Daisy Needs Your Help
By Sharon
@simone10 (54187)
Louisville, Kentucky
September 30, 2015 7:09am CST
Daisy has this problem of eating her food way too fast. It has concerned me for a while so I looked up online for ways to stop her.
One site suggested putting a soup can in the middle of the bowl. I thought okay, it's inexpensive and maybe it would work. It has slowed her down a little but not enough to make me comfortable.
I don't know what to do. I know that eating fast like that can cause bloat and that can be life threatening. I did read that I could feed her by hand but that would be my last option. I might try putting a little bit of food in the bowl at a time and see if that works.
I read online that eating fast is usually caused from being in a big litter where they had to eat fast to get any food. That makes sense to me. Does anyone have any suggestions that aren't too expensive? I am hoping to go that route first but will do whatever it takes if the cheaper way doesn't work.
32 people like this
31 responses
@excellence7 (3655)
• Mauritius
1 Oct 15
Eating fast cannot be a problem I presume.
3 people like this
@LadyDuck (472000)
• Switzerland
1 Oct 15
@excellence7 For the dogs it's a problem, but also for humans it's not a good habit. The stomach needs 20 minutes, from the moment you start to eat, to "feel" the food. If you eat fast you risk to eat more because you do not feel that you are full. This leads to put on extra weight.
4 people like this
@rusty2rusty (6763)
• Defiance, Ohio
30 Sep 15
Feed her smaller portions several times a day. That way she knows she will always have food. I had to do this with a dog I owned.
3 people like this
@rusty2rusty (6763)
• Defiance, Ohio
2 Oct 15
@simone10 Yes, I would never of told you if it did not.
2 people like this
@simone10 (54187)
• Louisville, Kentucky
4 Oct 15
@rusty2rusty I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. I just know that some things work for some dogs and some things don't.
1 person likes this
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
30 Sep 15
You can make her work for her food. Use treat toys like Kongs, she'll have to shake it and throw it around and a few kibbles will come out at a time. There are all sorts of toys like this on the market, like balls, Kong wobblers. We had one once that looked like a bottle and had a rope at the end and the dog had to work the rope just right to get the food to fall out.
They can be slightly pricey, Amazon sometimes has decent deals on things like this.
3 people like this
@celticeagle (168126)
• Boise, Idaho
30 Sep 15
It sounds like she is overly hungry. Can you feed less and more often perhaps?
3 people like this
@crazyhorseladycx (39509)
• United States
30 Sep 15
there's several reasons 't's why some pups eat in that fashion - could be large litter 'n momma didn't produce 'nough milk fer all. had a pup here (part weenie) that somebody dumped off 'n she put a halt to my free feedin'. she'd eat 'n then hurl 'n eat, repeatin' said cycle til the food thingy 'twas empty. tried fer the 11 years she was here to break that cycle to no avail. small feedin' throughout the day'll help with digestive issues. ya can put a small grate 'f sorts, big rocks, golf balls to where she's gotta maneuver 'round 'em. there's also those 'toys' where ya can put treats 'n 'em 'n through playin' with such they get a bite e'ery now 'n then.
3 people like this
@simone10 (54187)
• Louisville, Kentucky
4 Oct 15
@crazyhorseladycx Oh, I'll made sure they are too big for her to swallow because believe me, if she can swallow it she will . I feel sad to think that the reason behind it is because they have had to fight for food. Too bad that we can't talk to them and let them know that they will never be without food again.
1 person likes this
@simone10 (54187)
• Louisville, Kentucky
1 Oct 15
I just remembered that she was the runt of the litter so I wonder if that had anything to do with it. I used to free feed Bella but can't do that now since Daisy will eat and eat and it's impossible to crate train her that way. I will see if I can find some bigger rocks and see if that works better than the soup can.
