Fast Eater, is that normal?

[Yoshirocks07]

Hello! I have a young (almost 1) chow chow named Yoshi. He's quite the fast eater and I have no idea why. I mean not only does he chow down fast but he has now started burping after eating. I heard that feeding him in intervals is supposed to work, but something tells me he'll gobble up the intervals and stare at me waiting for the next one and we'll just continue in that pattern. So I was hoping someone could give me some advice? Please and Thank you!!

[Ursa's daddy]

I can't really help you with this issue. We had an Australian shepherd who would bolt her food when we first got her. She would take in enough air to get bloated. I had to give her simethacone liquid drops after each feeding for the first month or so. She grew out of it. We feed twice a day and give measured portions. We also try to keep the times the same.

[BeckiHutton]

I have not experienced this myself, but my Nan has a lab who eats a whole bowl in seconds, given a chance. To stop her from getting bloat, they put down a little bit of the meal at a time, wait for her to finish that bit, and then put down a bit more... it might be worth a try

[MissV]

hmmm... how many times a day are you feeding your dog? Maybe feed 4 smaller meals throughout the day. That way doggie knows that he/she is going to get food and it doesnt need to be a free-for-all when the dish is laid down in front of him/her.

[Tippsy'smom]

Have you tried mixing in a little water with his food? My aunt does this with her Rhodesian Ridgebacks, and it slows their eating. She also bought weighted steel balls that she sticks int heir bowls when they eat.

She bought this in a large:
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.j ... Id=3519706

[kimigirl]

I put golf balls in the bowl when my chow did that and seemed to do the trick. There are also "slow feeder" bowls available in the market which might help.

[myboys]

Wow...be careful what you wish for...lol
My boys never goggle or woof their food, they prefer to stand by and guard it for most of the day.
I have learned that if they don't eat it within an hour/away it goes till dinnertime.

I give them a measured portion in the morning and one in the early evening. My husband was thinking maybe it's time to just go to once a day. They will be (3) next month.

[Sarahloo]

My husband was thinking maybe it's time to just go to once a day. They will be (3) next month.

Don't change anything, please! Twice a day is always better than once a day. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloat

[chica_2626]

My chow gobbled his food a lot when we first got him, and we found out it was because he had tapeworm. Might be worth checking out. Before we realized this I had bought him a Kong wobbler for feeding time. It's a fun activity for them and gives them no choice but to eat slowly.

http://www.kongcompany.com/products/dog ... /wobbler-1

[tammer1973]

Have you tried sitting down and petting and prasing as he eats? Sometimes a calm voice and slow them down. Mine will eat fast sometimes but doesnt seem to bloat him or anything. As long as its not making him sick I wouldnt stress it. But you could just offer food more times a day so that he doesnt over eat all at once, I leave food down for mine 24 hours a day and feed canned food 3 times a day.

[Dumplingsmommy]

Our Dumpling eats really fast too. So we started using feeding toys to slow her down - Kong Wobbler then the Premier Tug-a-Jug. She eventually figured out how to use them really well and we're now searching for her next toy, but at least it takes her about 5-10 mins to eat one cup of dry food. She also often comes over right after eating and drinking and burps. Nothing we can do about it except sometimes we wait until she's not as worked up to feed. Good luck!

[Dumplingsmommy]

weird... where did my reply go? oh well, i previously meant to say that we used the Kong Wobbler then the Premier Tug-A-Jug to slow down our Dumpling's fast eating. we're currently looking for another toy as shes learned how to use both pretty quickly now (5-8 mins). it's still better than nothing tho. here's a video of her w/ the tug a jug http://s1114.photobucket.com/albums/k53 ... G_0974.mp4

[Zhuyos mom]

My boy, Tiggy, and a foster I had, Bruin, were extremely fast eaters. It is not good for any dog to be gulping down their kibble or wet food. They could choke, develop bloat, don't feel satiated, lead to food guarding, all sorts of things. I took the longer route to snap them of this habit. It is a habit and you have the control to fix it because it is behavioral. For months, when it was time to eat, I would feed them one kibble at a time and had them wait for the next kibble. I eventually increased the kibble amount but did it gradually until it was okay to leave a full bowl of food down for them to eat at their own pace.

While I didn't use this, I've read some good articles on the use of this bowl. It sounds worth the expense if you don't want to/or can't take the time to do what I did. It's called an anti-bloat bowl. You can google it and find places where you can buy the bowl.