Raul was free fed by the breeder. When he came to live with us we had an older large dog who also free fed. The problem was she decided that she liked puppy chow, and he decided that he liked big dog food. I began to schedule feed them both, neither one of them was happy. We lost the big dog 3 weeks ago and have started to free feed Raul. He is much happier. He takes a bite or two at a time, then come back for more when he is hungry again. His weight is stable. This way he does not have to stuff himself twice a day or go hungry. If you can do it, and you dog will govern itself, it is a great way to go.
Barbara & Raul [EMAIL PROTECTED] ----- Original Message ----- From: marsha To: [email protected] Sent: Sunday, April 08, 2007 5:00 PM Subject: Re: [Chihuahuas] Free Feed or Scheduled Feedings I free feed. However, I start from the cradle up, so to speak. My mom has a couple of chis that she absolutely could not do this with because they would over eat. I am sure they could be trained to free feed at this point, but I think it would be a long hard battle to get to that point, and probably not worth it, IMO. Mine begin freefeeding as soon as they are weaned, when their bodies are still on a natural schedule as opposed to my schedule. I do think this is best because they do have the natural instinct to know when they are hungry, and unlike humans they do not generally eat to relieve stress, out of boredom, ect. BUT, once you start feeding them on a schedule, it interrupts that natural instinct/clock, and is very hard to get back. Marsha ----- Original Message -----
