My puppy doesn't chew her food.

[Katie Blais]

Hello! I have a 19 week old goldendoodle puppy and she doesn't chew her food, she just swallows it whole. About half of the time she ends up throwing it up later on in the day. She used to eat very quicky (a cup in about a minute and a half) but I purchased one of those slow down bowls, and now it takes her almost 6 minutes. I was wondering if there was anything I could do to help the situation of her not chewing? I'm going to bring it up with her vet, she has an appointment next week. But until then any advice would be great! Thanks so much!

[Ginny Nightingale]

My three do not chew--they inhale! And if they do get sick (occasionally) it can still be in whole pieces a few hours later--always amazes me. They eat a high quality dog food from Wellness--one thing I can suggest is that if she is only 25 pounds at over four months old (meaning she will be 40-50 as an adult most likely), you might want to switch to the same food but not the large breed since the kibble may be too large....and I would also join the food group and consider another food...I don't think this one is high on our list. There may be something that is more easily digested by your pup.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I agree. I didn't comment on the food because I prefer to discuss that in TFG, but the Iams food is not recommended. A better quality brand and a formula with a higher protein content and less filler would definitely be easier to digest. "Large breed" formulas are also not necessary for any dog who is expected to weigh less than 80 lbs as an adult, and are lower in calories and certain nutrients than regular puppy formulas, as they are designed for giant breeds who do not reach full skeletal maturity until well into their second year, and for whom you want to keep the growth rate slower.  

[Katie Blais]

Okay thank you, I'll definitely look into a different food!

[Kat and Winston]

We have that middle green round feeder bowl that somebody posted above. It has made a huge difference in the time it takes our puppy to eat. He would literally not come up for air, when we fed him in a regular bowl and be done in 90 seconds. Now he takes 10 minutes, but I home cook (he has had stool issues himself)so the food is wet and it is even extra hard for him to lick out.

If it's that much later ( I think you said 7 hours in one of the replies) and undigested, I'd think something more than quick eating is going on with her. My puppy will sometimes throw up bile in the very early morning because his stomach is empty and he's hungry and so within 7 or 8 hours of eating his food it is completely gone from his stomach. 

Maybe it's a food allergy of some sort or she's lacking the enzymes to properly digest it. We have started on Prozyme and it seems to be helping with our dogs problems. Maybe you can ask your vet about that if he doesn't find anything else going on.