eating food times?

[Ihatethedailymail1]

I have just rehomed two small dogs and am not sure what to do regarding their food. I give them a bowl in the morning and a bowl in the evening (measured out amounts as recommended). The dogs need encouraging and might have a little five minutes after i put it down, but then don't touch it and just eats bits throughout the day, some at lunchtime etc.
I left it down all day as they were just settling in so they wouldn't feel too frightened with the change of house etc.

I know you are meant to feed the dogs and then take the bowl away after 15 mins (after googling) but i cannot see WHY this is .
Should i take it away or is it a problem that they nibbling throughout the day, as long as they food is measured out and they cannot over eat?

I've seen this advice but don't know why either.

We have 2 small dogs who are grazers. They just get the recommended amount put down in the morning and they eat it during the day. If they haven't eaten it all by the evening I take it away.
They don't overeat as they don't get any more once they've eaten their allowance for the day. They are both really fit and healthy, not overweight at all so I can't see why there would be a problem with yours.

How nice of you to rehome them too. I bet they are loving their new home

yes, i cannot see why i should take it away after 15 mins. seems to mean!
here they are!

Awwww so cute.
Maybe if it's not convenient for you to leave food down all day then I think the theory is they quickly learn they need to eat it while they have the chance and eventually get trained into eating it all at the mealtimes you set.

I suppose it depends too what you feed. If it is something flies might be interested in you can't leave it down,but dry food is fine. The only thing I hate about summer are those big fat blowflies buzzing round looking for somewhere suitable to lay their eggs. Yuk!

They have dry food so I don't think it matters?

Erg flies!! Yes mine just have dry food

It devalues food as a reward for training and you have no idea which dog has eaten what amount of food for health monitoring purposes.

"It devalues food as a reward for training and you have no idea which dog has eaten what amount of food for health monitoring purposes."

That, it also suggests they're being fed too much tbh.

Meals should be a highlight of a dog's day, not a dull perpetual obesity-creating buffet.

Ah, I measure the food out, and they have separate bowls and I monitor what each one eats.
I'm not giving them an all you can eat buffet, to the rude person who assumed rather than asked.

cheesypasta , but if the food is down all day how do you know who eats what out of which bowl or do you watch them 24/7 ?

floral mine are both the same size. I don't know who eats what but they are both maintain the right weight for their size even being allowed to graze so I guess it's going ok.

I do take your point though. If one was too fat or too thin then the grazing protocol would be rubbish - no way of stopping them or monitoring how much was being eaten by which dog, so no way to address the problem.

Absolutely trevor , but it's true to say that you have no idea if one of your dogs has a faster metabolism and is eating more than it's share . My mum has sibling small terriers and they are fed exactly the same , one has always been fat ,the other thin - if she allowed them to graze you could easily think the fat one was eating it all IYSWIM. Not a problem if your dogs are the correct weight though.

But if one of them started eating less, you wouldn't know until they'd lost enough weight to be visible.

That's what monitoring for health purposes means, that you know they're eating ok.

YY that all makes sense tabulah and floral

I thought it was so:
A) if you have multiple dogs you know who is eating what
B) you can easily spot if something is wrong - one not fully eating food could show dog was feeling under the weather sooner than if they normally graze all day - even if you only have one dog.
C) if you need to mix medication in at some point it would need to be eaten straight away
D) some foods (Inc dry food if you dampen it) can go off a bit or attract flies etc.
E) I've seen it linked to fussy eating but no idea if there is any truth in that.

If you take it away after a short set time they soon learn to eat it whilst they have got it. So don't feel mean. I think my dog had some food left twice, then after that would eat it all straight away.

I work from home and they eat out of their own bowls only, so I do see who eats what. My desk is two metres from their bowls!
I see the point though about it should be a highlight. When I put it down, they barely look at it, I call them over, they might have a bit but they usually go back later frequently throughout the evening.

Google "Feeding the hounds at Cheverny" to see how exciting mealtimes should be.

Oh and just thought of another reason I was told - when you first get a puppy it can help you know roughly when they'll toilet.

They may find it stressful if having to resource guard I food down all the time is reasoning I've seen for not leaving it out. My girl has no such reservations around food, she dives in with great gusto, but then she's raw fed which is probably a lot more tempting and enjoyable than little dry pellets of stuff

villainous that's a great clip! How disciplined they are as well!

My little chi has food down all day and just eats when she feel like it. She used to have problems with being sick and the vet suggested feeding her like this as opposed to just giving her two meals a day as she would wolf it down as she was hungry and then throw it all back up again. This method seems to be working a treat as she has no problems now. Obviously, this only works with dry, kibble type food as wet food would go all dry and yukky.