Some breeds of dog daintily and gracefully chew every piece of their food while others rush their way through to the bottom of the food bowl in mere seconds.
Some dogs may eat quickly because they worry about their food being gobbled up by someone else, others might do it on account of medications, and still others due to simple excitement.
Regardless of the reasons why your dog might be eating quickly, you are correct to be concerned as it can lead to serious problems in regard to your dog’s health. Fast eating can cause upset stomach, heaving, choking, vomiting, and even a life-threatening condition referred to as “bloat”.
If you have any apprehension about the pace of your dog’s eating habits, here are a few suggestions to get him to slow down.
Use a food dispensing toy for their meals
Food dispensing toys are wonderful for helping your dog in mental stimulation, but also because they come with the added benefit of making your dog’s food inconveniently accessible, slowing his eating. These toys are created to allow only one or two bits of food to dispense at a time.
These are utilized by simply filling it up with your dog’s meal, giving it to them, and encouraging them to play with it. As they romp around with the toy, their food will begin to come out, bit by bit. This is a simple way to slow his eating, and it is useful in that your dog will be enjoying himself a great deal while he eats.
Buy or make a slow feeder bowl
Slow Feeder Bowls may come in several different shapes and sizes, but the common factor they are share is the ridges within, designed to create difficulty with speedy eating.
This method works by filling the bowl with your dog’s food as usual, and the bowl does everything else. The ridges obstruct the food from being easily eaten, helping to slow your dog’s eating.
Turn mealtime into game or training time
If you have a bit of time to spare during your dog’s mealtime one extremely beneficial thing you can do in order to slow their eating is make it a game or training session. Collect the proper amount of food and place it aside for whichever game or training session you select.
One example of a food-related game is a nose work game, “Find the Treats”. When your dog is in a ‘stay’ position, you venture around your house, hiding bits of food along the way (if your dog is new to this game, begin with hiding places that are easier for him to see). Once you’ve hidden them all, give the command to go find the treat, encouraging and praising him as he find each one. This bring mental stimulation, and slows his eating considerably.
Utilizing your dog’s food as a reward during a training session is yet another way you can slow your dog’s eating. While you work on teaching him some new tricks, you can reward him with bits of his food a few at a time. This does not only aid in slowing his eating, he can develop more confidence as he continues to learn and it can enhance his focus.
