Continuous Feeding vs. The 10 Minute Meal

Continuous Feeding vs. The 10 Minute Meal

This last weekend I had quite the discussion with my sister about why I am adamant about feeding our dogs for only 10 minutes (or if they are about done of course, they get to finish).  She on the other hand, always had food out for her dog, Buddy. After we were done discussing the topic, the thought occurred to me that maybe you are wondering which method is best. Does one way work better for certain breeds?  Does the age of your dog matter? Bread and age don’t are not factors to consider.  Eating quickly is something every dog is used to doing because there were only certain feeding times when they were nursing.  The mother dog was not always available. Taking the next step and training your dog to embrace the 10 minute meal has many benefits.  Here are my favorite reasons for choosing the 10 minute meal for our dogs.

Behavior

The #1 reason why the 10 minute meal is the best choice is that your dog is searching for who is its leader.  By dictating when and how much your dog gets to eat you are asserting yourself as the pack leader. They will welcome this information.  

Cleanliness

If you always have food in the dish it’s going to accumulate dust, pet hair and ants (maybe even mice!).  

Illness

If you always have food in the dish it is pretty challenging to gauge how much they are eating, especially when your dog doesn’t feel well.  You might notice in a day or two but if you set the food down for a ‘10 minute meal’ you will know in a matter of minutes if he/she is eating.

Elimination

Leaving food out continuously makes it more challenging for you to know when your dog has eaten and will need to go outside to eliminate.  However, if you use the 10 minute meal option, usually they eat their meal and then want to go outside within a few minutes.

My final reasons to advocate for the 10 minute meal are

• minimizes the temptation to feed from the table
• helps with portion control which is good for monitoring weight
• helps to stabilize a multiple dog home 

Do I have you convinced?  I hope so. To make the change, you will probably only have to pick up the bowl once or twice after 10 minutes for the dog to catch on that it needs to tend to business and eat.  

Happy Feeding!

Julie