Learning to chew

[Tegan's mum]

Advice gratefully received.

Tegan is now 8 months old and is still gulping her food, swallowing biscuits (any size) without chewing. I feed her dry food and she eats at the same time as our older dog. I remember Caspar doing this when he was a pup but am sure that by this age he was taking his time more with his food (maybe I have just forgotten). I am wondering whether this is because she is concerned that Caspar is going to get to her food before she has finished - although she is normally the one hovering over his food.

I read a post on this forum a short while ago but the problems that occur when food is gulped down so this is now concerning me.

Any suggestions?

Dawn

[AllyCat]

Hi there!!

Sounds like you got a greedy one there!!!

One of the concerns with gulping food is that it a possible factor in the causes of bloat which can be fatal.

One way of slowing your girl down is by placing a large pebble in the middle of her food making it harder for her to gulp it down. There is also special bowls you can get that work the same.

[zaclucy]

Hi

I feed my two in seperate rooms, and don't allow them to mix until both have finished. Maybe because the other dog is in the same room, this is causing the anxiety, and therefore the rush to finish the meal.

Janet x

[LOVEGSD]

Hi

I agree with both Allycat and Zaclucy. When we have other dogs in, we always feed Diesel first (keeping the other dog away from him) then when he's finished we put the visiting dogs food down, that way it's a clear message as to who's who is who's.

Lynn
x

[Wooferhound]

There are great bowls out there for little 'piggies', I considered it for Roo, but as she has aged she has slowed right down, thank dog!

Take a look here for ideas...

Gobblenot Bowl - Gobblenot the greedy dog bowl solution

Brake Fast Bowl - Brake-Fast Dog Bowl Medium Blue - Reduce Bloat

Another way around this in the very short term is to actually hand feed Tegan, you can then control exactly what she is eating and take away the concern for the time being.

Jo
x

[Tegan's mum]

Thanks for your great advice. I am going to invest in a bowl to start with and see how that goes.

At the moment I am not really sure which dog to feed first, sometimes I believe that Tegan leads the doggie pack and then others I believe that it is Caspar.

Dawn

[GypsyGSD]

Gyps on occasions gulps her food so I scatter it over the kitchen floor, this really slows her down as she has to eat each mouthful b4 she can get another not the ideal way I no but it works lol

[Wooferhound]

Originally Posted by Tegan's mum

Thanks for your great advice. I am going to invest in a bowl to start with and see how that goes.

At the moment I am not really sure which dog to feed first, sometimes I believe that Tegan leads the doggie pack and then others I believe that it is Caspar.

Dawn

A 'pack' is formed without your intervention, they will work this out on their own, nothing you do will help either way! Best bet is to feed them at the same time in different rooms, none of this really matters unless you have major concerns regarding possession!

Jo
x

[Wooferhound]

Originally Posted by GypsyGSD

Gyps on occasions gulps her food so I scatter it over the kitchen floor, this really slows her down as she has to eat each mouthful b4 she can get another not the ideal way I no but it works lol

I disagree, I think this is a fantastic way to feed your dog, not only are you taking them back to how they would have found food (foraging) you are providing excellent stimulation and reward all in one! I do this often with my two with treats aswell as food, fab!!!

Jo
xx