My dog eats too fast, this is bad for them, how do I slow it down?

Question

My large dog (German Shepard mix) eats too fast, we feed her about 2 cups every morning, and she attacks the bowl and finishes in about 10-15 seconds. I've heard this can cause twisting of the stomach, a serious and sometimes deadly condition. How can I slow her down?

Answer 1

Yes, hun this can cause bloat! Bloat, otherwise known as Gastric Torton, is a condition is rapidly fatal in deep-chested dogs (like your German Shepard and my Saints and Newfs!), causing shock, coma, and death within 6-12 hours.

Here are the symptoms of bloat:

major anxiety
abdominal swelling after meals
gagging
whining
heavy salivating
pacing
dry vomiting
heavy panting
shallow breathing
restlessness
excessive heartbeat
weak pulse with off colored (blue, dark red, white) gums

Initially affected dogs show some of the symptoms above and are not interested in food or water. After 30-60 minutes the dog begins to appear swollen in its midsection due to accumulation of gas in the stomach than begin to pant heavily and breathing becomes rapid and shallow. Keep in mind that the gagging and vomitting is ALWAYS unproductive!!

If your dog shows ANY of the above symptoms she must be observed carefully and taken to a veterinarian immediately. They will take x-rays of the abdomen to confirm the diagnosis immediately.

Here are some things I do to prevent bloat in my dogs:
* I NEVER allow my dogs to play or exercise for 30 minutes BEFORE I feed them.

* I feed my dogs 3 meals a day (smaller, frequent meals are prefered).

* I never put all of their food in their bowls in one sitting. For example, suppose I feed my Saints 2 cups of food at each meal. I will never pour in the complete 2 cups!!! Instead, I will pour about 1/4 of a cup at a time. Allow them to eat and then wait a few minutes to give them another 1/4 of a cup. I have trained my Saints and Newfs to sit and wait patiently in fron of their bowl between feeding sessions. It takes me a full 3-5 minutes to feed my dogs each meal. I drag it out as long as possible!!

*No water directly before eating and no water for an hour after eating!!!! An ice cube or two is fine.

* I crate ALL my dogs for one full hour after eating to discourage them from playing and exercising. It is like their "nap" time!!

* DO NOT used elevated bowls!!! That allows more air into the stomach!

* I don't do this, but I have a friend with GSD who does this: she puts a large rock (large enough so they cannot pick it up, nevermind swallow it!!) in the middle of their bowl when feeding. This slows down her dogs because they have to try to eat around the rock.

Basically, be very aware of the symptoms and always call your vet even if you aren't sure if it is bloat! You rather be safe than sorry!!


NOTE: PLEASE never ever add water to the kibble!!! That will expand the food... which causes the bloating!!!

Answer 2

My Dog Eats Too Fast

Answer 3

Depends on the dog, but when they eat too fast, it's usually because they feel competition. (Do you have another dog or cat?)

In the meantime, I recommend feeding 1 cup in the morning and one in the evening. This is better for the dog. You could also try feeding small amounts over the course of 2 or 3 minutes and making your dog sit and wait in between feedings.

If it looks like it could be a medical problem, call a vetrinarian. Most are more than happy to advise you on these kinds of things.

<3 Good Luck! <3

Answer 4

Maybe you should feed the dog at the same time everyday, when things are quiet. Also, maybe two cups is not enough for such a large breed and when he wakes up in the morning he is very hungry. Mine eats in the middle of the night because I keep food in her dish that she does not eat during the day, but I still feed her twice a day; she's a rott/lab mix. Hope this helps!! Good luck!

Answer 5

I don't know anything about the medical concerns stated. However, I was simply annoyed by my larger dog nearly swallowing his bowl whole.
I add hot (well, not burning hot) rice to their dry dog food. Rice, in my experience, is an excellent additive to dry food. It fills their stomachs better without overfeeding them. It also helps to promote a healthy and shiny coat.

Are you feeding her enough? Double check the amount of food required for the weight of your dog. And/or what the vet recommends. Every dog food is different, often, low-quality dog food requires 5-6 cups for 50 lb. dog; higher quality would probably be 2-3 cups for the same weight of dog.

Hope this helps, just my two cents.

Answer 6

Yes Bloat or twisted gut is extremely dangerous and often fatal. And the operation it takes to fix it is really expensive!

Consider raising her bowl several inches off the floor which will help prevent her from gulping air as she eats.

I don't know if this is quite "OK" for dogs - but I used to do this with a horse that bolted his food and would come down with colic - I would put a few large rocks (cleaned of course - about the size of your fist) in his feed bucket along with his food. The horse had to eat around the rocks to get all his feed - which slowed his eating down a lot.

Would this be OK for a dog? Don't know - but ask your vet.

Answer 7

Do you stand around the bowl after you feed her? If so, she's probably just eating it as fast as she can because her natural instict is that something will take it away from her. If you ARE standing by her when she eats, try standing further away, preferably out of sight.

If you're NOT standing by her, just feed her little bits at a time, that way she can't eat it all so quickly.

Answer 8

Actually, gulping food is not specifically related to stomach torsion in a recent study so it's not a cause and effect relationship. However, gulping food is not a good idea because it can cause food to be sucked into the windpipe and occasionally a large mouthful can cause an obstruction in the throat.
You may want to take a puzzle ball or buster cube and feed the dog that way. it's impossible for the dog to eat too fast using this and they get to spend time thinking while they do it.
http://www.loveyourdog.com/toys.html
http://www.bustercube.com/
http://www.talktometreatball.com/SITE/products/products.html
http://www.omegapaw.com/TrickyTreatBall.html

Answer 9

If shes eating to fast you can give her just a small portion of her food in her bowl and after shes done with that give her another small portion of her food untill shes done. You can always wait a minute before putting the other small portion in her bowl. If she used to be kenneled or had to "fight" for her food with another dog she might eat fast to make sure she gets done without someone else eating it. Or you could put her on a leash while shes eating and when shes starts gobbling tell her"slow" and pull her head up and keep saying slow and makin her wait a second or two untill shes done eating
hope this helps!

Answer 10

My male dog does that and we put something hard in the middle of their food bowl and pour the food around. It makes them slow down cause they have to go around the object, and that work excellent. Otherwise you could be not feeding him enough. The type of dog yes but it might not fill him up