My dog eats food too fast. Is it normal? What are the health risks?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It is important to avoid this as much as possible as this can predispose dogs to things like aspiration pneumonia for example. One thing that has worked for me great in the past for patients that do not eat more slowly with the slow feeder is actually throwing the kibble in a small room like the bathroom for example so that they end up spread out in the room as that will force Millie to eat more slowly as it will take her longer to find them to eat it. While it sounds messy, this has actually worked very well for some of my patients. Good luck and have a great day!

Hello, thank you for using PetCoach. It is pretty typical for puppies abdomens to look distended after eating whether they eat fast or not. It is more to do with the amount they are eating more than than the speed. Puppies abdomens can also be distended due to worms. If he has not been dewormed that should be done as soon as possible. Puppies should be dewormed every 3-4 weeks until they are 4 months old, then once monthly. That being said, eating fast is not good for them for other reasons. They can swallow a bunch of air which can cause bloat. So, I recommend you either feed him smaller, more frequent meals or get him a special bowl that will slow down his eating (see link). ( https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/search?query=slow%20feeder ) Hope this helps. Best wishes.

You can feed her smaller amounts more frequently or consider using a slow feed bowl. AN example is shown at the link below.

Eating fast is ok. Gobbling food in 10 seconds flat is not ok. I am being a little silly, but if you think that Hazel is eating too fast, there is nothing wrong with getting a special bowl to slow her down!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It is probably that her eating habits have changed. This is actually not uncommon and to correct it, this behavior has to be discouraged as much as possible. What I recommend is to give them their food and give them a certain amount of time (about 1 hour) to eat it. If she does not eat it then you can remove it and feed her again whenever she is due to eat again. This usually will get this resolved as she will eat it at more controlled times giving her less time to graze. Good luck and have a great day!

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Haley. This can be a problem with dogs, and there are a few things you can do about it. You can buy a dog food that has tiny bites, such as Hill's Science Diet Small Bites adult dog food. You can soak her food in water before giving it to her, making it mushy and easier for her to swallow in one bite. Finally, you could considered breaking down the kibble yourself, but that's a lot of work. I'd think about trying the two things I suggested above. I hope this helps!

This is definitely something that can occur as a result of how fast food and water are ingested. The maze dog food bowls work great or the bowls that only dispense a small amount of food at a time. You can try and elevate the food bowl and see if this helps. If the episodes become more frequent then I would recommend having a veterinarian take a look at Pepper and consider switching to a different food. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.