Translated by Nick R
If your dog is the kind that eats his food as soon as you serve it, this may concern you, as this behavior could lead to serious health problems. I’ll explain why and how to avoid it.
Table of Contents
Why does my dog eat so fast without chewing?
This behavior has different causes, and one of them is stress and anxiety. When they suffer from this pathology, they may have several negative behaviors such as eating fast to calm anxiety and release pent-up energy.
Likewise, dogs adopt this bad habit when they live with other dogs because they can see them as competition for food.
If your canine has pre-existing digestive problems that make it difficult for food to satiate him properly, he will always be hungry and anxious for food.
And, of course, it may be the case that your furry one loves to eat and is obsessed with food, and therefore gets overexcited and gulps it all down.
Why is it dangerous for your pet to eat too fast without chewing?
Such behavior is very harmful because it can cause gastric torsion.
What is a gastric torsion?
Gastric torsion is caused by a dilation and rotation of the stomach; essentially, the stomach turns inside out. Eating fast, apart from dilating the stomach, involves the accumulation of food, liquid, and gas in the stomach.
It can be extremely serious, even resulting in death if the canine doesn’t receive immediate veterinary attention.
Large breed dogs, such as Great Danes, St. Bernards or Dobermans (to name a few) are the most likely to suffer from gastric torsion due to their deep thorax, yet any breed can suffer from gastric torsion.
Symptoms
Signs that your dog is having gastric torsion are:
- Bloated abdomen.
- Nausea and bowing (tries to vomit, but cannot).
- Abdominal pain.
- Difficulty breathing.
- Apathy and anxiety.
- Salivation.
Tips to stop my dog from eating fast
Now that it’s clear how important is to make sure your dog eats slowly to avoid health problems, let me tell you what can you do to help him eat slowly and calmly?
Special food bowls
There are special bowls to help your dog eat slowly. These plates have different reliefs or figures inside that divide the food and make it impossible for your pet to take large amounts in one bite.
This is a great option because your dog will be forced to eat slowly.
Put obstacles on the plate
If you don’t want to buy a new food plate, you can keep using the old one, but put a toy (such as a ball) or a small object (that won’t hurt him) inside it.
The object or toy will prevent your dog from eating too fast since he will have to move it around the dish to take bites and, thus he won’t have access to all the food at once.
Exercise before eating
First of all, it must be made clear that you can never exercise after eating! This can also lead to gastric torsion.
The idea is for the canine to play and exercise before giving him his food, you can take him for a walk or to a park to play and release all his energy, so when getting home he’ll be more relaxed and less anxious and stressed, which makes him eat everything in one bite.
Divide meals at different times of the day
If the problem with your dog is that he has very few meals a day (for example, 2) and because of this he waits anxiously for feeding time, you can divide the portion of food and give it to him more times per day
I mean, I feed my dog Amber in the morning and in the evening, so dividing the portion means that I would give her the same amount of food, but in the morning, afternoon and evening.
Train your dog
On the other hand, you can train your canine to listen to you and live with less anxiety and stress so you can manage him when he has harmful behaviors such as eating too fast.
You can start with simple and basic tricks, using different snacks, and then you can teach him to eat slowly like this:
- You can command him to sit if he already knows how to do it.
- Once he is sitting, show him the snack in your hand, he will probably try to jump for it but don’t let him, close your hand with the snack in your fist.
- Now, tell him to stay if he knows how to; it will help a lot as well. Show him the snack again and tell him to stay still, if he listens to you, you can break the snack into pieces and give him a small bit of it.
- You can also hold the snack in your fist and bring it closer to your pet, he will surely try to open your hand to take it; once he gets tired because he didn’t get it, wait a few minutes and give him the treat.
By teaching him this, your dog will start to be more patient and won’t rush to eat quickly (sometimes without chewing). He might even learn to follow your command to eat.
Separate him from other dogs
Other dogs in the house may be the reason why yours eats too fast, so he avoids having others eating his food.
So, if you have other pets, make sure they are in different rooms or at least that there is a good distance between all of them to eat calmly.
Kong toy
These toys can be filled with food or snacks for your dog to try to get them out through a small hole.
It’s ideal for stressed and anxious dogs as they can entertain themselves for a long time trying to get the food and release their suppressed energy.
Conclusion
So, if your pet eats too fast and is the type that chokes as soon as you serve him his food, it is recommended that you follow these tips to avoid health problems that can be quite serious.
