My overweight dog eats too fast. Is a puzzle bowl okay for big dogs?

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 PetCoach! It is definitely common for puppies especially to eat like it’s a race! There isn’t generally any problem with it except that Brixy may be more likely to regurgitate that meal right back up (looking almost the same!) If you’d like to try and slow her down, consider a puzzle bowl like this, or a slow feeding toy like this https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/kong-wobbler-food-dispensing-dog-toy Hope this helps and best of luck to you and Brixy!

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!

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!

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

The main purpose is to help slow down eating, but it does help in other ways too. When dogs eat too fast, they can gulp a lot of air. Slowly down their eating leads to less gulping of air, cutting down on burping and the potential of developing bloat.

If you were willing to do a food puzzle or something along that line that would be beneficial. It's hard to say why she doesn't like her dish. It could be the material, it's height, or other issue. If it is a low dish you could try raising it and seeing if that helps or vice versa. You can monitor her weight on a weekly basis to ensure she's gaining appropriately. The proper weight gain depends on the breed and size and age of the dog as well if they are spayed or neutered. some veterinarians will allow you to bring your pet in for a weight check at no charge.