2 people like this
@crazyhorseladycx (39509)
• United States
2 Oct 15
@simone10 jest make sure they're too big fer 'er to swallow, k? yepperz, those runts tend to 've that 'oh my gosh, food! gotta eat it all 'fore its gone' mentality. don't reckon that's somethin' one can rehab?? 've 'd that sorta trouble with some horses i've rescued 's well. they no doubt fear they'll be starved yet 'gain so jest seem to inhale their food :(
3 people like this
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
30 Sep 15
I know that all dogs tend to eat their food almost immediately, at least during the early years since they are uncertain if they will receive any more in the future. Nevertheless, I was not aware that it could develop into a serious problem.
Have you tried speaking to a vet?
2 people like this
@beaniefanatic13 (5076)
• Grand Junction, Colorado
1 Oct 15
My Boston terrier was the same way, you can go to the pet store and by a special bowl that has all kinds of blocks built into it. The food falls down between the blocks and the concept is that they have to slow down and work to get the food out from between the blocks. I hope this works for you.
2 people like this
@beaniefanatic13 (5076)
• Grand Junction, Colorado
1 Oct 15
@simone10 our Vet told us that certain breeds are worse than others. Our Boston actually eats so fast that he gets sick and we had to get one of those bowls. It works pretty good, he still gets sick now and then but nothing like he used too.
2 people like this
@simone10 (54187)
• Louisville, Kentucky
4 Oct 15
@beaniefanatic13 I am trying to give her a little at a time and if that doesn't work, I'll have to get her one of those bowls.
1 person likes this
@allknowing (137553)
• India
1 Oct 15
We had our Bull Terrier - Rana who would eat fast but immediately bring it all out, when he was a pup. He would never let us take it away but he would come back and eat it all up.
2 people like this
@simone10 (54187)
• Louisville, Kentucky
2 Oct 15
@allknowing Oh, good. Maybe there is hope for her yet.
1 person likes this
@simone10 (54187)
• Louisville, Kentucky
1 Oct 15
I just remembered that Daisy was the runt of the litter so more than likely she had to also fight for her food. I hope I can break her of this but from what I am reading in everyone's comment, it doesn't sound like it's something that I can break.
2 people like this
@besweet (9859)
• Ireland
30 Sep 15
Daisy is so cute, I hope you can solve this issue with her eating habits soon. From all the alternatives that you have mentioned, I would try the last one. Maybe you could give her small meals more often, instead of putting all the food in the bowl.
2 people like this
@mom210 (9115)
• United States
1 Oct 15
@simone10 sometimes, he has a small tummy and since your puppy looks small, I was thinking that it might help. In fact one of the things the doc's told me was try to stretch him tummy, what happened was he ended up getting sick more often because of overfill. I stopped trying to stretch and am just hoping that he will naturally stretch it. when you get sick all the time, why would you want to eat?
2 people like this
@BelleStarr (61102)
• United States
1 Oct 15
Sorry I have never had that issue but I can see why if she came from a big litter that might just be the reason.
2 people like this
@simone10 (54187)
• Louisville, Kentucky
1 Oct 15
@sofssu Daisy eats separately from Bella because she is eating puppy food and Bella is 7 so she doesn't need it. I always take Daisy into another room when she eats. I think what you said about feeding her a little at time may be the only thing I can do and just hope she will slow down as she gets older.
3 people like this
@granny2015 (432)
• United States
1 Oct 15
maybe you could try giving Daisy small snacks to hold her over until meal time then she might not eat as fast
2 people like this
@Ragnarok8 (196)
• Davao, Philippines
1 Oct 15
I think dogs are really like that they tend to eat fast.
1 person likes this
@Marilynda1225 (83074)
• United States
30 Sep 15
I don't have any pets so I can't offer any advice but I would assume that if she eats that fast it could easily cause stomach upset
2 people like this
@fawkes62 (1276)
• United States
1 Oct 15
I didn't even know that eating their food too fast could be a problem for dogs. I had a dog like that with water. She would drink until the bowl was empty and then be sick. We had to just limit the amount in the bowl so she wouldn't drink so much. You could try that with the food, just give smaller amounts more often.
2 people like this