wat are some ways to make your dog eat slower?

Question

my dog WOLFS his food down and often bloats from eating too fast im worried his stomach will twist does anyone have some tips on how to get him to slloooowww down? i tried putting alot of water in his bowl is that a good idea?

Answer 1

Try using a much larger dish/plate and spreading the food out on it - or put something large on a plate, like an upside-down bowl and then spread the food around it. This way, the pup has to 'search' for his food and cannot take huge mouthful's at a a time.
I had the same problem with one of my pups, and the bowl trick works well!
Hope this helps!!
:-D

Answer 2

I had a dog that did this too and would end up sick after each meal. I would scatter the food in the yard and make the dog work for it. They would eat slower because of the time it took to find the food. I also had success with smaller meals several times a day instead of all at once, like a previous answerer suggested. There are also devices on the market that make the dog work for the food. Like a ball with holes in it. The dog has to manipulate the toy to get the food out.

Answer 3

My dog used to do the same thing. She would eat all her food really fast and then throw it up. A solution that we found worked was to put a hockey puck or heavy ball in the food dish because the dog will have to push it around to get the food which will slow them down. Good Luck!!

Answer 4

My brothers dog does the same thing and sometimes ends up vomiting from eating too fast.

What he does is make a game with her food. He lets her outside then he hides her food around the house. Not just in a few places, but everywhere! Under a chair will be a few pieces, in a corner will be a few more, etc. He tells her her to "find it" and she is ecstatic! She gets to do something fun AND she knows it makes him happy. I do that with my dogs, but not nearly as often....mine are slow eaters.

Keep in mind, this only works with dry kibble - unless you want to put a bunch of little bowls everywhere! ☺

They also make a special bowl to slow your dogs eating down.
http://www.handicappedpets.biz/xcart/product.php?productid=29380

Answer 5

Putting water in the bowl won't help....if anything using too much while he gulps down his food (and thus the water) could have the possibility of causing a fatal condition called "bloat".

Get a smooth heavy stone or put a coffee mug upside down....something heavy like that....and set it in the middle of the food dish. He will have to eat around it and move it around to get to the food which will slow him down.

Answer 6

Well I don't know about the water but I have always been told to feed the dog more than once a day and to put the food in a cookie sheet with sides so the dog will have to move the kibble around. It does slow them down.

Answer 7

Great Danes are notorious for bloating, and it presents a real problem when you have one that gobbles their food. One trick I used was to place a large rock on top of the food. That slowed her down a bit, since she had to nibble around it, but she eventually learned to flip the rock out with her nose.

So I switched her over to 3 meals a day. That was a help, because she wasn't as hungry each time she ate, and with less food in her stomach at a time, it reduced the chance of bloating.

For some time, after she survived major surgery for bloat (her stomach did torsion), we soaked her dry kibble in warm water until it was mushy. That eliminated air from the food, so again, less chance of bloating.

Over the last few years, I have switched over to free feeding, because one of my boys lost both his mother and brother to bloat. Bloat tends to run in families, so I'm being extra cautious with him. I've found the free feeding works wonderfully well, because he nibbles all day long, and has little food in his stomach at one time. Be sure to use a raised feeder, so he doesn't suck in air with his food.

The first couple of days, my whole gang stuffed themselves, but then when they discovered that food was always available, they regulated their own food intake. In fact, they are eating a bit less than before.

Give free feeding a try, I think it will solve your problem. Make sure he always has plenty of water available.

Edit - I beg to differ on the water. It is the air pockets in the food that contributes to bloat, not the water. However, I never soak their kibble now, my old girl had bloated twice and she was the one who got the mushy kibble. It worked for her - she lived to 11 years old, well past the usual Dane life span.

Answer 8

I dont know about putting water in with the food but i don't think it will hurt if he drinks as well, one thing you can do is give him smaller portions of food more frequently, this wont stop him rushing it down but will stop him getting bloated and put your mind at rest and maybe he will learn something over time from the experience.

Answer 9

A raised feeder is good and this will sound crazy but,I did it for my pitty.A smooth rock in the center of the bowl.It's slows them down b/c they need to eat around the rock.You can also try turning a bowl over(the ones that are "no tip" work good).Mine eats out of a raised feeder w/bowl tipped over.Okay so it works.

Answer 10

Try adding some WARM water to the food and letting it sit for a few minutes.. He will slow down to slurp the water and the softened food will be easier on his belly.