Gobbling, Vomiting, and Food Obsession

[Tunnia]

We are having an issue with Indy and her food. She gobbles her food so fast that she ends up choking and vomiting. This happens at every meal, every day. We tried putting items in her dish to slow her down, but she simply removed them. Now we are down to scattering the food on the floor in an attempt to slow her down, but I swear she is like a vacuum cleaner sucking up the food and it hasn't really slowed her down at all. If anything, it has made her frantic at meal times. She does not chew at all she just sucks it down.

We adopted her from a rescue 5 months ago and we didn't have any food problems like this for the first few weeks, but because of an allergy issue I made homecooked for a couple of months. I quit homecooking because she became obsessed with food and spent the entire day (I'm not kidding!) whining and begging for food and literally would not leave the kitchen unless forced. Since I quit the homecook the food obsession isn't quite as severe, but she will constantly whine for about an hour before feeding time and I am forever having to make her get out of the kitchen at all times of the day. She isn't just in the kitchen, she is actively looking for food. My husband or the kids can be playing with her and she will abandon play if anyone walks towards the kitchen and when I am cooking she will repeatedly come into the kitchen. I make her go out every time, but then she just lays in the doorway and whines until I either put her outside or make her go to her spot. This happens even if she has just eaten.

Has anyone here had a problem like ours and if so, what did you do about it? I'm worried that she will make herself sick the way she is eating and we are also getting pretty tired of her obsession with food. She is not starving. We feed her twice a day at the same time every day. She weighs 56 pounds and looks great.

 

[sandy's mom]

My Napoleon is the same way. I give him a little food at a time and he has 2 balls in his food bowl that he has to eat around. For instance, instead of giving him 1 cup of food at one time, I give him about half of it, wait a couple minutes and give him the rest. He has to sit until I tell him to eat or I pick his bowl up. Hand feeding also helps, but that can get old fast. I also tried scattering it on the floor, that slowed him down, but not much. A towel in the floor with food on it helps too, it isn't as easy to get as on the slick floor.

Good Luck

 

[MajorSpencer]

gobbling and ....

My dog also used to do this. During this time we were feeding him 3 times a day. Well when he ate he was just swollowing, gagging like he hasnt eattin in days so finally i just kept his bowl full all the time and know he eats when he wishes and he is not over weight at all. The only time he doesnt have his food is after 8 pm for the night till 8 in the morning.

 

[Joe Beam]

Chance does this also...He eats so fast and then runs around and the next thing you know you're stepping in a warm pile of doggie puke. It's such a waste of money...a 20lb bag of the venison & potatoes costs $47!

I've stopped the puking by never putting too much food in his bowl at one time. I also distract him from eating if I notice he's been chowing down too much.

 

[Slobberkiss]

Lana used to eat like that when she was a puppy but luckily grew out of it.

A friend of mine has a ball-food dispenser. Not sure what its really called but you but the kibble in it and they have to roll it around to get the food to come out. It certainly slows them down and is entertainment at the same time. I think they have them at petsmart.
Maybe that would help.
Good luck

 

[angleheart]

Here is a link to show you a kind of dog bowl designed for this sort of problem. I know I've seen a link posted somewhere on boxerworld that is similar, but at least this will give you an idea:

http://www.boingboing.net/2006/05/22/dog-bowl-designed-to.html

 

[Tunnia]

Thank you for the replies! I have considered the bowl with tines in it before, but I am concerned that she won't be able to get her short boxer snout in far enough to get any food out at all which I'm sure would make her even more frantic at meal times. Does anyone here have one of those bowls and have their boxers had any problems getting to the food? I have also had food available all day in the recent past thinking that she was simply not getting enough food and was still hungry, but after a couple of weeks we noticed that she had started to gain weight and went back to the feeding schedule. Last night we tried spreading her food from the dining room floor and across the kitchen floor and she really went nuts and spent half the evening, after she finished eating, searching both the kitchen and dining room for any crumb of food she may have missed. She still gagged and vomited from inhaling the food so quickly even though it was spread out over a large area. I'll look at Petsmart and see if I can't find the feeder with the ball already in it. We tried the balls in the bowl, but she removes them so if I can find a feeder where she can't get the ball out that might work.

 

[TwoDogs]

It may be worth your while to have her thyroid levels checked. Excessive hunger is a symptom of hyperthyroidism, common in Boxers. There are usually other symptoms as well, but sometimes not, or sometimes they are not as noticeable. I would consult your vet.

 

[Joe Beam]

I'm gonna look for one of those food dishes next time I'm at the dog store. Thanks for the idea angelheart.

 

[Jacoskeeper]

I know this response is a little after the fact, but I've been away for awhile. Our white boxer had the same problem last fall that started when she was 4-5 months old. Initially our vet decided it was due to the speed at which she ate. She would inhale her food without ever chewing it and with 10-15 minutes there would be several piles of doggy vomit all over the house. The food was never digested and looked the same as it had in her bowl. Our vet recommended a food bowl that looks identical to the one pictured but was called something different. I was able to find one at a vet clinic about 30 minutes away. No other stores at that time locally had it or knew what I was talking about. The dish definitely did slow down her eating habits and she didn't have any problems getting her nose around the posts. (I was also concerned about that) I did get the medium to large size though, can't remember right off hand. It was the size recommended by the clinic that sold them for boxers. The only reason I'm not still using it is that it didn't stop the vomiting, and have since found out the cause was mega-esophagus. Hope this helps.