When puppies or adult dogs gulp their food too quickly they do not even taste it or chew their food. This is a first danger that your dog could choke or gag on his food if he swallows his food whole without chewing it.
Do you have a dog eating too fast and choking?
Realize what the triggers are behind your dog’s speed-eating behavior. Allow #ExecutiveDogTraining to be of service to you and assist you in figuring out what those triggers are, causing your dog to eat fast. We assist you in how to best remedy it for your dog before it becomes an uncontrollable and dangerous life threatening issue.
Executive Dog Training is all about training at the comfort of your own home.
I am regularly asked to train dogs to eat slowly.
I get asked this question a lot: “Why does my dog eat so fast?”
OR
I get given a statement: “My dogs are fighting over their food during meal times and I cannot get them to slow down when eating. They way my dogs carry on are as if they never had food before and haven’t been fed for days . . . , please help!”
There are many reasons why dogs eat fast. Eating fast does not allow the dog to chew or even taste their food. If we go back into the history of wild dogs, this type of behavior goes back to their instincts. In the wild, dogs had to eat their food fast and then move on for their own safety.
Each family member would have a role to play in scavenge for food. So wild dogs would quickly grab food that was theirs and eat it as fast as possible to avoid any fights with the rest of the wild dog family members or pack.
The dog’s biology also played a big role in this speed-eating behavior. Dogs’ teeth are pointy which allows them to quickly grab and eat larger pieces of food at once.
The dog’s environment is a very important factor to keep in mind. This can be a major factor in why puppy is eating fast. Your puppy or adult dogs may fear they have to fight (compete) for their food. This will lead to your puppy and adult dogs eating at a much faster pace. Make sure your dog’s environment is relaxing and it does not feel like a hostile place to eat.
It is important for meal times to be controlled and for it to be relaxed otherwise dogs can become possessive over food which can then lead to aggression towards anyone standing between them and their food. This situation can become very dangerous especially in a family environment and household with other dogs and where there are small children.
In this case dogs can attach anything and anyone when around food.
Here’s something you might not even thought of that can cause your dog to eat fast:
I have seen dogs eating faster the moment their dog tags hit against their metal or glass bowls. This load sound can frighten a dog into eating faster.
Do you have dogs obsessed with mealtime and can’t be distracted from eating? Get in contact with Executive Dog Training here!
Where you have a situation where dogs are eating too fast during mealtimes, you have a great setup for a disastrous ending and long term potential aggression and competition in dogs. Especially if there are more than one dog and all eat at a different pace. This speed eating can cause competition among dogs during meal times.
Slowing down your record-breaking speed-eater is very important for your dog’s health.
Speed-eating, a stressful eating situation and too much eating can lead to digestion troubles, cause vomiting, gagging, choking and a very serious condition called BLOAT.
Bloat is also known as gastric dilatation and volvulus or GDV.
This is a condition when the stomach fills with air and fluid. This progress into twisting of the stomach and is a life-threatening condition.
Bloat happens more often in larger breeds like the Great Dane, Saint Bernard. They have a history of eating and drinking large amounts of food and water.
Don’t underestimate for a moment that your small doggie is exempt from bloat. Smaller breeds like the Beagle eats too fast or your bulldog eats too fast, even your puppy can be at risk.
When dogs eat too fast and too much they swallow air along with their food. The food and the air expand in the stomach of the dog and cause pain and discomfort. This puts great pressure on the diaphragm and cause breathing problems. The pressure cuts off the return blood flow to the heart and stop normal circulation, sending the dog into a shock.
This extreme pressure in the stomach causes tissue to die leading to stomach rupture. There is a possibility for the spleen to also twist together with the stomach and result in damage to splenic tissues.
It is the actual twisting of the stomach that kills.
Symptoms of BLOAT
Here are the signs and symptoms of bloat to look out for:
a swollen stomach, especially near the ribs
lots of drooling and panting
depressed attitude
sounds of discomfort and pain
anxiousness/pacing/restlessness
agitation
Vomit but nothing’s happening
regurgitate
There is only one thing to do when you suspect your dog has bloat: get your dog to the vet as soon as possible. Rush to the emergency clinic as soon as possible. This is not a case of leaving it till tomorrow. This cannot wait until the next day, PERIOD!
This is an emergency. This is a life or death situation!
When dogs eat too fast the food and air expand in the stomach and cause pain and discomfort. Your dog can then start to vomit and regurgitate because of the food and air that mix together in the stomach
What causes speed-eating behavior?
Dogs can learn the speed-eating behavior from a young age. They might come from a large litter and mealtimes became a competition because all the puppies ate out of one bowl.
This cause them to eat fast in order to eat before food ran out and before the sisters and brothers beat him to it. This behavior can become a bad habit.
Medical conditions such as parasites can also cause speed-eating in dogs. The parasites negatively affect the body’s ability to absorb nutrients.
Dog food – it could be that the dog food itself does not have enough nutrients in order to sustain the puppy or adult dog and the dog is constantly feeling hungry.
Dog food containing low levels of nutrients will leave your dog feeling unsatisfied and your dog can become obsessed about food.
The dog may become possessive over the food which leads to aggression to anyone.
Here are some tips when your Bulldog eats too fast:
Bulldogs love their food and can also participate in the speed-eating frenzy. This is bad for their digestion and can lead to stomach aches and also vomiting. The faster they eat, the lesser they chew and the more they swallowing large amounts of air. All this can lead to choking and bloat.
Puppy eats too fast:
Allowing your puppy to eat too much or even eating garbage can cause diarrhea.
Teething puppies can develop digestive problems together with diarrhea and vomiting.
Bloat can occur when you puppy eats too fast and swallows too much air. It causes puppy’s stomach to expand and puts huge pressure on the organs. Too much pressure on the organs cause loss of blood supply and can lead to death.
Hiccups after puppy eats too fast:
Puppies and dogs generally get hiccups from the air they swallow when eating or drinking too fast.
CONCLUSTION
Executive Dog Training is experienced in finding the best solution for you, your dog and your family. By monitoring mealtimes and by proving your dogs with a slower way to eat, you can keep your dogs healthy, happy and well fed.
Together we find ways how to best treat your dog’s inappropriate table manners and how to slow down your dog’s fast eating behavior and excessive barking problems.
Your dog will show more respect for you and your dog will remember all the commands taught during Executive Dog Training’s program.
AN ADDED EXTRA: Find out here how Executive Dog Training can help you with your dog’s digging problem! No matter the age of your dog. Executive Dog Training is here to help you and your family.
REMEMBER you are not alone!!
THE BEST way to manage this undesired fixation on food and crazy meal times is to get onto Executive Dog Training’s program. Go to the CONTACT US page and fill in all your detail so that I can get right back to you.
It is better to help your puppy and adult dog change their eating habits and set them up for a healthy future.
Executive Dog Training can help you!
Contact Jeanette on 072 479 8103
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I look forward to meet you and your family
Warmest regards
Jeanette Vockerodt
Your Dog Trainer
