When to Feed a Small Dog

Posted on Jun 03 in Small Dog Careby Jeff K.Print

Oh boy, is this a controversial topic or what? Okay, perhaps it’s not as controversial as, say, whether the government’s bail out of General Motors is a good idea. (G.M. just declared bankruptcy today, June 1, 2009, so you make the call.) In any case, everyone has an opinion on when to feed a small dog. You can chime in on this topic in the comments section of this article if you wish. For now, here is what I believe to be true about the subject.
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First, let me clarify. This is not an article on what to feed your small dog, though what you feed your dog may influence when you feed him. What to feed is a question best answered by conducting your own research. Your veterinarian’s opinion is a great place to start that research.

There are 2 ways to time feeding:

Option 1. Free Feeding.

In a free feeding situation, you place a full-day’s ration of dog food in a bowl on the floor and let your dog eat at his time of choosing. The theory behind free feeding is your dog will be less anxious about food in general if it is always available to him. Some people believe that a dog with limited access to food will become obsessed with food-seeking. Others believe letting your dog decide when to eat by leaving food out all day is one step towards losing control of that dog. Regardless of theory, there are advantages and disadvantages to free feeding.

Free-feeding advantages

1. You do not have to be available at an appointed hour to feed your dog.
2. My own experience with free-feeding dogs does seem to support the theory that having food available all day makes dogs less anxious about food. There is less of a tendency, in my experience, for dogs raised in a free-feeding situation to bolt food. I have also noticed less of a tendency for free-feeding dogs to engage in food seeking behavior throughout the day. My observations are non-scientific and may be explained away by other factors, such as genetics or training.
3. Your dog can eat when he feels like it. Many dogs like to eat late at night, sometimes well after you have gone to bed. This behavior may be a throwback to a time when ancestral dogs hunted for prey or scavenged for food in the dark.

Free-feeding disadvantages

1. Free feeding only works for dry, stable dog food. Wet, quickly-perishable dog food will spoil if it sits in a bowl at room temperature all day.
2. If your dog tends to wolf food down as soon as it becomes available, by default, you will not be able to free feed your dog.
3. Free feeding will not work if there is more than one dog in your household and those dogs compete for food.

Option 2. Timed feeding

As you would guess, timed feeding is the opposite of free feeding. In timed feeding you place a food bowl on the floor at a specific time of day, or after a specific activity, such as an evening walk. Timed feedings may be delivered once a day; or, parts of a full day’s ration may be delivered two or more times per day. In general, puppies, like human babies, need to eat several times per day. Adult dogs can take all their nutrition in one or two meals per day. There is also a school of thought that says a dog’s entire daily ration of food can be handed out a little at a time in response to good behavior or as part of a training regimen. You can find an article on that method here.

Timed feeding advantages

1. Dogs are creatures of habit. Feeding on a schedule plays directly to your dog’s habit patterns.
2. Feeding after a specific event, specifically exercise, probably feels natural to your dog. Some animal behaviorists believe you should only feed your dog after a long walk or run to simulate how dogs work for food in the wild. Many behaviorists and trainers believe your dog should be required to do something to earn his food, such as respond to an obedience command before eating.
3. Timed feeding is the only option available if you feed moist, quickly-perishable food to your dog. In fact, if you feed moist food to your dog, you should not only feed at a specific time, but also limit the time the food sits at room temperature to less than 2 hours.

Timed feeding disadvantages

1. You have to be available at a specific time of day to feed your dog.
2. Some dogs do obsess over food when it is not readily available. When a timed meal is placed down, many dogs tend to bolt food as though there is no tomorrow.

Some dogs respond well to free feeding while others seem perfectly comfortable receiving food once or twice a day. In some cases, what you feed your dog will dictate when to feed. There are advantages and disadvantages to both. Truth be told, dogs are such adaptable creatures that no matter which method of feeding you choose, your dog will eventually get used to it. In the next article, I’ll discuss how to feed your dog. There will be a few pieces of information in that article that may surprise you.

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