My Dog Eats Too Fast

Why does my dog eat so fast?

Who knows, it could be for a number of reasons! Though if your pup came from a big litter it may be possible that they had to try that bit harder when it came to getting the right amount of food and now still feel they have to get in their first to get all that meal!

Though I admit, before I did any research into the subject, I just figured I had a lardy greedy bum pup!

Will my puppy grow out of eating so fast?

Its hard to tell, some dogs seem to grow out of it as they get older, others seem to wolf down every meal as if it were the last no matter what. Yorkie our labrador practically inhaled his food within 30 seconds as a pup, now at almost 2yrs old he likes to take his time and enjoy every morsel! Whereas our two golden retrievers (1yr old and 3yr old) like to hoover it right up as fast as possible and then be on their way.

Could it cause problems?

Sadly, yes!! It was while I was doing research that I came across information about bloat, or Gastric Dilatation/Volvulus (GDV) as it can be known.

What is bloat or GDV?

GDV is life threatening it is when a dogs stomach distends with air to the point that their stomach goes into shock. When the stomach is distended with air but is located in the correct place in the abdomen, this is known as Dilatation. Volvulus means that the distention is associated with a twisting of the stomach on its longitudinal axis.

What are the symptoms?

Common symptoms include (but not necessarily all) of the below:

Unsuccessful vomiting attempts occurring every 5-30mins

Out of sorts, not acting like their usual selves

Significant restlessness and anxiety

Hunched up appearance

Lack of normal digestive sounds in the tummy

Bloated abdomen that may feel tight like a drum

Pale or off colour gums

Coughing

Heavy drooling or salivating

Non-productive gagging

Non-productive attempts to defecate

Foamy mucus in vomit or foamy mucus around the lips

Air licking

Pacing

Whining

Hiding

Looking at their side as a place of discomfort

Unwillingness to sit or lie down

Standing spread legged

Curling up in a ball or crouched position

Attempting to eat small stones or twigs

Excessive drinking

Rapid/Heavy panting

Shallow breathing

Apparent weakness, i.e struggling to stand

Accelerated heartbeat

Weak pulse

Collapse

The key thing is to know your dog and know when they are not acting right.

What if my dog begins to show these symptoms?

Do not hesitate to get in touch with your vet ASAP!

Surely prevention is better than cure?

Most certainly, yes!

Avoid situations in which you know will stress your dog out

Do not exercise your dog for an hour before or after a meal

Do not allow them to eat rapidly

Dont feed them one meal a day, for adults dogs break it up into two smaller feeds

Feed a high quality diet

Promote friendly bacteria in the intestine by adding a spoonful of natural yoghurt

Make meal times peaceful and non stressful

Do not allow them to drink rapidly

What if nothing slows my dog down?

Try adding a tennis ball or stone to their bowl so they are forced to eat around it. It certainly works for some dogs. However, there are often more clever dogs who get the idea of just tossing the ball/stone out of the bowl and continuing to wolf their meal down! For these dogs there are bowls on the market with nobbly bits in the base that mean they arent able to throw anything out of the bowl and are forced to eat around the nobbles, thus effectively slowing them down and ensuring they eat their food at a safe speed. These bowls are Brake-Fast bowls and come in a range of sizes from small, medium to large giving you the ability to slow down any size of dog!

Written by Kimberly Rothwell.

Feel free to use this article within your site, but please provide a link back to us!