and after that, puppies will quickly graduate to twice-a-day feedings.

Feeding them three or four times per day makes it easier for puppies to digest and help keep energy levels consistent. However, its important to not overfeed them, since overweight puppies are more likely to become overweight adult dogs.

Toy-breed puppies will need 4 to 6 meals per day for the first three months of their lives. Medium-breed puppies will require three meals per day, and large-breed puppies typically need 3 to 4 meals per day. Though the breed is an important consideration, metabolism and energy levels can vary by up to 30 percent. Therefore, youll need to proportion meals accordingly.

Even though puppies grow quickly, its important to keep caloric intake and food amount consistent from four to twelve months of age. Puppies use fewer calories for growth as they become older. This comprehensive puppy feeding chart has vet-recommended guidelines on how much and how often to feed your puppy.

How Much Should Adult Dogs Eat?

Dont let your dog trick you into more mealtimes with adorable puppy dog eyes. Most dogs only require two meals a day, but if you catch your dog begging, an occasional healthy treat can help.

The trick is to make sure youre not feeding your dog more than is recommended. Food labels can be misleading or confusing. Generic feeding charts may over-calculate how much to feed a dog, or use outdated information.

To determine how much food to feed your dog, you should start by knowing your dogs estimated adult weight. Most large breed dogs will weigh between 50 to 150 pounds, while small breeds weigh under 20 pounds. Knowing the weight of your dogs same-sex parent can also be an excellent guide.

From there, you can use the estimated weight to determine how many calories dogs need per day.

What Sort of Feeding Schedule Works?

Free-feeding, or leaving food available to dogs at all times, is often not recommended by veterinarians. For multi-species or multiple-dog households, free-feeding makes it difficult to account for different diets and to track each dogs intake. Additionally, free feeding can lead to obesity when dogs overeat.

Sticking to a schedule can help your canine companion avoid grazing, feel like part of the family, and can encourage good mealtime behavior. You should plan a feeding schedule by consulting with your veterinarian.

Why Ollie?

Feeding dogs a diet made with natural, real ingredients can do wonders for their overall well-beingit can promote heart health, increase energy level, make their coat shinier, their breath smell better, improve eyesight and even impact poop. With Ollie, all the prep work is done for you so you dont have to worry about when, how much, or life stages when it comes to feeding. Were providing 50% off to the AKC audience for their first trial box, delivered straight to your home.

• Ingredients: Ollies food is made only with whole, human-grade ingredients sourced from reputable farms and approved by vets. They never use fillers, by-products, artificial flavors, or preservatives in any of their recipes. Each recipe is cooked by hand at low temperatures in small batches in a USDA-regulated kitchen so you know your pup is getting the best.
• Easy Schedule:All of Ollies recipes are pre-portioned and stored in the freezer plus you will receive a puptainer to keep your pups food fresh in case you feed your dog before your morning coffee. Ollie also takes care of us humans, Ollie is delivered directly to your door in as little as 2 days, on your schedule.
• Health Benefits: The proof is in the results. Ollie dogs have reported shinier coats, decreased allergies, improved appetite, and more.

Ollies freshly cooked food is the simplest way to keep your dog happy and healthy at any age. Our five delicious recipes were formulated with vet nutritionists and ensure mealtime stays fresh and exciting for your pup. Visit Ollie.com, tell us all about your pup, and well create a custom meal plan just for them.