SHOULD I FREE CHOICE FEED MY DOG?
In the early stages of training, your feeding schedule is one of the best tools you can use to help your dog develop the desire to learn. Taking the time to feed your dog individually will give you the opportunity to teach them something or provide mental stimulation. It is a great way with young pups to teach them their basic commands and build their mental capacity to focus. If a dog cannot focus, you cannot train on them. In the development stages of a dogs early years, I want everything good to come from me - including food, water, play, etc. This helps develop the working relationship with your dog.
I also feed our dogs in a large group I have fed up to 15 dogs in close proximity. They understand that they are not allowed to fight over food and they get as much as they are able to eat. They learn to focus on eating the food in their own bowl.
Using food during training is very helpful. If I am having a particularly tough time with a dog that doesn’t want to be a working partner. He may not get fed after that training session. The following day I will try again, if he shows even small improvement or a try in the right direction, I will end the session and feed him. I always look for a reason to feed a dog in training.
I do not recommend free choice feeding for a couple reasons:
Your dog does not connect you to the food they are eating.
They may try to hide/bury their food to eat later. If their food gets taken away after ample time to eat, they learn to eat when it is time to eat.
You cannot tell if your dog is not feeling well. You do not know if they are off their food, or how much they usually eat.