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Problems w/ dog not chewing food...Help!
TMI a little, but you are all dog people, so I'm sure you're used to it. But just this weekend, one of my dogs has gotten sick twice. Once on Saturday, he actually made it to the yard. It was mostly bile. I didn't think much of it, knowing dogs get sick every once in a while. He seemed totally fine before and after. So we just said we'd monitor. Then this morning, H feeds both dogs at 6am like normal, then leaves for work and I get up around 7. They are non-stop playing while I'm getting ready, wrestling. All of a sudden Squirt stops, runs to the door, and I get there just in time as he pukes his entire breakfast on the carpet. Honestly it was probably his entire bowl of food, unchewed. Like, not even one of the kibbles looked chewed. Again, he seemed completely fine after, and I'm not even sure the two pukes were related in anyway.
But my question is this... Does anyone have any useful tips on how to get a dog to actually chew the food? I know that there's that ball or whatever you can put in their food bowl to make them eat slower, but is it supposed to help them actually chew the food too? When we first adopted him, he was severely underweight and we would only give him a little at at time to make sure he didn't get an upset belly by eating too much at once. But we've been passed that stage for months now, and both dogs get fed twice a day.
Any thoughts would be appreciated!
Re: Problems w/ dog not chewing food...Help!
I would try a slow-eating bowl (there are a bunch of options online - I use this one), or you can use a muffin tin or cookie sheet to spread the food out a bit more. You can also put a tennis ball in the bowl, though some dogs catch on and remove the tennis ball. I can't say that your dog will chew the food more, but eating slower should help.
In addition to slowing down his eating, I would keep him calm for a certain amount of time after he eats - it sounds like all the wrestling may have contributed to the vomiting.
Finally, if those things don't work, you might want to try a different food altogether (continuing the slow eating and resting after eating). What type of food are you feeding now? It's possible it just doesn't agree with him.
I'll look into the slow eating bowls. Thanks. I'm not much of a baker, so I don't even own muffin trays ;-)
He actually is calm for a almost full hour after eating. My husband feeds them, they go outside, and then he goes in his cage until I get up around 7, 7:15. And they do this every morning, the wrestling, and he's never puked up his food like this before.
We feed both dogs Authority Adult Chicken. My first dog has a stomach like a rock, I honestly can't even tell you if she's thrown up once in the 3 years we've had her. But Squirt def seems to have a little more sensitive stomach. We've had him 4 months, and he's puked up bile about 3x (the first 2x was when we first got him and he had kennel cough, vet attributed it to that). Then bile again this weekend, and then his dog food this morning. Do you think it could be the food? well I guess first I'll try the slow eating bowls and take it from there.
I'm not very familiar with Authority, but it looks like it may not be the best quality: http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/showproduct.php?product=2185&cat=all (it only gets 1 star on Dog Food Analysis, which isn't the be-all, end-all, but it's one resource to look at). You may want to consider switching to a food that is rated 4, 5, or 6 stars, particularly a grain-free food. My sensitive tummy pups both do great on Wellness Core (grain-free, 6-star food). Their skin and coat is significantly healthier than it was on low quality food, and my itchy guy completely cleared up when I switched him to Core.
Each dog is a bit different, so you might have to try a few different foods before you hit on the right one. Other great brands are Acana, Taste of the Wild ("TOTW"), Innova/EVO, Canidae, and Orijen. The ladies on here have experience with a wide variety of foods, so if you're overwhelmed by the choices, definitely ask questions!
Quincy and Dexter, new BFFs
I used to be kris216.
The slow-eat bowl is a good idea, and we give a small treat before E starts his morning food. That way he is a little bit more full so that he doesn't try to scarf it down so fast.
Also, I haven't seen this mentioned, but you might want to get your dog's teeth examined.
Thanks everyone. I appreciate the feedback. I'll be looking into some better food for them. My parents used to feed our dogs Authority growing up, so it's what I've always been used to. I actually used to work in a dog bakery and we sold Innova, Canidae, etc, and I know they are a great product, but never thought to switch unless there were issues. So we may have to look into a better quality food now.
Betty, what would be an issue w/ his teeth? He was vet checked in December when we adopted him, and the vet cleared him of any health issues (except kennel cough at the time) and said his teeth look good. Do you think there's something I should be on the lookout for (even if in the future?)