I remember @Lochan saying but please do correct me if I'm wrong, that the anti scoff bowls make the dog inhale more air which could be a bigger issue than the scoffing of food which is why I put mine away and used a flat tray as she suggested. x
I can't remember Helen...... Now I am wondering how Tartanmouse is doing..... wee Charlie and.....?????
Cooper (2 years old) used to inhale his kibble in 5 seconds....got him the WOBBLER and that sure slowed him down. Also got him those anti-scoff bowls and that also works. But now, put all that away and when it is feeding time he gets his kibble with quite a bit of water. Takes him quite a long time to eat because he also has to lap up the water. I dont let the kibble actually soak....just pour water over kibble and serve!
My main problem with the anti-gobble bowl was and is the risk of tooth damage when a serious, committed gobbler finds an obstacle between them and food. Lochan damaged an incisor tooth on an anti-gobble bowl hence I feed her from a flat tray. She's heading for five now and is as determined to eat her food in record time now as she was as a pup.
Thanks @Lochan, my mistake I thought it was an intake of air issue, but you have jogged my memory. Something to be very aware of x
I do the same as Yvonne and pour water on the kibble before feeding, which slows them down. They don't get much kibble at meal times, since a large portion of their intake is during training. Their largest meal is lunch, which is raw and takes them longer to eat because of the bone crunching
Well I bought one of those slow down bowls for Zeke and it certainly slowed him down, from 45 seconds to 2 minutes. If nothing else, maybe he at least tastes his food now
Had to do a search for fast eating this morning as the speed Enzo has been eating his food started to concern me, it's reassuring to see it could be a general lab thing. He usually has water with his morning feed, just poured over before feeding , not soaked and this slows him down, as someone previously mentioned, to ensure he is hydrated more than anything. his other two meals of the day have been dry kibble upto now as I had read it was good for cleaning their teeth chewing dry kibble, trouble is, Enzo doesn't even chew it just swallows it whole so I'm thinking it maybe worth putting water on all his meals? What do you think? Another thing which has concerned me, I read (now not sure where)to take the food bowl away from the pup when hes eating when he's young and add something nicer to it or just swill your hand around in the bowl while he's eating to prevent them being so protective of their food (as they know they will be getting it back). However, I then read about 2 weeks later that this is a big no no and not to do it so I stopped immediately. I'm worried now that I encouraged enzos speedy eating. Such a minefield of info out there, any suggestions to this? Thanks
Personally, I wouldn't worry too much. We didn't take Ella's bowl away as a puppy but we did put our hands in her bowl to add some extra tasty treats. We stopped when we read it could cause problems but she hasn't shown any signs of resource guarding. We have one of those pink flower bowls like @Boogie posted above. I was aware of the potential tooth damage but Ella doesn't appear to eat in a way that would cause damage. She does get kibble stuck in the bowl from time to time but instead of trying to get it out herself, she comes and gets us to come and pick it up out of the bowl for her!
I would never take food away, but adding extra tasty bits helps them to know their food is always safe around you and there is no need to guard it. Some pups begin food guarding in the litter. At eight weeks old Guide Dog puppy walking supervisors do a test to be sure the pup isn't one of them. They (as a complete one off) put their hands in the bowl while the pup eats. Any sign of food guarding and the pup is likely to be withdrawn. The Brood bitch holders do their very best to make sure this never develops as they feed them separately and don't allow noses in each other's bowls. All Breeders could learn a lot from this. (Kara is top left yellow pup, awwwww!) ...
