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Well I'm in a debate. I've almost always kept food handy for pets where they can get all they want. I'm curious should I change my habits for my pups? If so when? I'm thinking they need all they can til they are close to full size... I'm just not sure.

Well I'm surely not an expert on this topic but I'd agree with you. Once my pups are good and lock on dry food I free feed them. I too believe thet they are growing fast at this age and nee all the nutrition they want. Nature takes care of itself and you too will believe this if you watch closely. Feed a dog crappy feed and they never can seem to get enough. Feed the same dog good feed and they'll only eat what they need. Of course there's the exception and that's usually in full grown dogs. With the puppies I just free feed them A good quality puppy feed and let them decide what nutritional intake they need. JMO!

Unreal_tk,

You know I am with shorty on this one I am no expert but I kept food out for my dogs all the time. I also had a butcher close to me and I could buy joints with meat on them for 3 or 4 cents a pound and I would buy those and put them in my freezer. If I hunted them really hard I would give each of them a piece right out of the freezer and they would chew on those for a day or two. They never seemed to get fat and I never had any problems at feeding time. Of course I only had 3 or 4 adult dogs at any one time.

i am on the other end of the spectrum....i want to know what they are eating and how much, cuz when they don't eat when i feed them i know there is something wrong with them...

I keep them on autofeeders when they do not hunt, it lets them know they can eat when they need to, treedagain you can also know how much they are eating by filling it daily, you will get to know how much they eat on average and anything less or more you will surely know.

only in the evenings unless hunting and if its bitter cold....

Twice a day, equal portions for each dog (but different for each size, fixed females keep easier, intact males seem to have a higher metabolism and require more)
Bones or beavers for a treat.

we usaly get a good brand puppy food and let them decide how much they want to eat. we give them a bowl full and refill it when it is empty, you can get a pretty good idea of how much eat each day.