Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 3: Slowing down your dog's eating
• Part 2 of 3: Raising competitive behavior when eating
• Part 3 of 3: Understanding the dangers of eating too fast

Is your dog eating his food way too quickly? Eating too fast can harm your pet's digestion: it can choke, burp, fart, become bloated, and even vomit. Fortunately, there are several things you can do to slow down your dog's eating habits. Address competitive behavior when it comes to eating and learn things you can do to physically slow down your dog's eating.

To step

Part 1 of 3: Slowing down your dog's eating

1. Fill your dog's food bowl differently. Instead of throwing the food into a dog bowl, turn a metal, non-tilting bowl upside down. Spread the food in the ring around the center. Your dog will now have to walk around the bowl to get all the food and lift his head to move to the other side.
   • Even something as simple as this can slow your dog down when it comes to eating, and it doesn't require the purchase of new materials.
2. Buy a new food bowl. If you want to buy a new plastic food bowl, try the Gobble Stopper, Slow Feeder or anti-shock bowl. These are containers that do not fall over easily, with plastic lumps in the bottom. They don't have anti-slip rings so they can slide while the dog eats, forcing him to "chase" his food.
   • You can also buy an interactive Slow Bowl. These make your dog have to work to reach his food by moving puzzle pieces.
3. Divide your dog's food into portions. Either divide the food over several small dishes and spread them around the room, or divide the food over different compartments in a muffin tin. In this way, the dog at least comes up again for air between bites, or he has to find the dishes.
4. Place a large rock in the center of the food bowl and spread the food around it. Only use very large stones as some dogs will just swallow the stones if they are small enough. For small dogs, you can put 2 or 3 golf balls in a bowl and spread the food around it. The dog will have to move the balls to eat, slowing it down.
   • Realize that this only works for small dogs, for whom a golf ball is too big to swallow.
5. Raise the food bowl. When all else fails, place the food bowl on a low table or chair. This forces the dog to put its paws on the surface and it tilts its esophagus downward, which can help reduce the amount of air swallowed. It will also hold his head up better for easier burping.

Part 2 of 3: Raising competitive behavior when eating

1. Determine if your dog is a performance eater. Do you have more than one dog? Your dog may be eating fast because it fears the other dog will steal its food, or it may be eating quickly and then racing to the other bowl and eating that one too. This behavior is called competitive eating.
2. Separate food bowls. Feed your dogs from separate bowls, each on a different side of the room. This gives each dog a chance to eat from their own food bowl without the pressure of the other dog panting on its neck. If the greedy dog ​​is determined to steal food, feed it in another room, out of sight of the other dog.
   • This takes the pressure off the victim dog and takes the temptation of the extra food away from the greedy dog.
3. Feed your dogs regularly. You may find that your dog is still running to the other food bowl to eat the rest of that food just out of habit. This can be a result of food insecurity. Feeding it at regular times will help to create a sense of food security.
   • It may be that the dog has had a bad experience and now feels it is necessary. For example, the owner was home late and the hungry dog ​​found leftovers from a previous meal. When the next meal came, he quickly finished his food and went looking for leftovers (from his buddy's bowl), out of a sense of food insecurity.
4. Retrain your dog. If he likes excitement and attention, immediately distract him as soon as he finishes his food. Let him sit and reward him with lots of positive attention. If this is done consistently, he will rather run to you for attention than to the other dog's food bowl.
5. Stick with it. Keep up the changes in feeding. While not everything will work, you can find something that will help your dog. Remember, it will take him time to learn to eat more slowly.
   • If you still feel that your dog is greedy or aggressive about food, it could be an possessiveness problem rather than a fast eating problem. Dogs are more likely to become aggressive about food if one dog has what the other dog wants.

Part 3 of 3: Understanding the dangers of eating too fast

1. Realize that eating too fast can cause health problems. When feeding your dog is more like throwing a raw chicken at an alligator, it can be frustrating. But more than that, gulping food can lead to a variety of potentially harmful problems.
   • Never ignore a habit like eating too quickly. Raise the issue while watching for health problems to develop.
2. Be on the lookout for belching and flatulence. When a dog races through his food bowl, he also swallows a large amount of air. This can result in something as simple as burping and farting, which is not pleasant for the environment, but is relatively harmless.
3. Be wary of choking. The faster the dog eats, the less it chews. This can cause him to choke if something large, which should have been chewed up, comes down his esophagus.
4. Look for signs of bloating. This includes: thickened or swollen stomach, stumbling, unsuccessful vomiting attempts, lethargy, and pacing. Always call your vet if you suspect swelling. This is an emergency, and it's better to waste a phone call than miss a life-threatening problem.
   • Bloating from food can increase the likelihood of a stomach tilt, thereby blocking blood flow to the stomach. This can cause irreversible damage to the stomach or death. A dog suffering from this should see your vet immediately. There is no home remedy for this.