Are you supposed to have a pan of food out for your dog all the time?

Question

I feed my lab every nite after work and its roughly about 5 cups of dog food. He is very healthy according to the vet. He weighs 90 lbs and is a pretty big dog.
If I filled his pan everytime he empties it, he would be confused for a Herford cow. He will eat whatever I put out and I like him but I dont want an obese dog.
Animal planet makes it sound like his pan should be full of dog food all the time. He has a never ending appetite.

I usually give him a cup of dog food in the morning before I leave because he takes medicine in a hot dog, then at nite when I get home, I fill his bowl full and he scarfs it down. He is getting chubby, and his little chihuahua sister is way fat. I have to cut her off. She heads to the neighbors and they feed her too. It so embarrasing. She is a begger. We live in rural america.

I also fill his water pan w/ fresh water in the morning before work, immediately after I get home and before I go to bed at nite.

He goes to the vet about every 4 months and we just went last Wednesday. The vet thinks he looks great. She is not concerned. She says he is an active dog and active dogs eat more.

Answer 1

It's due to evolution. This is adaptive behaviour for dogs. In the wild, wolves/dogs have no way of knowing when or from where their next meal would come. This is why when there is food in front of them, they will eat every last piece. When my sister got a pup, and she wasn't aware of this, she used to fill the bowl every time it was empty. Her pup ended up eating so much that he vomited, and then proceded to eat the vomit. I would say that how you feed him now sounds alright.Make sure that he always has clean water in front of him, and I'd almost suggest giving him half the food in the morning and half after work just to split it up a little bit, but regardless you're on the right track!

Answer 2

If it's possible you should feed him twice a day. 2 1/2 cups in am 2 1/2 cups pm but with enough time for him to go out in the pm. I have a lab too and I do usually leave a bowl of food for him most of the day. We got him as an adult and when he first came to us he would chow his food down and make himself sick. I'm lucky enough to be able to stay home so I slowly trained to eat just a little at a time. Not everyone has that chance so it's best to try to break his fast in the morning just like you do and then feed him dinner in the evening. Going all day without food will make anyone hungry. This may also help him eat slower if that is a problem.

Answer 3

He's a Lab they will eat 24/7 if you let them. I have a half Lab and she gets 2 cups a day of kibble, plus treats. She too is at good weight. If I were to give her 5 cups or 10 she would still act hungry. So stick with what you and your vet think works best for your dog. All the best;^)

Answer 4

How old is the dog? If it is full grown, feeding once per day is enough. Leaving the dog food all the time is not only filthy, but indeed create a bad eating habit, and sure he will gain weight, plus eat up your budget. Dog is happiest when he has a set schedule to follow, just like us humans. If it is a growing puppy like 3 month old to 6 month, the story may be a bit different among few people, but it is depend on their preference how they want to raise a puppy.

Answer 5

I truly believe that it is how you raise dogs from the start. Some dogs are trained not to over eat, and some can't help themselves. I personally have the dish filled all day....when I see it empty, I fill it. My dogs do not over eat and I keep track (mentally) of how many times a day that I fill their dish. My dogs are healthy as well, and not overweight. But my sister's dog would eat until the cows came home! I do not think that animal planet is right. You can feed your dog how you want to feed your dog. As long as they are healthy and not overweight, do it how you want to! But if you choose to feed them rationally, it has to be more than once a day....I wold scarf it down, too, if I was only fed once a day!

Answer 6

Just keep doing what youre doing. My dog actually lost weight on that diet. All dogs tend to eat constantly. My dog does anyway.
My mom gives my 83 pound male labrador about 6 cups of food and a cup of rice (mixed WITH the food) and a tablespoon of vanilla yogurt (the yogurt is good for dogs with floppy ears cuz they tend to get yeast infections and the yogurt wards off these infections) the yogurt just gets globbed on top of the rice and food. On top of that they get a little bit of garlic powder.
This tends to fill up the dogs and they definately look forward to it every night.
So ya only feed your lab once a day after work like u have been.

Answer 7

I keep the dogs bowl filled several times a day and give them 3 to 4 treats thru out the day. If I don't my Jack Russell will start snout-ting at me lol. It's as if he is disgusted that I didn't know better lol Take him to the vet and get him checked for worms because a dog gets like that with worms. Once the vet checks your dog over tell him what you told us.

Answer 8

Most dogs do best if you feed them twice a day. Giving them smaller portions is FAR safer, especially for large breed dogs who can get Bloat (which can be deadly). I suggest that you divide your dog's food into two portions, one for morning, one for the evening. He will finish it all and that's fine, you certainly do not need to leave a full dish down for him.

Make sure he has clean water at all times.

Feeding twice a day is MUCH nicer for the dog, too. Think about how hungry you'd be if you went 24 hours between meals! Plus, dinner time is the BEST time of day for a dog -- it's nicer to give him TWO best times!

Answer 9

i have a 90 lb dog and a 65 and a 12 lb dog and we keep a full pan down at all times with a pan of water!!!!!! are you sure your dog could have the worms to eat all the time have your vet ran a test to see

Answer 10

If your dog will eat what ever you put in front of him, you could end up buying a bag of dog food a day. I have a dog like this. I feed her according to the food guide on the dog food bag. It seems to work well for her.