RaisingRiver Posted November 29, 2008 Report Share Posted November 29, 2008 Ever since I got Aero at 8wks, he's eaten his kibble like someone was going to steal it. He chews nothing, and just inhales it as fast as possible. He eats twice a day, about a cup each feed. He's been on Merrick, EVO and now California Natural. Brands don't seem to make a difference. But esp in the evening since he was at least 5 mos old (maybe that's just when we notice while we're relaxing for the night) he has the smelliest gas (like he just went poo in the house) - but he doesn't need to go, I asked . So I finally experimented thinking he was gulping too much air and hand fed him one night (that was a horrible slober disaster, ew) and tried 3 tennis balls in his bowl the next couple of nights. No gas. Removed balls, back to gas. So I'm thinking I need to slow him down, etc. The tennis balls end up flying out of the bowl or River steals them later. Are there other ways of slowing him down that you've tried with your dogs? Diesel and Jaida used to eat really fast too, but both has slowed down and in fact, Diesel is now the slowest, most elaborate chewer. I really don't want to wait until Aero figures it out, if ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSnappy Posted November 29, 2008 Report Share Posted November 29, 2008 Big rocks in bowl. Big rocks, ones he cannot eat. That solves that. RDM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martySQ Posted November 29, 2008 Report Share Posted November 29, 2008 NOw and then, I will put Bess's meal into an empty creamer bottle which she has to get the lid off of. By the time the lid is off, she has crushed it enough that the kibble doesn't fall out automatically without her playing with the bottle, rolling it around, etc. That slows down meal time, and while my purpose is different (mental stimulation) the result would be similar (slower ingestion of food). I also have a teether kong that is hexagonal shaped thazt holds about 1/3 cup of kibble. The opening isn't just a round hole, so getting kibble out takes longer. I use that and a 'flying saucer' thing I got also. The flying saucer thing has a top part and bottom part that screw together it holds about 1/3 cup of kibble also. I alternate these dinner time toys on days when she needs more mind tiring activities so I get a little time I don't have to correct self amusing behaviors in the evening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2 Devils Posted November 29, 2008 Report Share Posted November 29, 2008 Big rocks work. You can also by bowls that have knobby things that are to slow down eating. Adding water to the bowl can also slow down eating Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ms.DaisyDuke Posted November 29, 2008 Report Share Posted November 29, 2008 As someone else said, there are bowls you can get with knobby things in them exactly for that reason. You can also get all kinds of interactive toys that allow a full meal to be placed inside and the dog has to get the food out. Daisy also eats really fast (but no gas, just burps) so I use these sometimes. There is the buster cube and a ball that is similar, each you have to put the kibble inside and they have to roll it around to get the food, there is also something similar to a pop bottle with a rope coming out the top, they have to pull the kibble out via the rope, you can also just use a regular pop bottle so they have to get the lid off and then figure out the rest from there. Hand feeding also works, but kind of slobbery and takes up your time as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaggieDog Posted November 29, 2008 Report Share Posted November 29, 2008 The bowls with knobby things are called Brake-Fast bowls I think. Big rocks worked for our horses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maralynn Posted November 29, 2008 Report Share Posted November 29, 2008 Try a Twist 'n Treat for meal time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiga's_mom Posted November 29, 2008 Report Share Posted November 29, 2008 We add water to Tiga's food. I don't really let it soak or sit for long. I used to until I discovered that it actually takes him longer to eat it when it's still floating formed kibbles. We also have a food cube. We use both. Tiga doesn't chew anything either. Never has. Also when we add the water he feels more full and doesn't act like we starve him to death as much. http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/product...p;zmap=21213705 ETA: I like that Twist N Treat thing! I might have to try to find one of those. The only toys Tiga likes are ones that he gets a reward from ie treat balls. I like the looks of that one, it's something different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaisingRiver Posted November 29, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2008 I've actually had that Twist and Treat toy at one point. Doesn't work out to well with multi-dogs all wanting to get at it. The Rocks sound possible. I think I'll have to go get some as I don't have any on my property. I don't think the Brake Fast bowl will work at all... and Hank in the video is NOT a fast eater and is a terrible example of a dog 'going to town' with his food. Maybe I'll video Aero since I've finally got my vid camera to load to my computer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Posted November 30, 2008 Report Share Posted November 30, 2008 Back in my kibble days, everyone ate out of Buster Balls and the like - outdoors, so they could bat them around to their hearts delight. Made their meals last nice and long. The other thing I was thinking was whether Aero learned to eat fast to keep his food from being stolen, and then you mentioned not being able to use a Twist n Treat because of the other dogs. So have you tried letting Aero eat in a private spot? I'm especially thinking of giving him his own room to eat in and not letting him out of it until, say, 15 minutes later. Seems like he might learn that there's no need to rush and in fact no advantage to it either. Just a thought. Okay, rereading, here's another idea. Put a tiny bit of food in his bowl at a time. Ask him for some calm behavior (sit, or whatever), put a small amount of food in his bowl, let him eat it, repeat. Over time, you can increase the amount of food he gets at each iteration but never so much that he gets into full gulp mode. He might learn over time to eat slowly that way. Or you could just send him to me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaisingRiver Posted November 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2008 Alaska- Aero ate alone for at least the first month that I had him and he always scarfed. Now the dogs eat lined up in a row in 2 sets of raised bowls something like this one (but different brand) so I don't think that's the issue. He's def the first one done and licks his bowl until the other dogs are done then licks all theirs. I suppose I could try to train it... though I'm thinking he'll just scarf each little bit. But I can certainly give it go. And no, you can't have him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bsms99 Posted November 30, 2008 Report Share Posted November 30, 2008 No ideas from me - but I'm reading! Our new puppy ate his dinner in 47 seconds tonight (my daughter timed it). It took him longer than normal because he paused to see if I was going to add anything to his bowl... