My new puppy is just a PIG!

[fergie11]

My new puppy (9 wks) just absolutely loves to eat. I feed her in her kennel while Fergie is slowly eating hers - nibbling a little at a time. Little Lucy quickly chomps down all her food - I don't know why she doesn't throw up - she eats so fast. When open the kennel door, Lucy races over to where Fergie eats to see if there's any morsel left. This happens 3 times a day. I always free-fed Fergie but certainly can't do this with Lucy. So now can't do Fergie anymore either. Fergie's OK with that. Anyone else has a little pig puppy?

[sandy b]

Yep, we call Max "Hoover" because he vacuums his dish in seconds!! We got him at 8 wks and he acted like he was starving. I called the breeder and they said not to overfeed his regular food but supplement with veggies which we put in Kongs. He is now 8 months and still eats fast - faster than DH LOL!! but doesn't act like he's starving.

[The Berry Oaks Doodle Ranch]

We have one also Guinness has done this since we picked him up at 7wks,and still to this day.

[HANNAH 8/2/07 & HONEY 7/2/08]

I have heard some breeders actually teach their dogs to "Gulp" their food, this can lead to Bloat. Those of you who have dogs who eat their food quickly need to train your dogs to eat slower. How you do this is simple. But a BIG stone in the middle of their dish and they have to get their dry food from around the sides this stone, it actually teaches them to slow down and eat at an easier pace. It does take a little while for them to learn it, but they do.

[fergie11]

Why would a breeder teach their dog to "Gulp" their food?

[Doodle Kisses]

I just put a couple of bones in Rosco's bowl or a kong...slows him down just enough :)

[Noble Vestal Labradoodles]

this is likely because he was feed in a group with his litter mates. He may or may not slow down as he gets used to his new surroundings.

You can hand feed him to help him slow down but this may make him more anxious.

There is a bowl with nubs in the bottom that encourages slow eating.

I highly recommend feeding him from a kong or buster cube.

[Penny, Comiskey & Beemer]

Beemer doesn't gulp his food....but insists on finishing Comiskey's food....they eat the same food so it really doesn't matter...but he is a real piglet.....I am happy that there is not food agression....and everyone is full and happy.....

[AMM]

When my dog was a puppy he would gobble down his food in a flash. We discovered he had a worms and once cured of them, he began to slow down. He never walks away with food still in his dish, but he has slowed down considerably - he's a year and a half.

[fergie11]

I've just had her tested for worms. No worms.

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

All but one of my dogs have polished off their food in under a minute. Never hurt them a bit. If this really worries you or seems to bother your dog, you can by a bowl that will slow them down, it has three bumps sticking up from the bottom that force the dog to eat and not gobble.

[Leslie, Dexter & Kirby]

we have to put a large toy in Dexter's bowl...he is also a pig and will inhale his food. It really slows him down a lot.

[Kelli, Fenway, & Dustin Pedroia]

Oh yes! This sounds so familiar. Fenway, our almost 11 month old doodle, is not a big eater so we free feed her too. Or we used to! Now we can't because as soon as our little piglet finishes his breakfast, lunch, or dinner in his kennel and we let him out he heads straight to her bowl and starts eating! He doesn't really eat it that quickly, but Fenway just picks at her food and rarely cleans her bowl out so there's always some in there. We've been putting Fenway in her "area" that we have gated off for her to try to let her eat without being bothered, but since she's more interested in playing than eating (she's always been this way) she doesn't want to stay in there and eat for long. I keep telling myself that she'll eat when she's hungry, but so far she hasn't been eating much. I don't know what to do. My new puppy is a PIG! I'm more worried about Fenway getting enough food than I am about him slowing down since he really doesn't eat that fast she just eats that slow.