How & Why Should Dogs Eat Slowly?

Speed eating is very common in dogs, and is mostly seen in puppies who then carry forth that behaviour to adulthood. In order to understand how to get dogs to eat slowly, it is imperative for dog parents to know why dogs speed eat in the first place. One of the primary reasons for speed eating in puppies is if they were born in a large litter, where food was scarce and they had to compete to get the maximum amount of food. Although they're older now, the speed-eating behaviour lingers on well into adulthood. In addition to this, poor nutrition or insufficient food intake can cause them to gobble up food within seconds. When nutrition is poor or food intake is less than optimal, it makes dogs feel extra hungry leading to ravenous eating behaviours. Lastly, worms in the stomach and intestine are notoriously known to prevent dogs from absorbing all nutrients from their food, thereby making them hungrier than usual. 

What happens when dogs eat too fast?

1. Choking 
Choking occurs when a large piece of food gets lodged in the windpipe blocking the flow of air to the lungs. In such conditions, the dog is unable to breathe and it can often lead to death if not treated in time. 

2. Bloat
Bloat occurs when the stomach expands and twists in the abdomen. Dogs experiencing bloat immediately go into a state of shock and this condition is often life-threatening. Bloat occurs in most cases of speed eating where a dog gulps large amounts of air along with food leading to stomach expansion.

3. Vomiting
Speed-eaters usually chew very minimally and this leads to undigested food travelling to the stomach. The stomach then finds it hard to churn large chunks of food leading to vomiting or regurgitating. 

4. Diarrhoea
Like with vomiting, undigested food can lead to diarrhoea, especially in puppies and senior dogs.

When food isn't chewed on, it isn't sufficiently broken down and is swallowed whole. This can often lead to abdominal pain and discomfort. 

How should I slow down my dogs eating?

1. Speak to a veterinarian 
There might be underlying medical reasons as to why your dog might be speed-eating. If you live in a multi-dog household, it is best to feed your dogs away from one another, especially if they're likely to fight. Your veterinarian can help you devise a plan to slow down your dog's speed-eating after ruling out underlying medical issues. 

2. Add fibre to the diet 
If your dog is speed-eating because they're extra hungry, you might want to consider increasing the satiety value (keeps them full for a long time) of their diet by adding more fibre. The best fibre foods for dogs are bananas, sweet potatoes, carrots, chickpeas, lentils (dal), chicken, flaxseeds and broccoli. You can consider giving this as a snack or a meal topper. 

3. Increase meal times
Puppies benefit from 4-5 measured meals a day as they burn more calories than they consume. Increasing measured mealtimes can control their speed-eating because their tummies will be half-full from the previous meal. As for adult dogs, you may consider adding a fibre snack between mealtimes to keep them from feeling too hungry.

4. De-worm every 3 months
De-worming is necessary to prevent worms and parasites from absorbing nutrition from the food that is consumed by your dog. When worms take up most of the nutrition, it leaves your dog feeling more hungry than necessary and this leads to speed eating. 

5. Use a slow-feeder 
Slow feeders are designed to make dogs work for their food, as they would in the wild. It also encourages them to take smaller bites due to a constricted space. Slow-feeders are proven to reduce meal times by upto 10x thereby improving digestion preventing bloating, regurgitation, and canine obesity

We hope this helps your dog with a healthier eating pace & do let us known in the comments below!