Is your dog a speed eater? Most dogs love to eat, but some dogs finish the food as quickly as they can. Even sometimes, the dog doesn’t taste what they are eating. They gulp the food and fill their stomach. This fast eating habit of dog is worrying.
We generally ignore this fast eating of dogs because we thought that it is not a problematic thing. But actually, the speed eating of dogs can create too many problems for the dog, like choking, bloating, vomiting and some stomach problems. And if your dog is a speed eater, you can find some practical ways to slow down this fast eating habit of the dog in this article.
Causes of fast eating of dogs
Before moving to the solutions to slow down the fast eating habit of the dog, you should know why your dog is eating food so fast. The possible reason for the fast eating habit of your dog can be:
Medical problem
Your dog might be suffering from the medical problem like:
- Diabetes myelitis
- Some hormonal disturbance like Cushing’s disease
- Intestinal parasites
If you find your dog eating so fast, you should bring your dog to the vet. So that your vet can check if your dog is having any medical problem or not. If the vet finds any medical reason for fats eating, the vet prescribes some medication for the dog.
Mismanagement of mealtime
Just like humans the animals like dogs also have a specific time for their meal. If you do not provide food to the dog at the perfect time, this will increase the dog’s appetite. And when someone lacks something, it natural that he will become desperate for that specific thing.
Same for the food of dog. When dogs don’t get food on time, they become anxious about getting food, and when they get it, they forget everything and begin eating food with breathing.
Competition for food
If your dog is not having any medical problem and still eating food fast, then the reason could be the competition of food with other dogs in the home. The dog will devour food so that the dog can eat more food than the fellow pet. And afterwards, this fast eating will become the habit of the dog.
Problems caused due to fast eating of dogs
We sometimes ignore the fats eating of the dog as we thought that it is not harmful to the dog. But if your dog is eating fast, it can cause severe health problems to dogs are follows:
Blockage of the food pipe
If the dog eats fast without chewing the food, the dog may suffer from the food pipe’s blockage. This condition can be fatal for your dog.
Weight gain
By wolfing food, your dog can gain weight because when the dog devours food, your dog does not know how much the dog has eaten. In fast speed, the do will only fill the stomach. And this fullness of the abdomen will make it obese.
Laziness in dog
The fast eating habit of a dog is hazardous as when the dog eats fast, he tries to fill the stomach as much as possible. And when the stomach is filled, the body’s blood circulation will become maximum to the dog’s digestive system to digest the food and less toward the brain and muscles. Asa result of which the dog will feel lazy and less active.
Digestion problem
The fast eating habit of the dog will damage the digestive system of the dog. Because the stomach will receive the food quickly without any interval, and the stomach will have to work too rapidly. This is sometimes really harmful to the healthy functioning of the digestive system of the dog.
Vomiting
Commonly, the fast-eating dogs vomit the food they eat because the internal body does not accept the massive amount of food so fast without any prominent interval.
5 ways to slow down your dog eating speed
It would be best if you slowed down the fast eating habit of the dog. You can slow down the fast eating habit of your dog by following ways:
1. Give meals to the dog more frequently
Giving meal more frequently is the best way to handle the fast eating habit of the dog. It does not mean that you have to provide more food to the dog. It can make your dog obese. You have to divide the portions of one meal of the dog into smaller parts and give them to the dog in short time intervals. By doing this, your dog will lose interest in the meal. Because you are providing a feast to the dog again and again. This method is beneficial to deal with the fast eater dogs.
2. Give food to the dog in the slow feed bowl
When you buy a dish for your dog, you will find some dishes or plates specifically designed to slow down the fast eating habit of the dogs. These kinds of dishes make your dog struggles to get their food. It will decrease the eating speed of the dog. These kinds of plates work amazingly to control the fast eating habits of the dog.
3. Food puzzles
You have to provide a food puzzle to your dog if you want to slow down your dog’s eating speed. You can find food puzzles toys in the market.
These puzzles will help slow down the eating speed, as in these puzzles, your dog will not get all the food at a time. But your dog has to solve a puzzle to get the food. And to find more food dog has to solve more puzzles. This solving of the mystery will give a break to the dog during its mealtime.
4. Give food to the dog on the cookie plate
Try to give food to the dog on a big plate, like you can spread the food in bite-size portions on the cookie plate. This spreading of food on a big scale will not allow the dog to gobble the food. Because at one time, the dog can eat only one portion of food you have made on the cookie plate.
5. Give the food to your dogs alone
If you have more than one dog in your house, and your dog is eating fast due to the competition with other dogs, then the best way to deal with this problem is to give food to the dogs alone. This method is effective in case of competition for food between the dogs. Because when you provide food to the dogs alone, the dog can’t see other dog eating food, so there will not be any competition to finish food quickly.
These methods to slow down the fats eating habit of the dog are proved very effective, except these methods you can also use to feed your dog by hand. Some dogs like to eat by the hand of the owner, which is very effective in decreasing the dogs’ eating speed. But sometimes, the pet owner does not have enough time to sit with the dog and give food to the dog by hand. In this case, you can take some time for a meal from the training time of the pet.
FAQs
What happens if my dog eats too fast?
If your dog is eating too fast, it is not suitable for the dog because it can cause health problems to the dog, as it can cause vomiting, blockage in the food pipe, stomach problems, adverse effect on the digestion process.
How do I make my dog drink slower?
The best way to make your dog drink water slowly is to put a large object in the dog’s water bowel. But make sure that the thing is large enough that your dog can’t engulf it. The placing of an object in the water bowl will make the drinking water from around the big object. And this object act as a barrier for the dog to drink water fast.
Is dog’s fast eating a medical problem?
Yes, of course, the dog who is eating fast might have some medical problems. If your dog is suffering from diabetes, myelitis, or some hormonal disorder, your dog will eat quickly. And if the dog has an intestinal parasite. It can also be the reason for the fast-eating of the dog. So, when you see your dog eating quickly, you must go to the vet to make sure that your dog is medically fit or not.
Conclusion
Fast eating of dogs can be very dangerous for your dog. This fast eating of dog can be only a habit of dog, or it can be a medical issue, so you should first approach your dog’s vet and if your dog jus medically fit, you should try these methods to slow down the fast eating habit of your dog. These methods will be beneficial to deal with the eating habit of the dog.
