Not at ALL Picky Eater - re Slow Feeder Bowls

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

Its kind of refreshing to post a discussion about a doodle with an eating problem that ISN'T about being picky. I know I've been a part of those discussions myself, more than once, with Miss Picky Pants, Lucy. Now we have Oscar, who is the polar opposite of Lucy. He inhales his food, sometimes literally. If allowed, he'll eat so fast it immediately all comes back up. Therein lies the problem. I've tried 2 different slow eater methods, one the Brake-Fast bowl, and the other, a large ceramic ball you place in the food bowl. The first works, but only if I put a couple Tbls. of food behind the 'protrusions' at at time, which means having to stand there and wait until Oscar has finished and then put a couple more Tbls. in. This can take 4-5 'courses' with me standing watch over the bowl the entire time. The ceramic ball, the Omega Paw Portion Pacer, doesn't slow Oscar down enough. The meal still comes back up with it.

The silver lining in all of this is that Oscar is EXTREMELY food motivated. At his first puppy class last night the trainer was amazed at how Oscar sat facing me the ENTIRE class, his undivided attention on me, waiting for the next treat. He would do back flips, I think, for a treat. The other puppies were distracted, barking at one another and totally unfocused on their owners.

Back to eating fast, my question is, with those of you with 'problem' eaters like Oscar, what have you found to work the best? I saw this funny looking feeder online and I'm very tempted to get one. The price is very high and the thing would be a bear to clean (with Oscar's current 3 feedings a day I'd be hand washing it twice a day and washing it in the dishwasher every night). http://www.pamperedpawgifts.com/products-dog-bowls.html

I can't imagine feeding Oscar the way I currently am for the rest of his life. Its such a bother. Any suggestions are welcome and MUCH appreciated! Oh, BTW, we've also tried a food dispensing ball that rolls around on the floor. It didn't work well at all on our hardwood floors. I've only tried one, and maybe there are some that work better on smooth surfaces?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Thank you, that was very helpful. With all the researching I've done on these things, I never thought to look at Wikipedia, and this gave more info on disease related borborygmus than the stuff i found on veterinary sites.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Wikipedia is my second best friend after Google. I find a treasure trove of, usually, very reliable information there.

[Joanna, Zoe & Bender]

is it bad for them to drink too much water?  

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I don't know if you could say it's "bad", but it's bad sometimes. Drinking a lot of water too rapidlly or immediately before or after eating can be risk factors for bloat. http://www.globalspan.net/bloat.htm

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Adina, didn't you once post a video of one or both of your doodles wolfing down their food in seconds? I couldn't find it in your videos, but I was hoping you would post it here.

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

I remember that video! Its exactly the way Oscar eats.

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

Oscar is also a water guzzler (and a very messy one, at that). Currently, I add water to Oscar's food (what is the ingredient that makes it a problem?) just to moisten it. I started that practice after Oscar chipped a canine tooth and had to have it extracted. He also had a malocclusion necessitating extractions of both lower baby canines, but it was the chipped tooth that put him in acute pain. His adult teeth are starting to emerge now and I can stop moistening his food. Not sure why I haven't done it yet, just habit I guess. I am liking the idea of the Green feeder with the 'blades of grass'. I wish it came with a guarantee, though. That might be a moot issue, if I found a company that would accept returns.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Food that contains citric acid should not be moistened, that was found to be a risk factor for bloat.

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

I'd never heard that! What a relief to not find citric acid in the ingredient list of Oscar's food (Fromm's Game Bird). Ignorance can be so scary sometimes!

[Adina P]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0F5PhSNeRKQ&feature=share&li...

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

LOL! It's as if she's being timed and she's trying to set a new record!

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

Yep, very much like Oscar. Oscar seems almost frantic when he eats, though, like his life depends on getting the food just as fast as he can. I've never heard him chew his food, either.

Did Boca ever have a problem with throwing up her meals?