# How to slow down eating behavior



## Gus Pineda (Jul 2, 2013)

How do you get a dog to slow down when it is eating? Mine gobles down whatever it eats, swallowing whole much of what it eats (such as chicken necks for example). Worried it could affect negatively somehow. Any ideas?


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## jack van strien (Apr 9, 2009)

I give all meats to my dogs frozen,it slows them down.
Kibble i throw over a large area,i takes my lab almost one hour to find it all and it gives her something to do.


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

I've seen one person put fist sized (to big to swallow) rounded river rocks in the dogs bowl. They have to eat around the rocks and that also slows them down.


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## Matt Vandart (Nov 28, 2012)

That's a pretty clever idea, I just leave mine wolf it down, never had any problems.


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## Gus Pineda (Jul 2, 2013)

thanks Guys. I'll try and not un-freezing entirely and spreading whatever kible I give, makes sense.


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## Brian Anderson (Dec 2, 2010)

Gus Pineda said:


> thanks Guys. I'll try and not un-freezing entirely and spreading whatever kible I give, makes sense.


feed em like a chicken .. they have to run all over gobbling up pieces at a time LOL ,,, plus thats not all! They get good healthy exercise while they eat!! We have done that with pups before especially the extra hoggish variety.


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## Hunter Allred (Jan 28, 2010)

I've got one of these mats from Lowes that I'll put the kibble on. Takes my male forever to get the kibble out of the little holes lol.


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## Brian Anderson (Dec 2, 2010)

Hunter Allred said:


> I've got one of these mats from Lowes that I'll put the kibble on. Takes my male forever to get the kibble out of the little holes lol.


thats what Im talkin about LOL


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## Gus Pineda (Jul 2, 2013)

Mine's definitely the hoggish variety. Don't know for sure, but guessing inhaling food can't be healthy. Wonder at what speed wild canines eat at, since there must be some sort of race to eat among the pack.


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## rick smith (Dec 31, 2010)

re: wild canines "wolfing down" food. probably not a valid comparison since their food doesn't get home delivered 

1. feed the dog more often and make it work for it ?
2. hold the chicken necks and teach it to chew them not swallow them ? fwiw, had the same problem with many dogs who were being switched to a raw diet. they all learned to eat slower and taught me better "hand/eye coordination" in the process //lol//

lots of critters don't chew (snakes, dolphins, etc), but they have strong digestive systems to handle it. if your dog's is working well they can probably handle some swallowing, but i would consider a gross problem something to train out


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## Lee H Sternberg (Jan 27, 2008)

A bitch in heat.


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## Skip Morgart (Dec 19, 2008)

They make these dog bowls just for that purpose. 

http://www.petflow.com/product/dura...1nrL9I0sswYsJS1elh_aGF7BLw_wcB&ad=47519059905

They have a huge bump (raised area) in the center of the bowl...the dog has to eat the food around that big bump. I had a really fast eater here that I took care of for a few months, and it really slowed the eating down.


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## Gus Pineda (Jul 2, 2013)

Skip Morgart said:


> They make these dog bowls just for that purpose.
> 
> http://www.petflow.com/product/dura...1nrL9I0sswYsJS1elh_aGF7BLw_wcB&ad=47519059905
> 
> They have a huge bump (raised area) in the center of the bowl...the dog has to eat the food around that big bump. I had a really fast eater here that I took care of for a few months, and it really slowed the eating down.


Does this work for raw food as well? Or mainly kibble?


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## Jessica Hodges (May 16, 2014)

Bob Scott said:


> I've seen one person put fist sized (to big to swallow) rounded river rocks in the dogs bowl. They have to eat around the rocks and that also slows them down.


Along the same lines: you can place toys (Kong Nylabone Etc), in the bowl and the dog has to eat around it. There are also bowls you can buy that have barriers that are meant to perform the same task. Obviously this only works with kibbles or raw meat chopped into small bits as opposed to whole chicken necks. Suggestions of spreading out the food can also work. You could try treat balls too, or as someone else suggested, have the dog work for their food. Less bowl feeding to more using their food for training opportunities. Also, is the dog getting enough food? I know there are certain breeds who have a tendency to gobble, but have you had the dog's weight checked lately? Is he growing? Thyroid okay? Just another thing to consider.


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