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SincereArtisan Posted November 30, 2008 Report Share Posted November 30, 2008 Try feeding him from a muffin pan. A cookie sheet also works, because the kibble is spread out so much, he has to eat it slower. The have bowls out nowadays with dividers in them, but in all honesty I don't see how they'd stop a dog really wolfing down food unless the partitions were higher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz P Posted November 30, 2008 Report Share Posted November 30, 2008 Uh, yeah. I watched those videos for the dishes that are supposed to slow down eating. They have no idea how insane food bolters can be! I used to have a BC who would SLAM her face into the dish hard enough to send food flying and suck the food down so fast that she did indeed choke many times. I had to pick her up by her back leg and smack her chest to get her to cough up the food and breath again. She came to me as a 10 week old pup like that and continued to eat that way until I sold her at 2 years old. I suspect she is still doing it in her new home. I tried everything with her and nothing got her to chew. Some methods I tried included scattering her kibble across the kitchen floor so she could only get one at a time and feeding her in treat balls, which seemed to work best. She was also dog number 4 for me so feeding her alone was a chore, but it had to be done. The worst choking incident left her coughing up blood. I own her niece, 2 sons from her niece, a more distantly related dog and none of them are food bolters (but they do all enjoy their food). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweet_ceana Posted November 30, 2008 Report Share Posted November 30, 2008 My only other idea is to work on obedience when he eats. Make him think and do tricks and then give him a smaller amount. That is what we did with our foster Twist. If she even heard kibble she would run and jump into the canister (we keep kibble in an old popcorn tin) and try and eat herself our Homer Simpson style. Making her think was the only way we could get her to slow down. She was a BC/LGD mix so we gave her adopters a print out on bloat before they took her home. It is a really hard thing to stop IMO, when a dog loves food that much there is hardly anything else on their mind! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martySQ Posted December 1, 2008 Report Share Posted December 1, 2008 Ah... twist-n-treat...that's my flying saucer thingy!!! I suppose I'll have to resort to recycling water bottles or pop bottles is I ever swear off coffee and lose the need for creamer bottles...Bess likes the International delight shaped lids best, but I have to watch those, they have a little piece she pops off the top...coffeemate is all one piece but not as much fun for her. She figures out how to srew the lids off on her own though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
INU Posted December 1, 2008 Report Share Posted December 1, 2008 Tug-a-jug works great too. I have two for my two dogs. The problem is my lab still can't figure out how to work it. I use it only for my border collie. I use it more for entertainment purpose but it also slows her down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiga's_mom Posted December 1, 2008 Report Share Posted December 1, 2008 I wish we had better pet stores here. I want a tug-a-jug and a twist-n-treat! The pet stores here suck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vickkers Posted December 2, 2008 Report Share Posted December 2, 2008 Tammy, check out the link in INU's post...it takes you to the website to purchase both the bouncy bone and tug a jug (both look really cool and I might have to get them... even if it's just for treats). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vickkers Posted December 2, 2008 Report Share Posted December 2, 2008 after reading the posts and checking out some stuff online last night I grabbed a few empty water (1 and 2 liter size) bottles and filled them with hard treats and let the dogs at them.. OMG it's hilarious... they were at it until I put them up for bed last night and have been playing with them again since I got home tonight. For anyone looking for a laugh I definitely recommend it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiga's_mom Posted December 2, 2008 Report Share Posted December 2, 2008 Thanks Vicki. I did check the links, but honestly, I'm not really one to order things online. I much prefer to go to the store and pay cash. Our pet stores here are not very good though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tassie Posted December 3, 2008 Report Share Posted December 3, 2008 I've slowed my 'bolter' girl down by putting water in with her kibble - as said, not letting it go soft - just makes her 'bob' for the kibble. In the morning, she has about a dessertspoonful of non-fat natural yoghurt in the bowl, and that also slows down the eating process - and she really enjoys the yoghurt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoloRiver Posted December 3, 2008 Report Share Posted December 3, 2008 Fly inhales her food and always has since I got her at three years of age. She will actually employ inertial feeding, the way large water birds do to get big fish down their gullets: fill her mouth, toss her head back, and thrust it back and forth to get the kibble to go down her throat. Chew, what's that? She's no better with raw food -- I'd have to feed her nothing but beef knuckles to get her to chew. I have actually seen her try to swallow a chicken quarter whole. When she failed she sort of crunched the bone into three pieces and got it down that way (it was still held together by the muscle and skin), but I would not call that "chewing." I have to hold all her raw food for her and force her to chew it to get it out of my hand, which gets very tedious. She's never been particularly gassy, though. I guess I should count my blessings. Jett is a pretty careful chewer and she is by far the gassiest of my dogs. She doesn't seem to have any digestion problems, or at least her turds look fine. I think she's just gassy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riley-dog Posted December 3, 2008 Report Share Posted December 3, 2008 I bought a tug-a-jug to help with separation anxiety in our new apartment. So instead of feeling miserable for himself and howling after I leave, Riley is preoccupied with getting his breakfast. Good thing it didn't take him long to settle in because he can empty that thing in record time now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoloRiver Posted December 3, 2008 Report Share Posted December 3, 2008 FYI -- I was just at Target, and they carry the Tug-a-Jug and other toys from the same company. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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