# Scheduled feeding or Free feed



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

When Lily and Peeves were young we free fed kibble since neither was a glutton (especially Lily). We now home cook and there are scheduled meals.


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## Mufar42 (Jan 1, 2017)

We do scheduled meals. It was easier to housebreak and we kept it that way.


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## nrawlinson (Jul 19, 2019)

Mufar42 said:


> We do scheduled meals. It was easier to housebreak and we kept it that way.


Interesting thought with scheduled in conjunction with housebreaking. We did that too, and then transitioned to free feed for some reason. Thanks.


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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

I have been free feeding for 26 yrs. Never had a fat poodle, and always a fit one.

I have noticed that they have all had the same pattern of feeding. Nibble a little off and on through out the day then eat the majority of ther food after 7:30-8 PM. Poppy seems to save some for later and will often eat that last amount during the night. 

I measure out 2 cups in the AM and if she runs out, which is rare, I dd a little more. She seldom eats more, usually right about 2 cups.


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## nrawlinson (Jul 19, 2019)

Viking Queen said:


> I have been free feeding for 26 yrs. Never had a fat poodle, and always a fit one.
> 
> I have noticed that they have all had the same pattern of feeding. Nibble a little off and on through out the day then eat the majority of ther food after 7:30-8 PM. Poppy seems to save some for later and will often eat that last amount during the night.
> 
> I measure out 2 cups in the AM and if she runs out, which is rare, I dd a little more. She seldom eats more, usually right about 2 cups.


So that is just 2 cups for the whole day? This is very similar to what we are currently doing. Thanks for your input. I agree that it seems like poodles self regulate quite well...unlike the labs I grew up with!


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## Raindrops (Mar 24, 2019)

nrawlinson said:


> So that is just 2 cups for the whole day? This is very similar to what we are currently doing. Thanks for your input. I agree that it seems like poodles self regulate quite well...unlike the labs I grew up with!


Labs have a mutation in a gene that regulates appetite that prevents them from feeling full when they should. It is believed that this gene was selected for because it makes them easy to train when they always feel like they are starving. That's why so many are overweight.


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## Dogs4Life (May 27, 2018)

If free feeding isn't an issue, I do not see any problem with it. What I did for Miracle in the morning was give her half of what she was allowed to have in the morning and then feed her the other half at night. Now she is in an environment with another dog and he eats canned food and I sometimes give Miracle Honest Kitchen, so I now have 2 scheduled feedings. My grazer went from eating a little throughout the day to eating twice a day and she's adjusted well.


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## Poodlebeguiled (May 27, 2013)

Raindrops said:


> Labs have a mutation in a gene that regulates appetite that prevents them from feeling full when they should. It is believed that this gene was selected for because it makes them easy to train when they always feel like they are starving. That's why so many are overweight.


I have that gene too! :afraid: Kidding aside, there is something about anyone getting on the chunky side and once you do, your brain thinks you're hungry if you don't match that set point. They call it a set point. So you're hungry if you don't eat enough to keep you at that weight. It sucks. That's why it's hard to lose weight. But that's a little different I think than this specific gene in Labs.

Actually, that's quite sad to think of that. My Lab always seemed to be hungry and she had to be watched that she didn't get too fat. Once in a while she would and I'd then notice and have to cut her food back.

Anyhow, our GSD years ago free fed. He was so lean and just nibbled. But after him, all my dogs have always been on a schedule, including the poodles. Matisse _could_ possibly tend to get fat if I weren't careful. He's kind of a piglet.


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## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

I have found it is best to follow whatever the dog wants, as long as they don’t over eat.

The only drawback to free feeding is when you work, the dog will need to go outside but nobody is home. So I wouldn’t do it if I weren’t home enough to let the dog out to relieve itself. Or when housebreaking a puppy, it’s easier not to free feed, so you can better manage their need to go. 

With Beckie, my current female Tpoo, I tried for a while to feed her on schedule. But she wouldn’t eat when I wanted her to. It’s not what she needs/wants. She eats a little bit at a time, every few hours. I guess that’s what her metabolism needs. 

Merlin will eat at mealtimes and he’s happy that way. 

All dogs are different. Go with the flow !


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## Raindrops (Mar 24, 2019)

Poodlebeguiled said:


> I have that gene too! :afraid: Kidding aside, there is something about anyone getting on the chunky side and once you do, your brain thinks you're hungry if you don't match that set point. They call it a set point. So you're hungry if you don't eat enough to keep you at that weight. It sucks. That's why it's hard to lose weight. But that's a little different I think than this specific gene in Labs.
> 
> Actually, that's quite sad to think of that. My Lab always seemed to be hungry and she had to be watched that she didn't get too fat. Once in a while she would and I'd then notice and have to cut her food back.
> 
> Anyhow, our GSD years ago free fed. He was so lean and just nibbled. But after him, all my dogs have always been on a schedule, including the poodles. Matisse _could_ possibly tend to get fat if I weren't careful. He's kind of a piglet.


