As we know (or at least should), grazing is not a healthy meal pattern for dogs as it can lead to excessive weight gain over time, along with other issues. There are a few reasons that we are generally against free-feeding/grazing, and we will explain them below.
1) Meals help teach and maintain clean house habits.
Simply put, if you don’t know when food is going into the dog, it’s much harder to know when it will need to come out! This is especially important when initially housetraining a puppy or newly adopted dog, but it holds true throughout the dog’s life.
When a dog is fed on a reasonably consistent schedule, it’s easy to determine his bathroom needs and develop a routine that is easy to follow. Even better than a set routine is to feed your dog in a “window of time.” This helps prevent stressing an anxious dog when life throws a curve ball and he can’t be fed at the exact time he’s used to; he expects a meal around a certain time, not at it.
2) Appetite is an important indicator of health.
Lack of appetite is often the first sign that a dog is not feeling well. If your dog has a habit of grazing throughout the day, it’s harder to know if he hasn’t eaten yet because he’s preoccupied by life or his stomach is bothering him.
In contrast, if your dog has been conditioned to feel hungry within a certain time frame, and readily eats when his meal is presented, you’ll have a reliable sign that he’s not feeling well if he turns up his nose at the bowl. At that point, the owner knows to be on the lookout for other signs of illness, and can decide if a vet appointment is warranted. Plus, if you do visit the vet, you’ll be able to accurately report how long your dog has been off his food.
3) Meal manners for multi-dog households.
In homes with multiple dogs, free feeding can make it nearly impossible to monitor each individual dog’s daily intake. It can also create situations where more assertive dogs are allowed to intimidate housemates into surrendering their portions. This often happens without the owners realizing. They may not intervene until the problem has persisted long enough that it’s noticeable due to a change in the dog’s weight. The longer a dog rehearses an unwanted behavior, the more challenging it can be to modify.
When feeding multiple dogs, it’s wise to teach them to mind their own business when it comes to food bowls. We all deserve to eat in peace. Even when a dog doesn’t seem to mind the intrusion of a visiting housemate under normal circumstances (say he responds by calmly switching to the un-manned bowl, instead), the stress of the other dog invading his territory may lead to snarky behavior – especially if the intrusion occurs on a day he isn’t feeling well or when there are other stressful things going on in the household.
When dogs are fed meals, it’s easier for the responsible humans to gently remind everyone to stay at their own bowl and not interfere with housemates. Adopting this routine also simplifies things when different dogs are on different diets.
4) Meals are more hygienic and prevent unwanted pests.
Ants are cunning little creatures. If you’ve never lived in a place where the very thought of a dropped morsel of food would lead to an invasion, consider yourself lucky – and don’t tempt fate! Food left in bowls is an open invitation for ants and other insects. Controlled meal times help prevent pests from seeing your dog's bowl as a reliable food source.
5) Meals can be used as valuable training opportunities for life skills.
Unfortunately, the Internet is rife with bad advice when it comes to feeding rituals for dogs. Much of it centers on the ill-conceived idea that humans must somehow assert their status over their dogs by demonstrating control over food and eating. Suggestions typically range from making sure owners eat first, while the dog watches, to ridiculous – even dangerous – ideas, such as spitting in a dog’s food or randomly taking it away as he eats, in an attempt to communicate the idea that it’s really your food and you’re kind enough to share it with him.
At best, such ideas are silly and unnecessary and, at worst, they can erode a dog’s trust in the owners and create the very guarding problems people think they will prevent.
My goal is not to achieve status over my dog. My goal is to teach my dog how to handle himself, as a dog, in the human world. When a dog is motivated to eat a meal, I can use feeding time to help teach several valuable behaviors, such as:
1) Coming when called
2) Impulse control
3) Formal stay
4) Preventing resource guarding
Please know that switching from grazing to meals doesn't have to be difficult.
Consistency is often all that’s needed to transform a dog accustomed to grazing throughout the day into a dog who readily eats meals when they are offered. To begin, make sure you have a solid idea of how much food your dog actually needs. Remember that what’s printed on your dog food bag is only a guide – and is usually significantly more than most dogs need for their activity level. Plus, it doesn’t take into consideration the calories consumed throughout the day via training treats and special chews. Your dog’s individual metabolism will also greatly affect how much food he needs.
Once you’ve determined quantity, split it into as many portions as you plan to feed meals. In general, puppies should be fed three (or even four) times per day until they are about 4 months old, at which time they can begin being fed twice a day. Most adult dogs seem to do best on two even meals per day, but some people find that their dogs do better with one large meal a day.
When it’s time for a meal, present the food and set a timer for five minutes. Your dog now has five minutes to eat his meal. If he eats a bite or two and walks away, that’s his choice, but you’ll pick up the bowl at the five-minute mark, and he won’t be offered food again until the next meal. (The only exception here is for young puppies or underweight dogs, in which case you can offer food again in an hour – but only for five minutes. You want the dog to understand that he needs to eat when it is time for a meal.) You can usually safely store what wasn’t eaten after only five minutes, but wet or raw food should be refrigerated or thrown away. Please follow safe food handling guidelines for your preferred food.
Especially if you have started to raw-feed, this 5-minute rule is important. Raw meat is not grazing friendly! As always, any questions are welcome! Keep an eye out for new information posts!
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