Before Dixie had puppies I left her food out and she grazed all day. She became a finicky eater. Now that Dusty is there and he eats ANYTHING, I can't leave her food down. I feed her twice a day and if she doesn't finish it then she waits until the next meal. They quickly learn because she knows she better finish it or it won't be there.

I have Marty's food up where the dogs can't reach it. Being a typical cat, he love's to climb and eat up high. He sometimes munches on the dogs food but not enough to matter.

In training a dog who thinks it is the boss and won't do what is expected, we sometimes resort to hand feeding. If the dog does not get rid of the attitude and insists on doing the wrong thing there is no reward. You would be amazed that by the second day, at the latest the third day, they are bending over backwards to do what you ask them too. Please note that this is usually done only on dogs that think they are the alpha and they are going to "SHOW" you they are boss. Don't try this on a timid pup.

In short, I would not leave the food on the floor so the dog could eat whenever. There are established meal times and they should abide by them. Humans don't leave breakfast out all day to graze because they didn't want to eat it all in the morning. Why should dogs? This only helps to enforce finicky eating habits.