Yeah I know what you mean. My boyfriend gained a little weight as a side effect of a medication a few years ago and still hasn't been able to shake it! I agree it's sad to think of being hungry constantly. I prefer somewhere in the middle, so dogs are food motivated while still controlling their weight well.


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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

nrawlinson said:


> So that is just 2 cups for the whole day? This is very similar to what we are currently doing. Thanks for your input. I agree that it seems like poodles self regulate quite well...unlike the labs I grew up with!


Poppy is crazy active so I have to feed her a food very high in protein, otherwise she eats a much larger volume of food each day, or she loses weight and is too skinny. I chose Purina Pro Plan Sport which is formulated for working dogs and sporting dogs. She is crazy about it and is very fit and with an amazing coat on this food.

As a puppy when Poppy was going through big growth spurts she would sometimes eat 3-4 cups per day and was still super skinny. As she matured her consumption slowed down to just about 2 cups per day. Of course, when she ate 3-4 cups while growing her " output " was much greater also. The Purina Sport guidelines for a 45 lb dog, which is Poppy's size is 2 to 2 1/2 cups per day. She just poops twice a day, once in the morning about an hour after getting up, then once in the evening, about 6:30-7 PM. Free feeding does not make her have to go out any more often than scheduled feeding.

I measure out 2 cups every morning and by measuring I get a good idea of whether she is eating normally or if she is "off her food". It is rare, but occasionally she runs out of food in the evening so I add a bit to her bowl. Quite often the food also "disappears" during the night....so she needs a little snack at night sometimes.

I grew up with beagles....if you free feed beagles they would explode...or their feet would never be able to touch the ground...they just hoover everything in sight. I sure like the free feeding poodle appetite better.


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## MaizieFrosty (Apr 12, 2019)

I feed mine three meals/day because we have 6 dogs total in the household and no dog except the poodles can self regulate with food.


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## nrawlinson (Jul 19, 2019)

Lots of great advice! Thank you for the great discussion. I am feeling better about my feeding with my Lilly. She just doesn't want to eat when I want her to. That is why she went to a free feed originally. We just couldn't get her to eat on schedule. She is healthy though and not over weight at all.


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## nrawlinson (Jul 19, 2019)

Raindrops said:


> Labs have a mutation in a gene that regulates appetite that prevents them from feeling full when they should. It is believed that this gene was selected for because it makes them easy to train when they always feel like they are starving. That's why so many are overweight.


Very interesting! It matches my experience with labs. That bit of information would have influenced how we cared for our labs for sure.


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## Michigan Gal (Jun 4, 2019)

My Irish setter did from bloat at age ten. He was fed once a day, as was the norm. I didn't want my standard poodle to die from bloat, so I did more research and found that kibble plus water equals kibble expanding and causing bloat. For this reason I free fed Magnum. He died from bloat at age eight. Now I feed raw.

I think that possibly if we'd had the kibble selection that there is now a different food may have worked out. I liked free feeding and Magnum never overate.


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## Moni (May 8, 2018)

Viking Queen said:


> I have been free feeding for 26 yrs. Never had a fat poodle, and always a fit one.
> 
> I have noticed that they have all had the same pattern of feeding. Nibble a little off and on through out the day then eat the majority of ther food after 7:30-8 PM. Poppy seems to save some for later and will often eat that last amount during the night.
> 
> I measure out 2 cups in the AM and if she runs out, which is rare, I dd a little more. She seldom eats more, usually right about 2 cups.


Same here - always free feed and never worry about their weight. Louie who has his food available most of the day will not eat until dinner time..really late and he is as trim as they come. One dog I ever could not free feed was my Dalmatian who was a glutton and would have eaten until he exploded if we had let him..


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## Mufar42 (Jan 1, 2017)

MF I also have 4 dogs in the house, if I were to free feed I'd have no idea of who ate why and when and one is on a special diet now. Lat night my daughter gave a a dental chew because all the others got one and this morning loose stool. So today I have to extra regulate her food. But I at least know why. For me it was also easier when I housebroke them. My poodle is a oh ok I'll eat now (mot times) my boxer was the same but now he wants to eat all the time, my cairn is a gobbler and will eat anything, my chihuahua well he is just old now, he was a gobbler in his young years . I think we just have to decide what works in our households and go with that.


