Free feed or measure Food?

We free feed our cats (one has a lver condition nd we need to keep her weight p) but when we got our puppy the vet and articles we read say to measure out food. We followed the vets recommendations. Her recommended food amounts followed what we saw on the bag as well.

What do you do with your cats and dogs?
 
I think it depends on your animals' personalities. We have three cats and two dogs - two cats and one dog would be just fine free feeding, but one cat and one dog eat too much and get chubby. Everyone gets their food measured and fed seperately because that's the only way I can make sure everyone is eating their proper amount.

Growing up our dog and cats were free fed and didn't have any problems. I think it's a good idea to measure food when they are babies because they can't self regulate themselves as well. As they grow though they get used to what they need most of the time.
 
Totally depends on the dogs personality.. I have 1 who can free graze all day.. and if she goes too long w/o food her GI is out of balance & the vomiting will start. She's also pretty picky with her food & has a sensitive stomach.

Our 2nd one.. is a little big PIG. Will eat anything and seems to always have food on her mind 24/7. I was leaving out food for both of them in the beginning when the 2nd one was a puppy.... but soon found out that the 2nd one was getting possessive of the food area & not letting the other one eat.

SO... we measure and have a set feeding schedule now just to make sure 1 doesn't over eat.. and 1 doesn't under eat.
 
We've never free-fed the dogs--they get fed twice a day--and we stopped free-feeding the cats last spring when we decided to try a raw diet. Now they eat twice a day, as well. The amount isn't precisely measured but I estimate they get about 2 1/2 to 3 oz of food each per meal. Whatever's left over after about 20-25 minutes gets tossed but that almost never happens because they are hungry at mealtimes! Since we stopped the 24/7 kibble buffet they've leaned out nicely.
 
I give my cat canned food twice a day (when I get up in the morning and when I get home from work) and leave dry food out throughout the day. I scoop out 1/2 cup of dry food and that plus the canned food lasts him until the next morning.
 
i say that i give my cats the endless buffet option lol. i had 4 (now 3)and only one is really overweight but i don't feel it has anything to do with how much he eats.
 
I free feed my pup, mainly because it's the only way she will eat. She'll get 1 bowl and much on it on and off all day and sometimes still have left overs. However, our most recent visit to the vet suggests I should be measuring because she needs to lose 5 lbs? I'm not sure how since she's the pickiest eater ever, but I'm trying to measure per the back of the bag now.