Does your dog eat too fast? It's important to understand the risk involved in this behavior because it can lead to some potential issues, some of which may be harmful to your pet!
The faster your dog eats the less he chews his food which can lead to:
Symptoms of food bloat are:
The faster your dog eats the less he chews his food which can lead to:
- Choking (food too big to pass down his esophagus)
- Swallowing air (burbs or passing gas, which isn't pleasant for you or him)
- Food Bloat (caused by the large amount of air and food eaten)
Symptoms of food bloat are:
- bloated belly
- walking hunched over
- attempting to vomit
- listless and pacing
You know that cupcake pan sitting in the drawer just waiting to be used? Well you can put a few kibbles in each cup to slow down your pup. Dogs actually find this quite entertaining! Another fun idea is to split the food up into numerous bowls and place them far apart from each other. Your dog has to find the bowls which is a cognitive activity and slows down her eating in the process!
What? You don't own a muffin pan? Well, what about a bundt cake pan? The natural indentations work perfectly to slow Fido down when he's in a big rush to eat. Another wonderful idea is to turn upside down the current bowl your dog eats from, and have her eat around the ring to get her food. She will need to pick her head up to shift to the other side of the bowl which will also slow her down.
Have you thought about putting a rock in Fido's food bowl? Just make sure it is a BIG rock and not one your dog can swallow. I have a friend that puts a softball or tennis ball (whichever is closest) in her pups bowl!
There are also many cool bowls on the market that you can buy to help slow down your pup's eating. There are puzzle bowls, bowls with a raised middle (that mimics a ball placed in the bowl), and bowls that have plastic knobs in the center that are made to slide across the floor while Fido eats-- so he has to "chase" his food!
Finally, if none of these suggestions work, try raising the food bowls off the ground. There are many benefits to raising the bowls, including the fact that it can slow Fido's eating down and decrease the amount of air swallowed, not to mention position his head up to make burping air less frequent.
If you have a pup that eats too fast it may be worthwhile to try some of these time tested slow feeders available in your home. You might also want to check out a raised feeder as an option. There are many wonderful products on the market including Trendy Pet
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