Seminole Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 First of all I would like to say thank you to all who welcomed us, I am learning a lot. Pancho will be 15 weeks old on the 19th, he weighs about 22 pounds,and is around 18 inches tall--shoulder height. We feed him a cup of Buffalo Blue Wilderness for puppies 3 times a day. He eats it so fast. Is there a way to slow him down? Should we feed him less food more often? He has been getting a little constipated lately, and I wonder if we should change his food. He won't be a working dog and will not be completing in any competitions,he is our new family member. We run him when the weather is nice and try to walk him just down the the street. Hopefully, the dog park near by will be completed soon so he can get some more exercise. Thanks in advance for the advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zorro13 Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 http://www.amazon.com/Smarter-Toys-Treat-Inches-Colors/dp/B003ARUKTG/ref=sr_1_1?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1395027706&sr=1-1&keywords=iq+ball For the eating too fast problem I would recommend one of these. It provides good mental stimulation as an added bonus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Camden's Mom Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 I like the treat dispensing toys as a way to slow down the feeding frenzy as well. You may also want to consider setting some of his daily portion of kibble aside and feeding it throughout the day during training sessions. This will slow down his food consumption as well as tire out his little brain as you teach him new tricks! Many people on these boards suggest feeding a food that is good for all life stages, so you might want to consider getting him off of a puppy food sooner rather then later. If you do a search on the forums for food recommendations you will get tons and tons of info. I would continue to feed him at regular times throughout the day. Three times a day should be more then enough and eventually, once he's a bit older, you might even scale that back to two meals per day. ETA: I had bad luck with Blue Buffalo, although it had the reverse effect on my guy... his stool was runny and soft. Also, I don't know what the feeding suggests on the bag, but three cups of food a day sounds like a lot. Please keep an eye on his weight and if it looks like he's packing on a few extra pounds be sure to scale that back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simba Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 I've heard of people putting a brick in the bowl so the dog has to eat around it. My dog suffers from constipation if she gets certain types of food (bones). I know it sounds weird, but lentils seem to help a lot- leftover cooked unspiced lentils. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy Coyote Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 You can just put a big rock in the bowl and poor the food around it. You can buy special bowls that look kind of like a bundt pan but they cost a lot and just putting a big rock in the bowl has the same effect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gideon's girl Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 You can also pour the food out on a cookie sheet so the dog can only get a few pieces at a time. Or put the food in a muffin tin so he has to eat it out of the individual depressions. Or you can drop a length of large link chain in the food bowl and pour the food over that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beach BCs Posted March 18, 2014 Report Share Posted March 18, 2014 I feed my two year old on a cookie sheet or I just toss the kibble into her crate. She still doesn't chew, but she at least ingests the food much slower. We have fed Blue Buffalo and the dogs did well on it. We switched to Taste of the Wild because it was less expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GentleLake Posted March 18, 2014 Report Share Posted March 18, 2014 You can also just toss the food on the floor or on the ground outside so that he has to hunt for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCjetta Posted March 19, 2014 Report Share Posted March 19, 2014 My old dog was an inhaler right from the day we got her until the day she died. I ended up always putting a bit of water in with her kibble so it would slide down her throat easier - otherwise I could see her fighting to swallow it all as it must have slowly worked its way down her esophagus. My young one actually chews her food but we also used several different "treat balls" for her to work to get her food. Helped keep her mind busy as well as eating slowly. I could put her whole meal inside the one made by Kong which has a heavy sand filled base so they have to use their paw to knock it sideways to get food out. The buster cube was fairly challenging for her to get food out of as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandysfarm Posted March 19, 2014 Report Share Posted March 19, 2014 doesn 't anybody feed raw? A good 20 minute supervised chew on a recreation (read that large) bone is a natural way to cool any dog out. It exercises the jaw, which takes the edge off the longing for your best pair of shoes. It also addresses scraping his molars and stimulating his gums Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted March 19, 2014 Report Share Posted March 19, 2014 There are quite a few people here who either feed raw or supplement with raw or provide recreational chewing with raw bones. The current topic on "Dental Health" has replies about the use and benefits of raw bones for dental health. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shetlander Posted March 19, 2014 Report Share Posted March 19, 2014 Lots of people feed raw but not everybody does or wants to. I can't bring myself to do so, though my dogs have taught me never to say never. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GentleLake Posted March 19, 2014 Report Share Posted March 19, 2014 I feed raw, but feeding raw doesn't in and of itself stop dogs from eating their food too fast. I've got a gulper and I have to take measures to make she doesn't choke on her food. It's either feeding her small pieces she won't choke on, or much larger ones that she has to chew. Feeding medium size pieces (which is what they get most often) frozen also helps tremendously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seminoles Posted March 19, 2014 Report Share Posted March 19, 2014 I would like to say thank you for the wonderful advice I have received. I did put a rock in his dish day before yesterday and it really slowed down his eating. When I fed him yesterday, he looked at me as if to say "What's going on?" He would make these whining sounds when I fed him. I think he was actually fussing at me. Now this morning, he had it with the rock. He took his dish, flipped it over, and food went everywhere. I guess he showed me. Well, at least it still slowed down his eating. Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gideon's girl Posted March 19, 2014 Report Share Posted March 19, 2014 I feed raw and kibble(due to squeamish family members who sometimes have to feed). I've known a number of raw fed dogs that were gulpers. I know someone who has JRT sized terriers that he has to fasten their raw food to a metal vacuum attachment tube to slow them down and that's with appropriate sized chunks like whole chicken legs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gcv-border Posted March 20, 2014 Report Share Posted March 20, 2014 I would like to say thank you for the wonderful advice I have received. I did put a rock in his dish day before yesterday and it really slowed down his eating. When I fed him yesterday, he looked at me as if to say "What's going on?" He would make these whining sounds when I fed him. I think he was actually fussing at me. Now this morning, he had it with the rock. He took his dish, flipped it over, and food went everywhere. I guess he showed me. Well, at least it still slowed down his eating. Thanks again. At least you can see the bright side!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GentleLake Posted March 20, 2014 Report Share Posted March 20, 2014 Now this morning, he had it with the rock. He took his dish, flipped it over, and food went everywhere. I guess he showed me. Well, at least it still slowed down his eating. Guess you might as well go straight to the tossing-the-food-on-the-floor method, as it's what he seems to prefer anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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