Originally posted by Crikit
I'm not sure if you know the following info or not but it's not always a good idea to leave the food down so the dog can free feed. It might seem like a good idea for all but really it can do a lot to undermine your authority in the future. After all you want to be seen as the primary source of food and other good things like that.
Crikit said it well, free feeding can cause some confusion as to who is in control of the pack. A dog can see the ability to feed whenever it likes as proof that it is leader, and food/feeding can become a control issue. I read an amazing story about a peke that was actually starving itself to death and wouldn't eat, and the trainer called in believed the food had become such an issue of control for the dog. By leaving it there, it was asserting that it could leave food and no one dared touch it because they recognized the dog's leadership. The trainer believed the dog was leaving the food because if it ate it, it would give up this control that it had. After instructing the owner to pick it up after 20 minutes or so, the dog began to eat when the food was provided since it knew it could no longer store it for whenever it chose to eat.

Just some food for thought, no pun intended!