[caninejan]

I ask this because, well, I'm curious. Bubba will absolutely inhale treats, but is very slow and deliberate while eating his meals. He eats some, sits in front of his bowl for a minute, eats some more, and so on, till he's done. It drives my son's dog, Mary, crazy. She eats pretty fast. She always waits with anticipation to see if he's left her anything. Not likely!
So, how about your dogs?

[starry8740]

My dog keeps his food that I give him sometimes for 3 days. He eats when he is hungry, he dont hog it down. He learned to chew over the bowl instead of making a mess

[Shells_k]

Abby scarfs her food like she's never going to eat again, drives me freaking nuts. I started her feeding her large breed puppy food a bit ago, but it hardly slows her down.
Sugar eats normally, although she begs and whines for her food before I put it down like she hasnt eaten in days, I feed them twice a day!
Jessie eats her food really slow, takes her forever!! LOL

[6dogmom]

I free feed mine. They will nibble, then come back to it later. Then nibble more. I feel that free feeding creates a situation where the dog will not get over weight because they eat what they need not what is in front of them because it will be taken away. I also do it because I feel that it limits food aggression. They know it's there and I am not going to do anything with it so therefore there is nothing to fight for. With seven American bulldogs in the house food aggression is the last thing I need. All my guys know that the food is there anytime, they don't need to compete for anything.
Sometimes I will give them all some special stuff in a bowl of there own, it is really neat because they all get served then when they are done with there bowl they just go outside. I don't have any of that hovering behavior.
Also none of my dogs are over weight. I think free feeding helps reduce the risk of obesity because if it is put in front of them then taken away they feel they have to scarf it all down whether they are hungry for it all or not. I also keep my dog food bags in my kitchen, no one touches them ever. they sit right where anyone could knock them over and have a free for all but they don't, even when I am gone and they are all loose around the house.
I understand that for potty training reasons food needs to be given at certain times and that is good for some. For me I free fed my puppy's once they were potty trained. I have had no problems with potty training except for Ellie. She is deaf. I think the way she was raised has lots to do with her accidents not the food. She is great now, but when she was little she was a nightmare.

[molliesmum]

Molly eats like its her last ever meal, and she hasn't been fed for a week

Maybe its because she was in a cage with other dogs when we rescued her. They may have eaten all the food and left her out.

Maria. x

[caninejan]

OOOF! If I tried to free-feed Bubba, Mary would be a 200 pound Plott!!!!

[BetterDog4U]

When I first got Neka from the shelter she ate pretty fast. After about 3 weeks she was still gulping her food so I began to hand feed her. I put one hand full of food in the bowl at a time and she was forced to eat slower.

Now she eats at a normal pace. But I still hand feed her "piece by piece" once in a while to remind her were the food comes from!!!!

[Jr_K9_Expert]

Our Dachshund is a very slow eater, she'll only eat small amounts at one time. Junior however is a bit faster, not really too fast but not too slow. He'll grab some kibbles with his mouth, walk away from his bowl, drop them and eat them.... I think its weird but its natural.lol.

[Vander]

I free feed Moira, she nibbles on her food throughout the day, very rarely does she eat a whole bowl of food in one sitting. I've never had a problem with her weight with the exception of when she was on Phenobarbital and she gained a lot of weight. The odd thing about Moira is that she eats laying down, she's done it since the day I got her and she wont eat her food unless someone is in the room with her.

[dogsrme]

Sandy will eat both slow and fast. Depending on the temperature. If it is humid and warm, she will hardly eat. If it is cool and cold she will gulp her food down like there is no tomorrow.