There is no way I could free feed either with my Clancey. He has
already put on 4 lbs since I rescued him from a local Chi Rescue and
used to eat everything in sight including "unmentionables" in the yard.
By feeding him on a schedule of 3 times a day (home made plus diet
kibble) he has eliminated the need to nibble on pooh from the
squirrels/dogs etc. He has lost l pound in the last few weeks but still
begs for food constantly. Hopefully by being the alpha around here, he
will stop the begging.
--- In [email protected], toshia nicholson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
wrote:
>
> I agree with the logic behind what you said but sometimes it isn't
possible to free feed. My cats and Chi are free feed because it's easier
that way then to call all the cats for dinner time, there's too many for
that.
> My outside dogs however I can't free feed because I would either have
only one dog because they would fight all the time or they would get
bloat or someting from trying to eat it all at once. My husky mix used
to be free feed up until I got into fostering. Dogs that come from a
shleter are hard to break of the scheduled eating habbit and I don't
want to separate them just so they can free feed. They do better as a
pack than individuals.
>
> Toshia
>
> marsha [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> Too busy to respond to many post right now, but wanted to make a
response to one point raised here. You are correct that it has become
the norm to feed dogs on a schedule and you are also correct in the fact
that the reasoning behind it is mostly to regulate bathroom times.
However, I am not sure that this is such a great idea. I mean, not
against you personally or anything, since this is what has been
"accepted" for many years. However, when you think about it, is it
really fair to put dogs on a schedule to eat, in order to make things
more convenient for humans? In the wild, dogs use to eat whenever they
found food. There were no overweight wolves that I know of! lol. A dog's
body will naturally tell it when it is hungry and when it is not. When
humans start putting a dog on an eating schedule, they totally mess up
that internal clock and dogs begin eating when it is put before
them...whether they are hungry or not. They loose their ability to
regulate their
> own food needs. Personally, I am a strong proponent of free feeding.
MY dogs free feed from the cradle up and none of them are over weight,
none have food aggressions ( as there is no reason to fight over what is
readily available). Food is always in the bowls and they eat when they
are actually hungry....not when I think they should eat. I feel like we
have come to a point with domesticated pets, that we are interfering
with nature in order to make it more convenient for humans. JMO
> Marsha
>
> Do not tell God how big your storm is. Tell the storm how big your God
is.
> .
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Teacher Bunny
> To: [email protected]
> Sent: Friday, September 28, 2007 6:35 PM
> Subject: Re: [Chihuahuas] best treats
>
>
>
> On Sep 29, 2007, at 1:01 AM, Mandy F. wrote:
>
> Ah, if he is actually missing some teeth then it does make some sense
to soften it up. Did your vet say if your pup has some dental problem?
>
>
> Nope, she didn't say anything about a dental problem but I could ask
about that in our next visit. I didn't think to ask the first and second
time (yup, we've just had 2 vet visits so far bec I've just had him for
nearly 4 weeks) because I figured that he was still a baby and really
had some missing teeth. :o) How long are chihuahuas considered a
baby/puppy?
>
>
> This morning though, I tried to feed him his food with very little
water. And added some dry ones on top just to see if he'll like it and
hack it. Well, so far he did! He managed to eat it all and was ACTUALLY
chewing his food now instead of slurping it up. So maybe your advice was
right. Maybe I will gradually lessen the water -- water is good though
so I don't mind it mixed in his food because he's not much of a water
drinker unless after play.
>
>
>
> As far as how much to feed, my pup has always had food available at
all times. I'm not sure how much she eats a day. Sometimes it's like she
gets munchies and will eat all her food overnight and sometimes she just
eats a few kibbles here and there.
>
>
>
>
> I was advised to keep his meals scheduled -- to not leave food
available at all times except during meals. Except for rare cases when
he doesn't eat at all, then I'd have to keep food there when he gets
hungry. But so far, he hasn't NOT eaten at all during meals. At worse,
he just doesn't finish all of it so I take it away after an hour or so
of ignoring it.
>
>
> I was advised that if he doesn't eat at all, to just take his food
away after some time. So he learns to eat on schedule and on demand. I
think it's also to keep his pooping predictable and on schedule.
Fortunately, I haven't had the need to make that moral decision (haha)
to take his food away because he doesn't want to eat. Whew. But that's
what I was advised to do.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ---------------------------------
> Moody friends. Drama queens. Your life? Nope! - their life, your
story.
> Play Sims Stories at Yahoo! Games.
>
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