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## Jbean (Feb 18, 2019)

We free feed when possible. We had one spoo who had a very hearty appetite and a tendency to gain weight so while she was alive we had to feed meals. She also got canned, salt free peas mixed in her food to slow her down and baby carrots for treats!


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## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

In my opinion it is definitely best to feed scheduled meals. Most free fed poodles I know are either very thin or very fat! Also that way you can monitor their activity after eating to try and avoid bloat, and you can easily gauge appetite, to know of something is possibly off with their health.


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## mary2e (Jan 29, 2018)

I gave up trying to schedule. I had a terrible time trying to get him to eat in the morning and evening and I was losing it because the food was rehydrated freeze dried raw that could only stay out 2 hours. I tried taking it away after 30 minutes and it didn't work.

I finally purchased freeze dried mixers from Stella and Chewy (they now make Lil' bites for small dogs) and was breaking them in half and putting them on his mat to eat dry (he doesn't like bowls). Half a day's worth at a time. Around 1-3pm he would eat most of what I put out. At 5pm I put out the other half, whether or not he ate the first half. Within an hour or so he would eat most of it, and finish it up hours later before going to bed, or an hour before.

I came to the realization that he is mostly a night eater. That's when he eats most of his food, while on occasion he will eat all of his morning ration during the day.

He's not underweight at all. He's 8lbs now and the vet told me to take a pound off him, though he does not look heavy. We give him about 120 calories of food, plus a milkbone and a few pieces of dehydrated apple each day. 

So after ripping my hair out, we finally have him eating on a sort of regular schedule, even if that schedule is letting him eat when he's hungry.


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## liljaker (Aug 6, 2011)

*Poodle Feeding*

I always was told scheduled feedings were better. I got Sunny from his breeder when he was 3 years old, so he was used to scheduled feeding, but his breeder also kept kibble out, in case they were hungry. I do the same. The kibble bowl does not get much action unless he wants to munch a bit, I feed 2X day the "good stuff", but sometimes it is the kibble with a topper and he is good for that, too. Generally, poodles will not overeat (has been my experience in 44 years and also Sunny's breeder) so leaving kibble down should not impact that. Each dog is individual, though, so whatever works best for you, your lifestyle and your poodle!


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## Eric (Jun 26, 2019)

My older dog, a terrier mix was always free-fed as I didn't know any different, and he never overate and stayed thin. Anticipating our standard poodle puppy arriving, I started putting him on a schedule, thinking I would be doing the same for the poodle. As it turns out, the breeder recommended free-feeding the poodle, so now we're back to free-feeding, and I'll continue to do that as long as it works because it's so easy. My only concern at this point is making sure my older dog has gotten his fill before the puppy eats everything. They have their own bowls, but the puppy doesn't care which bowl is which.


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## Mysticrealm (Jan 31, 2016)

Always scheduled feeding. If they’re having a ‘I’m not eating’ meal then it gets picked up no more than 15 mins after it’s put down. I feed raw so back to the fridge it goes till next meal time. For puppies 3-4 meals a day. For adults I feed 2. My mini poodle would be obese if free fed and my other 2 hold weight fine. My standard could maybe have 3-4 more pounds on him but I’d rather a dog slightly lean than slightly fat so I’m fine with it. He still has great muscle tone and energy. If he was neutered he’d probably stay right on weight but he’s intact so they require just a little extra calories usually.


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## vandog (Mar 30, 2019)

My pup is free fed during the day and then gets fed dinner around 10:00pm. We tried everything under the sun from raw to adding eggs or cooked meat and different food toppers and wet food mix-ins to get her to eat in the morning. We’ve come to the conclusion she isn’t a morning eater and the vet said as long as she’s eating her food and not loosing weight, there isn’t anything to worry about. She generally will start to graze around 12:30pm and finish eating her ‘breakfast’ around 2:30pm. I’ve got cats that will snack on her kibble so I make sure I add in 1/2 cup extra to account for that as she isn’t really a dog that will overeat. She also has various puzzle toys that have some kibble and other healthy snacks that she can snack on during the day if she’s bored/hungry. 

We feed her her kibble plus wet food or something else by 10pm for dinner. We feed her later in the evening because we’ve found that’s when she’s hungry and will eat as well as it prevents her from puking in the morning from lack of food. If we feed her earlier, she will leave her food until later in the evening anyways so lol. 
She’s been this way since we got her as a puppy.


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## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

I also do 'both'......Molly is feed a raw meal in the morning but free fed a measured amount of kibble in her bowl which she nibbles on throughout the afternoon/evening, sometimes leaving it in the bowl until the next day! I just have to be careful of the 'extra' goodies from my dinner plate that I share with her! (the last bite of food on my plate I always give to her ..........LOL)


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