My 4 month old English Bulldog inhales her food, how do I help her slow down?

Question

Since she inhales it, this causes her to sometimes begin to gag since it has become stuck in her throat. I use royal cannine and I been forced to break down the kibble even smaller and add some warm water to it to soften it up. She needs to slow down and actually bite her food but I dont know how to do it.

Answer 1

Here are some ideas:

1. If you feed her only once a day, it may not be enough and she is starving by the time she is fed. That could be why she practically inhales it all because she is so hungry. Try feeding her once in the morning and at night and see if that helps.

2. Give her a small portion of her meal at a time. Put a few spoonfuls of food in her bowl and let her eat it. Then give her some more. This way she will have a lower chance of gagging or choking.

3. Try putting a ball or something in her bowl so she has to eat around it and she will have to eat slower.

4. Get your dog checked out by the vet. Maybe his teeth are sore and cant eat on them well causing him to not eat his food correctly. If he gets his teeth fixed he might eat better.

those are about the only things I can think of for now. Good luck and happy holidays!

Answer 2

Have a look at your dog's teeth - a dog's teeth are not made for chewing. It's pretty natural to eat like she is, don't break her kibble up into smaller pieces. What you can do to force her to slow down is put a REALLY big rock in her bowl so she has to eat around it. You have to make sure it's a rock she won't be able to swallow.

Answer 3

Simply place a smaller bowl upside down in the center of her food bowl. But,,,, there really isn't anything wrong with a dog eating quickly. When we are on the road with the dogs we would rather that than have a dog take forever to eat.

Answer 4

Break her meals down into smaller portions, let her finish one then give her some more after she has finished the previous.This probably won't slow her eating down but it will help to keep her from gaging. If that dose not work try feeding canned dog food.

Answer 5

I've read that since puppies are highly driven by food, maybe you should introduce her food to her slowly. Most dogs gobble up their food, even my 12 week old Puggle.

I would gain trust with the puppy by letting her know that she must depend on you for feedings. Introduce the food to her in thirds, and give earch thrid a chance to digest a little...maybe give five minute intervals between feedings un til you see a change in pace for eating.

DOn't forget to make you dog sit whil preparing her food. I've already trained my Puggle to do so.

Good luck!!

Answer 6

You can buy these cool bowls with 'raised dimples' in the bottom of them. They are kind of like fingers poking up.

I know it sounds strange but they stop the dog scoffing the food down so quickly.

Mind you, my dog is the same.... and to be honest as long as it is not doing your dog any harm don't worry about it, all of the dogs digestion takes place in the stomach not partially in the mouth like with us humans.

Answer 7

Try leaving the dog alone to eat. Dogs eat fast so they can get the food in them before someone takes it.

Answer 8

Our labs inhale their food too. We were told by the vet to scatter it on the floor. It takes longer for them to eat it. Works great.

Answer 9

Put LARGE and I mean large rocks in her bowl, she will have to go around the rocks to eat it, I had the same problem with a golden retriever, and my uncle who is a breeder, suggested it. Make sure the rocks are large, so he can't choke on them,

Answer 10

Had a similar problem and was told to feed the animal in more regular intervals. (Or even leave lots of food availble for them to eat during the day).

Apparently they get too hungry/greedy if they don't get food all the time and then eat too fast.

It worked for me - try it?

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