https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Thu, 07 May 2026 03:37:59 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-free-feed-your-pets#post-361646 Thu, 25 Oct 2012 19:56:53 +0000 mrsjyw 361646@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>No way. Our dogs would eat it all! They eat twice a day and treats/rawhides in between~ </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-free-feed-your-pets#post-361540 Thu, 25 Oct 2012 19:17:43 +0000 LemonLong 361540@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Our dogs and cat all free feed. It works great for us! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-free-feed-your-pets#post-361460 Thu, 25 Oct 2012 18:50:44 +0000 aprk 361460@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>How would your pets gain weight if you just left the food out for them to graze? Wouldn't you just put the same amount you'd normally give them for the day and leave it? </p> <p>That's what we do, anyway. It seems to work - I just fill up every morning. Our dog won't eat everything in his bowl at one sitting. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-free-feed-your-pets#post-361357 Thu, 25 Oct 2012 18:22:29 +0000 prettylizy 361357@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I wish we could free feed. Our dogs eat like every meal is their last, and given the chance they would eat until it killed them. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-free-feed-your-pets#post-361353 Thu, 25 Oct 2012 18:20:16 +0000 ladyfingers 361353@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We free feed our dog and cat. It's actually a good way of controlling weight for dogs, dogs that free feed tend to be less obese than dogs on scheduled mealtimes. I think it has to do with them eating less over the course of the day when they eat when they're hungry, and only until they're full. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-free-feed-your-pets#post-360447 Thu, 25 Oct 2012 13:26:56 +0000 blackbird 360447@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My cats free feed. They get dry food all day and a can of wet food when DH gets home from work. Both are at healthy weights, so they must not stuff themselves silly. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-free-feed-your-pets#post-360430 Thu, 25 Oct 2012 13:19:35 +0000 heffalump 360430@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We put food out for our dog in the morning, but he doesn't always eat it then so we leave it out until he does. I thought this would change when LO got mobile because I was scared of the choking hazard, but so far she's not interested. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-free-feed-your-pets#post-360425 Thu, 25 Oct 2012 13:17:28 +0000 JessiBee 360425@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Nope, we do specified meal times for our dog, lining up more or less with breakfast and dinner. We also send him to daycare a few times a week, though, so free feeding wouldn't work those days--and we realized pretty early on that we can't do it some days one way and some days another. So now, if he doesn't eat breakfast first thing in the morning (and some days he doesn't), we pack it up and send it to daycare with him--it seems that after a little while of running around, he's happy to scarf it down! On home days, he usually eats it pretty promptly when we put it out, and if not, by about lunch time we pick it up, and put a new bowl out at dinner time. Our vet promised that he wouldn't suffer by missing a meal (or half a meal) here and there, and he seems to be doing just fine! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-free-feed-your-pets#post-360161 Thu, 25 Oct 2012 11:49:14 +0000 mamabolt 360161@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I used to free feed my cat, but then when I moved in with DH who has a dog, the dog started eating all the cat food. So now all the pets (we've since added another cat) get fed at 7 am and 7 pm. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-free-feed-your-pets#post-360155 Thu, 25 Oct 2012 11:46:46 +0000 boiledpnut 360155@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We free feed our dog, but not our cats. The vet said that after females are spayed, they have a hard time regulating how much food they eat, so they get obese. So they are limited to 1/2 cup a day each (per the vet of course). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-free-feed-your-pets#post-360145 Thu, 25 Oct 2012 11:42:30 +0000 autumnlove 360145@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We free feed! He only eats a little in the morning and a lot at night! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-free-feed-your-pets#post-360066 Thu, 25 Oct 2012 11:15:23 +0000 MrsBrewer 360066@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>That's awesome that all of these dogs free feed! I bet it makes it easier for all of you too!</p> <p>Maybe once our cats get older I will try free feeding again, I just don't want them getting overweight! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-free-feed-your-pets#post-360056 Thu, 25 Oct 2012 11:12:03 +0000 mrs. bird 360056@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>we free-feed (i've never heard that term! learn something new everyday!) our cat. he's not overweight &amp; doesn't finish his food quickly, so i don't worry about it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-free-feed-your-pets#post-360048 Thu, 25 Oct 2012 11:10:14 +0000 mrs. wagon 360048@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Our dogs are grazers. We put the food out every night after their walk around dinnertime and they eat most of the food then, but they graze for the rest. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-free-feed-your-pets#post-360044 Thu, 25 Oct 2012 11:08:54 +0000 Alivoo01 360044@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We free feed our dog. He only eats when he's hungry at certain hours of the day. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-free-feed-your-pets#post-360037 Thu, 25 Oct 2012 11:06:19 +0000 oliviaoblivia 360037@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Our dog is free fed. We wanted to feed her at meal times, but as a pup she wouldn't eat her food in the hour we left it out for her. We went two weeks expecting her to get hungry and finish her bowl quickly but instead she just lost weight. The free feeding works well enough now and she maintains a healthy weight. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-free-feed-your-pets#post-360035 Thu, 25 Oct 2012 11:05:02 +0000 sunshineandsushi 360035@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Our dog eats twice a day - once in the morning and once in the evening. If we left food in it all day long, he would keep eating until he passed out! We also have to lock our garbage can and pantry when we leave because he likes to snack on what he can find in there too. ;) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-free-feed-your-pets#post-360034 Thu, 25 Oct 2012 11:04:59 +0000 photojane 360034@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>we free feed our dog. i fill up his bowl in the morning, and he eats a few bites here and there throughout the day, then he finishes it off after he watches us eat dinner. i think seeing our food makes him hungry! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-free-feed-your-pets#post-360029 Thu, 25 Oct 2012 11:03:13 +0000 babynumber1 360029@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We free feed our 2 dogs. They just graze as they walk by, but they are also kenneled during the day and at night (they havent learned to behave yet) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-free-feed-your-pets#post-360022 Thu, 25 Oct 2012 11:01:13 +0000 Mrs. Champagne 360022@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Our dog free feeds. Her bowl always has kibble in it, and she picks at it throughout the day, and usually chows down on it for a bit right after we eat our dinner.<br /> Growing up, our dog would have eaten until she blew up. She had specific feeding times. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-free-feed-your-pets#post-359991 Thu, 25 Oct 2012 10:53:42 +0000 JerricaBenton 359991@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>No, our dog has set feeding times. He would eat 'til he exploded otherwise :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-free-feed-your-pets#post-359979 Thu, 25 Oct 2012 10:49:37 +0000 Cole 359979@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We free feed our dog in the beginning and he did fine with it but training was harder because he wasn't food motivated so we started leaving his food out for about an hour in the morning, if we are working on something we do that after work and then feed him again when we eat but it gets left out all night. We also have a Kong wobbler which has food in it so if he is hungry enough there is food available. He has always been more of a grazer, we cant get him to just eat the food and be done with it! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-free-feed-your-pets#post-359953 Thu, 25 Oct 2012 10:42:46 +0000 MrsBrewer 359953@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Another post about pets!</p> <p>Do you just leave food out for your pets to graze on all day? Or do you have specified feeding times?</p> <p>I think free-feeding is more common in cats more so than dogs though.</p> <p>But we tried the free feeding with our cats, and 1 of them was completely fine with it, she will go and eat a couple pieces and walk away, but our other cat just stuffs his face and doesnt stop!! He is now about 2-3 lbs over weight, and the vet thinks that we should start limiting food and just feed them at certain times. We kind of do that now, we give them soft food in the morning, and them fill up their bowl of dry food at night before we go to sleep. always about 5-6PM though their bowls are licked clean! </p>