Dog eating 1000MPH!!!!!

Melucci

My dog habitually eats really really fast all the time. We know where he came from, he wasnt from a mill or anything like that. So his eating habits couldnt come from that type of backround. Also after about two weeks after we got him our vet told us to increase the amount of food we gave him to get him up to proper weight. Since then he is still on this increased diet, currently 3 1/2 months old, and still eating like a crazy dog who has never seen food before! I really want to nip this nasty habit it the butt before we start feeding him normally. I fear that if we dont stop it now it will be much worse when we start feeding him less food. Ive already tried hand feeding him. . . hasnt slowed him down a bit.

rubyred92

My dog actually did this when she was a puppy and gradually stopped. She literally looked like a vacuum at her food bowl. We never did anything to stop it though I don't know if it's the same with all young dogs. :/

Buckleysdad

One thing you can do is change how you feed him.... I have used a dog food cube to relieve boredom and stress while I am gone... it may work well for this problem too.

If you dont know what a food cube is .. its like a ball that you fill with the food .... as the dog rolls it around a few pieces fall out depending on the size kibble you are using.

There are several different manufacturers. search for "dog food cube" or or "dog food ball" and you should find one on the web.

Other things you can do is get a bowl that makes it harder for the dog to eat fast... like a bundt cake pan. Or you can place something in the bowl (it has to be big enough and heavy enough that the dog can't lift it out like a clean round river rock) so the dog has to eat around it ....

Some dogs just eat fast. Unless it causing health problems like bloat, I wouldnt worry about it too much. It may not be pretty, but we still love our dogs!

UnDeadKnight1

I used to put a little food in her Kong, and that slowed my dog's eating gradually, you could also use a buster cube.

Sheltiemama

And get a Brakefast bowl. It has 3 uprights in the bowl that the dog has to work around to get the kibble. I got one for my sheltie and it did slow down his vacuuming....errrr, eating.

Artanis

My new puppy does the same thing! I just got her this past weekend so I'm hoping in time she will settle down, realizing she has food every day. She is a rescue so that could be the issue. She doesn't even CHEW the food when I feed her. I've thought about changing her food to larger size kibble instead of the puppy bites but when I give her a piece or two of my older dogs food, she doesn't chew that either.

The only way I've found to slow her down a little is to spread the food around on the ground instead of in a dish. Takes her longer to eat it but she still doesn't chew it.

sumo

Try the Aikiou, mine went from 30 secs to between 5 to 10 minutes and he is creazy about the fact he needs to work for his food.

PamO

My dog Rhoda is a really fast eater too. Sometimes so fast that she chokes. But even that doesn't seem to slow her down. What I do is use spread her food over an old towel and then fold the towel in a bunch of irregular folds. Rhoda loves the challenge of rooting out all of the food and it really slows her down!

kmes

If Roxy is fed in a bowl she'll eat so fast that she chokes. She swallows mouthfuls without chewing! Because of this she gets all of her meals in her tug-a-jug (food dispensing toy - a purple bottle with a rope in the opening). That way she only gets a piece or two at a time.

In addition to all of the suggestion you have recieved, here are 2 more:
put a heavy chain in your dogs dish
scatter the food in a cookie sheet

Mikey

THAT is a great idea!!