[darieBarexish]

Free feeding IS really good, if your dog isn't the kind of dog that will go berserk, and eat everything it can see. When dogs realise they don't have to fight for their food, and that there's a constant source they will 'graze', and only take what they need. When I only had the one dog, we would free feed. However, since the arrival of our second dog, if we free fed, he'd eat all of his, AND go for the other dog's food. So we had to go back to timed meals.

However, we carefully weigh out the food, and make sure they're never overfed. As long as the food you leave out for free feeding is mixed up each day (as in you don't just add more on top, you mix the old with the new), then you shouldn't have to worry about bacteria. If you keep the bowls clean, and make sure fresh water is always there in terms of dry feeding, then it's awesome.

I've never fed my dogs tinned food, and never will. It's dreadful.