Eating too fast?

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Skiddlydoo

Boxer Pal
I've noticed for awhile now that my puppy (Gizmo, 4 months) eats much faster than our other dog (Stanley) who is a terrier mix. We have had her since she was 8 weeks. Gizmo doesn't really chew her food as much (if at all) as Stanley does. This hasn't worried me too much until recently when she started gagging while she was eating and we had to take the food away for a minute until she regained composure.

I feed her daily recommended amount on the label of the food. The meal is usually split evenly into breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I split them up like that because I've read that feeding them too much too fast can lead to stomach turning or something of that nature.

So I guess my questions are...

Is there a way to make her chew her food?

And/or should I split the meal up even more?
 

Gunther

Super Boxer
You are right to be concerned, there is a thread on here discussing Bloat. Most likely he'll stop doing this, but yeah, if he continues doing it, he might not get the chance to out grow it!

Most likely something he started doing with his siblings, if your not doing it the one thing I would suggest is to always feed him at the same time. Maybe once he knows the food will always be there he'll relax a bit?

I've never used any of these but they are available.
Amazon.com: Dogit Go Slow Anti-Gulping Dog Bowl, Blue, Medium: Pet Supplies
 

sjtorr

Boxer Booster
Also check out the omega portion pacer. It is a stainless steel wobbly ball that you put in with their food fish. Idea is they gave to get around the ball to get to the food, therefore making it hard to eat fast
 

mistydwilson

Super Boxer
When we got our rescue, he would gulp down his food too quickly. We got one of the bowls that has things sticking up in it so he had to eat around them (there are a bunch of different sizes and types). It definitely slowed him down some. Our vet also suggested that if we didn't want to buy a new bowl, to put a tennis ball or billard ball in his regular bowl so he had to keep moving it to eat around it. The other thing we did was to only give him a portion of his full meal amount, let him eat that, then give him more. That also taught him to eat slower.
 

Skiddlydoo

Boxer Pal
Hmm thanks guys. The tennis ball seems like a good idea lol. Ill just keep her on the same feeding schedule (breakfast lunch and dinner) but just give a little at a time. If that doesn't work Ill try some of those suggestions. Thanks again for the input! Ill keep you posted
 

Skiddlydoo

Boxer Pal
UPDATE

So I got one of those slow feeding obstacle bowls for Gizmo. I also started combination feeding while I was at it since it was something I was considering as I have only been giving her only dry food until now. The bowl seemed to work and slow her down a good bit. She didn't take any breaks eating but a lot of time was spent trying to get the food it seemed. It was actually entertaining to watch her push some of the last bits of dry food around the bowl trying to get it LOL. Thanks again guys!
 
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