Not chewing her food

C

crazybailey

Forums Regular
So, Kina my new dog, 8 1/2 month old, is not chewing her food. She just gobbles it down (like crazy Bailey does). When she first arrived here, I laughed at how loud she crunched her food. Now she doesn't crunch at all, she inhales it. With Bailey we tried changing the size of kibble he ate, but it did nothing. In the end, we didn't worry about it as he chews a lot on rawhides and other chews. I'm hoping with Kina, being young and all, I can get her to chew her food, or is this something I really don't need to worry about? What do I do? Wow, I feel like a new "mom" all over again.
 
Competition for food, highly unlikely she will slow down

You could hand feed.
Give the kibble in a treat dispenser (i use home-made treat bottles)
Try a kibble for giant breeds (Deska gets Advance dental for giant breeds if I have to give him something in a bowl - huge bits)
You could try hiding or scattering the kibble so it takes time to find it
There are some bowls designed to slow eating.

My preference is always getting the dogs to work for their food - and I think its their preference too. Treat dispensers are an easy way to do it, but if you do use dispensers, try giving them different coloured ones or different shaped bottles so you and the dogs can tell whos is whos (not red or green). I also tend to seperate my two on either side of the kitchen, although they end up next to each other eventually (Tully will take both dispensers otherwise).
 
crazybailey said:
So, Kina my new dog, 8 1/2 month old, is not chewing her food. She just gobbles it down (like crazy Bailey does). When she first arrived here, I laughed at how loud she crunched her food. Now she doesn't crunch at all, she inhales it. With Bailey we tried changing the size of kibble he ate, but it did nothing. In the end, we didn't worry about it as he chews a lot on rawhides and other chews. I'm hoping with Kina, being young and all, I can get her to chew her food, or is this something I really don't need to worry about? What do I do? Wow, I feel like a new "mom" all over again.
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Sounds like you might have to go to an alternative feeding method.I posted pictures of a food dispensing ball we used for Trapp right up till a couple of weeks ago.
Works wonders.But there are many types of food dispensing things you can try.Maybe checkout the thread "food dispensing toys"

Trapp was so bad at gulping he ended up tossing his food.All undigested.Plus he got a bit of a belly ache on many occasions.He has slowed down considerably since.
 
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My pup came home gulping down her food, too. I started the thread on treat dispensing balls because I was afraid it wouldn't sit well with her.

That being said, she gets her breakfast and her dinner in her bowl (eats SO fast) and her lunch in her treat ball. The treat ball is so hard to get food into (it's a cheap one) that it's too much of a pain to use a lot.

When we decide on which treat dispensing toy to use, we'll probably use that for her food. I'm hoping that she'll learn that no one will steal it from her.
 
Abby gets 1/2 raw which she eats slow and 1/2 kibble which she inhales. So I take the kibble and scatter it around the family room and kitchen and let her go find the pieces. It teaches her how to use her nose and she chews every piece and gives her something to do for 20 minutes :lol:
 
Both mine scarf their food as well. I have a porcelain ball that I put in Indy's bowl to slow him down (he has to push it aside to get at the food). It slows him down about 10 seconds....but just enough for Bacca to catch up! :rolleyes2:
 
Abby's Dad said:
Abby gets 1/2 raw which she eats slow and 1/2 kibble which she inhales. So I take the kibble and scatter it around the family room and kitchen and let her go find the pieces. It teaches her how to use her nose and she chews every piece and gives her something to do for 20 minutes :lol:
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Haha, what a great idea of scattering kibble on the kitchen floor, I bet she has fun too!!:yes:
 
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