Dog Sitting This Week/end- Free Fed Vs. Meal Times

[Guest DogNewbie]

Hello all!

 

My partner and I have Wiley (ex-racer, almost 4, got him in July) and we are dog sitting his dad's dog. She is a 10 year old German Shepard and a TOTAL sweetie! One of the gentlest dogs I have ever met. Anyway, she is farm/shop dog. Roxy and Wiley have spent lots of time together and get along great at the ranch. However, Wiley is fed at about 7am and 5pm where as Roxy is free-fed and has been since she was a puppy. Wiley gets Actr1um Holistic & Acana Wild Prairie and Roxy gets Pedigree Original. I peeped into the dinning room and saw Mr. Sneaky Pants all proud of himself eating Roxy's food. Any suggestions on how to keep them on the correct food/schedule? I don't really want Wiley eating the Pedigree has he tends to have a sensitive stomach and I don't want him to be sick.

 

Wiley's Food- Acana 1/2 Cup 2X a day

 

http://www.acana.com/products/regionals/wild-prairie/

 

http://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/actr1um-holistic-large-breed-adult-dog-7kg/1455222100208

 

 

 

Roxy's Food- Free Fed

 

http://www.pedigree.com/really-good-food/adult-complete-nutrition-for-dogs.aspx

 

Thanks!!

[Riverhound]

Mine are free fed. When I NEED them to eat at a certain time, I add cheese or something else yummy to the kibble, which is also what I'm going to ask Mary Pat to do when she babysits them next month. Can you try that?

[Guest DogNewbie]

yes! for sure! Thanks

[Guest june]

My dogs have meal times and I often dog-sit dogs that are free fed. I just put food down for them at our meal times. I leave there food down for 15 - 20 minutes and then whatever they haven't eaten gets picked up. Sometimes they don't each much at the first meal but by the second they are glad to eat and usually clean their bowl. Putting a little something extra on the food won't hurt a thing either. The trick is to only leave the food down a set length of time. Don't give it to them later "to see if they want to eat" but just have them wait for the next meal.

Good luck.

[oscarsmom]

All three of mine are free fed out of one big feeder. We also feed the same pedigree brand. The greyhounds have no issues sharing. Chico is crated at night and when we are at work so the Greys have free access to the food while he is crated. We have had no issues with this arrangement either.

[Guest DogNewbie]

Awesome! Thanks for all of the great ideas guys! They are getting along great and we are having fun!

[RedHead]

Glad they are getting along. I would just feed the dog when you feed yours. Throw a handful of your dog's food over his, it will probably make him more interested

[sobesmom]

When I have my friend's basset (free-fed) visit... I just separate the dogs, and feed them at my dog's mealtime. I pick up the food after 15 minutes. The free-fed dog figured out after 1 meal that when she's at MY house - food time is EAT time. No issues when she went back home. Now when she visits - she eats as soon as she gets her food, maybe not all of it, but enough.

[PatricksMom]

My Patrick basically free fed nearer the end of his life (measured amounts, but he took all day to eat). When he was at the dog sitters or at my parents with their dog, we bribed him with whatever necessary to get him to eat on a schedule since free feeding with a pack that wasn't used to it was not a safe option. Parmesian cheese, or "shakey cheese" works well to get them to eat without adding a lot of calories.