Buster's Mum Posted August 21, 2005 Share Posted August 21, 2005 I have a Maltese x that is a rescue dog and inhales his food, how can I get him to slow down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellz Posted August 21, 2005 Share Posted August 21, 2005 Get some large, round, smooth stones and place them in the food bowl on top of the food. They must be large enough that they won't get swallowed but small enough so that the dog can move them around to pick at the food underneath. Putting the stones in the bowl on top of the food encourages the dog to slow down and find the food, rather than just breathing it in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shekhina Posted August 21, 2005 Share Posted August 21, 2005 Bloody hell that's a good idea...where on earth do you get all this information Ellz?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buster's Mum Posted August 21, 2005 Author Share Posted August 21, 2005 Yeah that is a good idea, thanks Ellz. My other rescue dog (Buster) is so gentle when he eats I'm sure he would use a knife and fork if I gave them to him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griff Posted August 21, 2005 Share Posted August 21, 2005 That is a good one Ellz we used to do that with one of the Bloodhounds and the Horses always had either a mineral / salt brick in there feed as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellz Posted August 21, 2005 Share Posted August 21, 2005 Bloody hell that's a good idea...where on earth do you get all this information Ellz?! hehe...you'd be amazed at some of the stuff I have stored away for a "rainy day". But then again....you probably wouldn't! ;) Actually it was something that was suggested to me for a horse which used to eat itself into a colic on a regular basis. I had a guts-pig dog not long afterwards so thought I'd see if the concept worked on dogs....and it does! Glad I could help anyway...good luck!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterpumpkin Posted August 21, 2005 Share Posted August 21, 2005 I love that idea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t-time Posted August 21, 2005 Share Posted August 21, 2005 Yep, do this with the horses too Great doggy idea Ellz!! Also give doggy large pieces of food. Carcasses instead of mince, quarter of a pumpkin, big breed bikkies instead of lil' tacker food you know, think BIG I realise this dog is only little but give him/her something to chew on so it has to go slow. It will also probably slow down once it knows it is getting fed regularly but it might not ;) Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A pup Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 I used to place a kong in his bowl and this slowed down the pup; he'd have to eat around the kong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prydenjoy Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 Get some large, round, smooth stones and place them in the food bowl on top of the food. Hey, you stole my reply!!! Oh well, at least it's a good one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Shepherd mom Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 I don't know if this would work for most dogs but I put a meaty bone in their bowls and they eat their food around it first and then take their bone to the lawn. Once or twice they tried eating the bone first only to discover that when they got back to eat their food, their bowl was emtpy (courtesy of the other dog). Now they know to eat their food first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellz Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 I don't know if this would work for most dogs but I put a meaty bone in their bowls and they eat their food around it first and then take their bone to the lawn. Once or twice they tried eating the bone first only to discover that when they got back to eat their food, their bowl was emtpy (courtesy of the other dog). Now they know to eat their food first. This wouldn't work for me I'm afraid. In the first place, I'd have people gutsing bones too quickly or I'd have what you describe about bones being taken off and food being stolen in the absence of the owner....which would cause fights or you'd have my old girl who would simply lift the bone out of the bowl and ignore it, inhale her food and then head off to see what else she could scrounge. The whole concept is to use something that is quite large and VERY inedible to create a necessity to slow down and pick through and around the barrier to find the food. As A Pup says, it doesn't necessarily HAVE to be rocks or stones but I've found these to be the most effective as they are the least palatable objects I can find. A kong wouldn't work on my dogs either because half of them are so darned scatty they'd start playing with the kong and completely forget to eat! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A pup Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 With a Lab and a GR, I don't have the problem of them forgetting to eat!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firestone Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 Ellz that is great. We had a horse who would inhale and we used put rocks in his food bin to slow him down. We could hear him pushing the stones aorund in the bin as we fed the others The rocks in the food bowls are excellent for slowing fast eaters down. You can also divide the main meal into 2 meals and still put the rocks in the bowl. Also the other thing that works well is the cake tins called ring tins. They are forced to eat around the raised centre of the tin. Cheers Gail Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cloverfdch Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 I have the same problem with my Clover, she inhales her food. It has gotton better since switching to BARF so she actually has to chew her chicken frames and lamb flaps etc, but will inhale her mince and vegie mix still. I will try the rock trick, but thinking the mince will get stuck to the stones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellz Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 I will try the rock trick, but thinking the mince will get stuck to the stones. And the problem is? The dog will still lick at the stones to get any remaining treats. That is why it is best to use smooth, round ones that can be easily cleaned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caffiend42 Posted August 23, 2005 Share Posted August 23, 2005 Tried it this morning with Keg as he's a little Hoover with kibble and ALWAYS finishes before Indy, and will then do anything to get to his bowl. Indy just doesn't tell him not to the big softie! Bloody brilliant trick, works a treat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koza Posted August 23, 2005 Share Posted August 23, 2005 Very familiar :p)) I'll try that, too, great idea. So far I just add lots of water, but it doesn't help much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellz Posted August 23, 2005 Share Posted August 23, 2005 Bloody brilliant trick, works a treat :D Excellent! So glad it helped! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldielover Posted September 15, 2005 Share Posted September 15, 2005 Hi guys, Have just found this thread thanks to molasseslass. What a great idea the large rock is. I've had a few Goldens now, but have never had one that basically inhales it's food! lol. I'll be trying that tonight! Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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