Smaller more frequent meals are recommended for certain disease conditions and digestive upset, as they are easier to digest. They also benefit dogs with liver disease and are more likely to be tolerated by dogs who are poorly and feeling nauseous. We have a selection of natural dog food that is suitable for adult dogs and cater for their special dietary requirements and health issues.

Free feeding means just that. The dog is able to eat as much as they want from a regularly topped up bowl, grazing throughout the day. As well as causing digestive upset and fussiness, dogs allowed to eat as much as they like can also become overweight which can lead to associated problems such as diabetes, arthritis and heart disease.

However, some dogs (like people) seem to be able to eat and eat and never gain weight. It may appear that they are perfectly healthy but these dogs are often passing most of what they are eating resulting in huge, smelly (and often runny) stools that the owner has to pick up. Allowing your pet to pick all day means that at proper meal times when fresh food is offered, he or she is simply not hungry anymore.

In puppies, free feeding can allow the pup to eat much more than they need. Again, this may result in digestive problems but more seriously it can cause rapid growth. Growing too quickly can lead to joint problems later in life; this is especially a problem with larger breeds.

Free feeding is therefore usually only recommended for elderly underweight dogs that need to increase their calorie intake.