Eating too quickly can lead to choking, vomiting, and swallowing excess air, which causes bloating (gas buildup in the stomach). Therefore, it's important to slow down your dog's eating habits.
Often times, most dogs eat too fast, so here are some precautions to prevent your dog from eating too fast.
Distribute the food
This is by far the easiest (and cheapest) way to get your dog to eat more slowly. Take your dog's daily meals and spread them out on a mat or smooth surface.
Once he is very good at eating his food spread out, increase the distance between the kibbles by spreading his food over a larger, smooth surface.
By increasing the distance between the kibbles, you force your dog to search for each kibble.
To make things even more challenging, sprinkle his kibble on a large rug where he will have to hunt through the fibers to find his food.
This makes for a great game for your dog while he eats.
If you want to make it even more difficult, sprinkle his kibble on a shag rug.
It could easily take him 30 minutes to find all his food.
How to reduce your dog's eating speed?
Some dogs eat so fast that you'd think their kibble would self-destruct in 60 seconds.
Many dogs do this throughout their lives without serious problems, but a dog that eats quickly is not good for their metabolism.
Eating so quickly doesn't allow dogs to chew or even really taste their food.
What's more worrying is that a dog that eats at a high speed can choke, gag, vomit, and cause an even more serious condition called gastric dilation (known as canine bloat).
The stomach expands because gas builds up to the point where it twists in the dog's abdomen, preventing gas from leaving the stomach.
The result is that circulation can be cut off to this organ as well as to others, including the heart.
Dogs can die within hours of developing bloat, so it's a serious condition that requires immediate emergency medical attention if you even suspect it's a possibility.
So, eating quickly is potentially dangerous.
To slow down your dog's eating speed, you can spread the food out over a large area, forcing the dog to move around for each piece of food.
This works great in single dog homes.
If there is more than one dog, this option is a poor choice because it promotes competition, stress and can lead to food aggression.
Our favorite way to prevent dogs from eating their food too quickly is to use a specific food bowl or puzzle also called
a food dehydrator .
Not only do slow-feeding bowls help slow down their eating, but they also provide mental exercise and valuable experience in demonstrating perseverance and dealing with a little frustration.
Chew toys
These dog toys are filled with your dog's daily meals. You give them to your dog so he can chew and lick them clean.
Not only will this dinner toy help your dog eat more slowly, but it will also strengthen their dental health and help combat boredom.
Discover the
treat ball which is great fun and will help reduce your pet's meal time.
These toys encourage gnawing and chewing, which is very satisfying.
When introducing an interactive dinner toy, make play easy for the first few days.
Sprinkle food freely inside and outside the toy so your dog learns to associate food with the toy.
Over the next few days, start wrapping food tightly, trying to switch between options to make feeding even more difficult for your dog.
Soon your dog will learn to eat slowly!
Please feel free to leave a comment below this article if you have any suggestions or questions. We would love to answer them and help you with your relationship with your pet.
