Eating Too Fast

Let's talk about the dog who eats too fast. First, see your vet, because gulping and vomiting can also signal Addison's disease, megaesophagus, or a food allergy. But if the vet gives you a clean bill of health, this is a management problem, not a training problem.

Step one: a slow feeder bowl — the one with the fingers in the middle. Twenty dollars. Step two: split the daily ration into three or four small meals, not one giant meal.

Step three: hand-feed a quarter of each meal to slow the dog down and build focus. Step four: a Snuffle Mat or a frozen Kong for the last meal of the day. Step five: your dog's going to simply die of bloat if your large-breed dog eats one giant meal and exercises right after.

That is a real emergency, not a scare line. Now, the deeper fix: gulping is a management problem, not a behavior problem. Slow the bowl, split the meals, and the gulping stops.

Now here's Steve's notes.