10 Ways to Slow Down a Food-Gulping Dog

By Dr. Karen Shaw Becker

Most dogs are food motivated, so it's really no surprise when they attack each meal as though it's their last. The problem is that dogs who down their dinners in the blink of an eye can wind up with health issues that those who eat at a more leisurely pace avoid.

For example, there's always the risk of choking when food is swallowed whole rather than chewed. There's also an increased risk your pet will immediately vomit his meal, though this tends to happen more often with speed-eating cats than dogs.

If you happen to have a large dog with a deep chest, there's also the very real danger that eating too fast will bring on a case of life-threatening bloat, or gastric dilatation volvulus (GDV).

If the speed at which your dog eats makes you nervous, or if she routinely chokes or vomits during or immediately after a meal because she ate too fast, or if you have a breed prone to bloat, here are some useful tips for slowing her down.

10 Tricks to Slow Down Your Speed-Eating Dog

1. Consider purchasing a slow feeder bowl — There are many styles of bowls available, but I recommend stainless steel over plastic. Some pets are allergic to plastic. In addition, plastic can break down over time and leach chemicals into the food or water in the bowl.

The design of the stainless steel slow feeder bowl is simple — there's typically a single dome in the center, and the food is placed around it, making gulping impossible. There's also the Brake-Fast bowl, which has a slightly more complex design.

2. Create your own slow feeder bowl — Place a ball, large rock, or other round object in the middle of your dog's bowl and distribute the food around it. The object should be big enough that your dog can't swallow it. Alternatively, you can purchase a portion pacer made of stainless steel or porcelain.

3. Turn the bowl upside down — This mimics the idea of the slow feeder bowl. If your dog's bowl is designed something like this, in a pinch you can always turn it upside down and place the food around the center of the overturned bowl.

4. Serve your dog his meals on a cookie sheet — Spread the food around the sheet, which will force him to do more licking than gulping.

5. Use a muffin tin — Spoon a bit of your pet's food into each individual muffin cup. The need to move from cup to cup will put the brakes on gulping.

6. Use a puzzle feeder, treat-release toy or lick mat — These products are designed to hide treats to help keep your dog mentally stimulated, but when used at mealtime, they offer the added bonus of making food gulping impossible.

Lick mats are a great solution if you feed canned food or commercial raw food because you can smear your dog's meals onto the silicon mat and the elevated nubs hold the food, requiring your pup to lick the food off, preventing snarfing.

7. Turn mealtime into training time — Instead of simply putting the plate or bowl of food on the floor for her, use mealtime to tune up your dog's obedience skills or teach her new commands or tricks and reward her with bites of food instead of training treats.

8. Play hide-and-seek at dinnertime — This is a good choice during nice weather. Hide small quantities of your dog's meal around your backyard or another safe outdoor space and let him use his nose to sniff out dinner.

9. Feed several small meals per day — If your schedule allows it, consider dividing your dog's food into several smaller meals and feeding her at regular intervals throughout the day. In theory, this could keep her tummy full and prevent her from gobbling her food. In reality, she may just wolf down each smaller meal, in which case this isn't the best choice!

10. Hand-feed your dog — This is probably an option of last resort when all other tips and tricks for slowing your dog's eating speed have failed. It will certainly require more of your time, and it will require you to handle your dog's food, which isn't something everyone wants to do! However, as a last resort, it's certainly worth considering for a dog who may potentially pose a danger to himself by wolfing his food.

These suggestions can be used no matter what type of food you offer your dog, though for the optimal health and longevity of your pet, I strongly encourage a fresh, nutritionally balanced, species-appropriate diet made with organic, non-GMO ingredients.

Kibble and food containing feed grade (vs. human-grade) ingredients are much less nutritious than a fresh, whole food diet. In my experience, processed pet food is responsible for many of the diseases seen in today's dogs and cats, so I don't recommend it.

Dogs Can Also Drink Too Fast

Water intoxication can result in a potentially fatal condition called hyponatremia, which is an excessively low blood sodium level. Dogs who swim or play in the water for long periods of time are at highest risk, as well as dogs that ingest water from a lawn sprinkler or hose.

Other potential candidates are dogs that drink too much water during or after exercise or competition, and dogs that enjoy getting sprayed with water from a hose or sprinklers.

After exercise or a competitive event, make sure your dog rehydrates safely. If he laps up every drop in his water bowl, let him rest for awhile before offering a refill. Take water with you when your dog exercises so you can give him frequent short water breaks to keep him hydrated.


CREDIT:
Mercola.com