Dog eating too fast?

Question

I own a 5-year-old Australian Shepherd. He has a problem with eating way too fast. I'm afraid of him getting Gastric Torsion{bloat] because i know that its deadly. But he's eaten like this pretty much all his life except when he was a puppy; and he's never gotten bloated; and i'm very suprised at that.

I've seen a bowl that has pegs in it that is used to slow dogs down when their eating; but are there any other methods?

the reason i want him to stop doing this is he lives in the backyard with my Siberian Husky; and she eats pretty slow; so i have to hold him on the leash while he eats; so he wont gulp all his food down then run and take hers. its quite a problem

Answer 1

In order to prevent bloat, particularly as your dog gets older (risk of bloat increases substantially as dogs get older), he needs to be a calmer dog. Nervousness or being 'high strung' seem to increase risk of bloat.

He also needs to eat smaller meals more frequently during the day as the amount of food/water/gas in the stomach is a cause of bloat.

If he is a nervous eater around your husky, can you feed him by himself? If you want him to slow down in general, you can put a flower pot or pan in the middle of a cookie sheet and put his food around there. If you are feeding him soft food, you can mound it on a plate and then microwave it to heat it up just enough that he has to slow down to eat it as if it were hot soup.

He may still be a fast eater but if you can get him to be calmer around food and eat smaller meals during the day then you can reduce the risk of bloat.

Answer 2

Put just a tiny amount in at a time. He is eating so fast because in the wild, they need to eat fast before the rest of the pack eats it all. This transfers to an instinct to inhale what is in front of them.
Put just a few kibbles in at a time until he is done. You will have to do this for a while, but it will get your dog used to eating more slowly and show him that nobody is going to take his food if he doesn't eat fast. It will also show him that you are 'giving' him his food and reassure him that it is not going anywhere.
Start with just a few kibbles at a time and do that for several days. Start working up to more and more being put in his bowl each time. If he inhales what you are giving him, cut it back to just a few at a time again. He'll get used to the slower rhythm and quit eating so fast.

Answer 3

My dog eats so fast you think that it's her last ever meal! If you feed your dog dry food, try making a game of meal time! Don't put the bowl down on the floor, sit on the floor and have the bowl on your knee. Then throw either one piece at a time or a couple at a time, your dog will love this game and will chase the pieces of food all around the room! If you feed your dog wet food, try pulling the bowl away every few seconds to give your dog the chance to chew and swallow their food. Hope this helped and i hae fun every time i feed my dog now just watching her chase the kibbles around the room!

Answer 4

If your dog's food dish is large, find a rock outside or some other large, round, hard object, and put it in the center of your dog's dish {after you clean it off, of course!}. Put a small portion of your dog's regular meal around the bowl {divide it into two sections}.
The rock will make the dog eat AROUND it all around and search for his food, rather than porking it all down at once. It'll probably slow him down a little.
Once he's finished with the first, feed him the second portion.

And, if you're feeding him soft food-
Switch to hard kibble. It makes them chew.

Answer 5

I lay out my Shih Tzu's food allowance in the morning,dry kibble. My dog is a grazer and eats throughout the day. Her treats are generally green beans and peas, so I don't have to worry about a weight issue. Grazing is better for dogs because they don't feel like "Well, this is it, better gulp it down because that bowl is going to be empty for a long time." Plus, they don't get so hungry from not eating all day if they graze all day. They eat leisurely and small amounts at a time if they graze.

Answer 6

I have a beagle, and he also eats his food extremely fast. If you are worried about bloating then maybe you should give your dog the food the same amount everyday, but just split that amount into two or three and give it to him at different times. This will make sure he isn't eating a big amount all at once.

Answer 7

When my dog did that, I divided her food into 4 different bowls and fed them to her one at a time. That way she didn't choke from eating too fast.

Answer 8

It's normal for them to "inhale" food. It's an instinct from their wild ancestry. Dogs are pack animals. They swallow their food rather than chew it because in the wild they must get as much food as they can into their stomach before an alpha dog or larger predator chases them off. It might be a while before they find a meal again.

Answer 9

Austrailian shepherds are really smart dogs!
I know a method that you can try.
Put his food in a bowl but dont put it down to eat himself keep it in your hands.
Feed him bit by bit.
He will start eating fast but do this over and over and over until he will slow down.
soon eventually he will start eating slower as you hand feed him but your not gonna hand feed him all the time. soon as you've seen he's slowed down put the food bowl on the ground and see how he will eat it.
Good Luck!

Answer 10

the causes of bloat are not well known but eating fast is not by definition a disaster (most dogs eat quick). If it worrys you put a few tennis balls or large rocks in the dish or feed spread out on a cookie tray....