Dog eating TOO quickly....Help!

LoganMastiff · 06-20-2006, 01:01 PM

Hello,
I have a 10 month old Bull Mastiff "puppy" who weighs about 120 pounds. Every time I feed him, He inhales the food as though he is starved. He does not even chew the food. He gulps it all down. I always soak his food in warm water for about 10-15 minutes to avoid bloat. Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can get him to slow down his eating.
Thank you, Worried Mommy

Curbside Prophet · 06-20-2006, 01:06 PM

Try stuffing all his food in Kongs and make him work for it. Freeze the Kongs if you really want to slow him down.

bigdawgs · 06-20-2006, 08:08 PM

MastiffMom may have some good suggestions for you, being a fellow mastiff owner. A couple of suggestions. Get the largest kibble you can find and feed smaller amounts more often. I don't soak any food, since the hard kibble is better for dental health and they are more likely to actually chew it.
I have large dogs as well, and I was always taught that the speed they eat is more worrisome that what they eat as far as bloating.I believe that the threory behind soaking is that the kibble expands in th belly when water is taken. Make him be quiet for 15 minutes or so after meals is important too. I used a raised feeder with maggie, and made it about shoulder high. She had to work harder to get it and this slowed her down, ALTHOUGH you have to be careful, as it may teach him how to better counter surf.

OwnedBySix · 06-20-2006, 08:41 PM

First of all get the largest (widest) dish you can find. Then place several rocks (too big for your dog to eat) in the bowl with his food. He will have to eat around the rocks, thereby forcing him to slow down. Watering down the food is fine. Kibble does very little for cleaning a dog's teeth; try eating a handful of hard crackers as quick as a dog eats a bowl of food and you will see what I mean. Also, most dogs are fed commercial dog foods and the incidence of dental procedures are higher than ever. The biggest factor in whether a dog will bloat is activity before and after meals. I go by the rule of a period of inactivity for at least 30 minutes before and 60 minutes after meals.

opokki · 06-20-2006, 09:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Curbside Prophet

Try stuffing all his food in Kongs and make him work for it. Freeze the Kongs if you really want to slow him down.

That is an excellent suggestion!

GSD lover · 06-21-2006, 08:25 AM

Another thing that might help is a treat dispenser.

eley · 06-21-2006, 05:27 PM

I used to have a Spanish Mastiff and now I have a Fila. With the fila bloat is one of my greatest concerns, partly because that's how I lost the other mastiff. Anyways, what OwnedBySix suggested is basically what I was going to tell you. What are you feeding him? my fila is 8 months and pushing around 115, I feed him nutro Max large breed puppy.

Killerdrgn · 06-21-2006, 05:44 PM

Hey you feed your dogs the same thing i feed mine, except my local store only sells nutro ultra. But when i used to feed Ronin the larger pellets from new science diet he would just inhale and be done with a meal in 20 seconds. But since i switched to nutro, the pellets are much smaller and for some reason he has slowed down his eating habits, i guess the smaller pellets were harder to pick up so he has to concentrate on getting it out of the bowl and into his mouth. I think he basically just started licking it up instead of using his whole mouth to chomp down. maybe if you put the food in a wider area your dog might start doing that too.

NewfCrazy · 06-21-2006, 05:59 PM

Since I have newfs, I have been concerned about bloat and have done research online to make sure that I am doing what I can to prevent it.

Alot of the articles I've read say that using raised feeding bowls actually increases the risk of bloat, although other sites say that the correlation has not been proven.

This site probably explains it the best, and it also talks about the fast eater:
http://www.raidthewind.com/bloat.htm

bigdawgs · 06-22-2006, 07:18 AM

hmm the raised feeding dishes must be new, as I was told by numerous people to use them.

Mastiffmom · 06-22-2006, 08:04 AM

Since you have all said what I wrote via email I won't say it again LOL.....

As for the raised feeders, I have read alot of different things also. We use the raised feeders. I have read that because of the angle they tend to take in more air when eating/drinking raising the risk....I find mine look more comfortable with the raised feeders and decided to keep them praying I made the right choice. I've also read if a dog is going to bloat it will, period.

With the hot weather I keep an extra eye on ours to make sure they are cooled down before drinking so they aren't gulping alot of water. A Vet once told me that is the reasoning behind most of the bloat cases they have seen.

LoganMastiff, how is it going? Keep us posted

Eley, so very sorry to hear about your loss.

eley · 06-22-2006, 08:22 AM

Ah the Bloat topic, I've read everything I can get my hands on, and I've come to one conclusion, which is what Mastiffmom said, "if the dog is going to bloat, it will bloat, end of story".

NewfCrazy · 06-22-2006, 11:04 AM

That's probably true (that if they are going to bloat, they'll bloat). I've grown up with deep chested dogs all my life, and we've never had one bloat. *knock on wood*

LoganMastiff · 06-22-2006, 05:44 PM

so is it better to use a raised feeder or now? I would think it would be... ergonomics would say yes also. Hmm?

NewfCrazy · 06-22-2006, 06:16 PM

I had bought a set of raised bowls for my first newf, but after she passed away and I was doing research, I found the studies that say it doubles the risk of bloat, so I got rid of it. I didn't want to take the risk.

We never had a raised feeding dish for any of the dogs I had while growing up. I just thought it might be more comfortable for her.

Mastiffmom · 06-22-2006, 07:54 PM

LoganMastiff, I think it' all personal preference. You read things good and bad both ways. Mine just seem more comfy using them.
And please don't live in fear of bloat. Just educate yourself on the signs. In all honesty when we got Pua as a pup the more I read the more freaked out I became. I was almost driving myself crazy trying to do everything right with her. I just had to come to the realization to be aware of things and enjoy her

!
How is feeding time going? Have you gotten him to slow down?

LoganMastiff · 06-23-2006, 11:30 AM

Thank you everyone for the tips. I am going to place large rocks in his dish tonight to try and slow him. Also, maybe more smaller feedings rather than the big one. Thanks!

bigdawgs · 06-25-2006, 10:52 AM

Quote:

I've also read if a dog is going to bloat it will, period

I, too was very scared of bloat, but then I relaxed and thought, I did what i could if she does, she does. I used the raised feeder because it looked more comfortable and less messy. Personally, because I know my dogs, I would never ever put anything in thier dishe they couldn't eat, because they would still swallow it. Seen plenty of surgeries for obstructions due to dogs eating rocks, and quite a few die. Personally, I think rocks in the dishes, unless it is the size of a brick, poses a bigger potential risk.

Curbside Prophet · 06-25-2006, 11:30 AM

I'm not sure if I would use rocks either, it just seems like another thing that would have to be cleaned up. If you didn't like the stuffing Kongs idea, you could also use his food for rewards on your walks. For example, give him a kibble anytime he looks at you on heel. Not only is he being fed slowly but you're also strengthening his attention too. Just another idea.

OwnedBySix · 06-25-2006, 03:09 PM

Ok since rocks that are too large for the dog to fit in his mouth are dangerous and too hard to clean along with the dog dish, here is a product using the same idea called the Brake-Fast Doggie bowl http://www.strangenewproducts.com/20...ggie-bowl.html

edited to add that someone mentioned at that website that they placed a softball in their food dish and it worked for their dog.