Control Speed of Dog Eating

It can be very dangerous when your dog eats too fast as it can end up choking. It is very important for you to train your dog and control the speed at which he eats. When the dog gulps its food it also ends up gulping a lot of air. This result in a condition called bloat. As a result the stomach twists at one end and the esophagus and intestines are blocked at other end.  Some of the symptoms of bloat are obvious discomfort, excessive salivation, the stomach looks bloated and the dog keeps choking but does not vomit. If this condition is not treated in time it can prove to be fatal.

There are a lot of things that you can try to ensure that your dog slows down his eating speed. Some of these are; spread out the food on a big plate or cookie sheet where he won’t be able to gulp it down too fast. This works especially with dry dog food. You can also place a big ball or any heavy big object in the center of the dogs feeding dish. This will force the dog to work around the object in order to get to the food thus slowing him down. You can hand feed the dog; you can train him to take things at a slower pace. What you can do is control the pace at which you feed him thus making him realize that no matter how fast he eats up his mouth full he will still have to wait for the next.

You must ensure that your dog does not consume large amount of food and water at the same time as well as exercise vigorously. Never feed your dog just once a day or even leave food in its dish all day. Make sure you space out its meals and it is fed at least twice a day in order to avoid hunger pangs that make it eat fast.  Make sure it is given fresh water in its bowl everyday but take the bowl away while it’s eating so that the dog does not gulp it along with the food. Never exercise the dog before or immediately after its meals.  You can add digestive enzymes to the dogs’ food. This will help the dog digest all the nutrients and hence it won’t feel hungry too often. Finally if you feed dry dog food then don’t forget to wet it with a little chicken stock or water in order to avoid bloat.

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