Hi guys, so i have a well behaved puppy with a minor issue and needed some advice. I have a really sweet girl who doesnt have any behavioral issues such as being aggressive or being territorial with her food but her extreme love of eating does have me concerned a bit. She does not like to chew her food at all and I did google around but there doesnt really seem to be much on the topic. So my pup has always been very eager about her treats and food to the point where she loves prancing and jumping around like a rabbit when it comes to meal time. Whenever i feed her its like christmas. She just dives right in and finishes her half cup (orijen large puppy kibble) in about 6 seconds. She does not chew at all and just vacuums it down. So far she hasnt had any stool issues, bloating, or vomiting but it does worry me a little that she can get some form of intestinal complications. She usually just hiccups after most meals (im assuming its from inhaling all that air while trying to eat). I did start training her by portioning her meal a little at a time and having her wait for food but she still does not chew. I also tried giving her one kibble at a time but to no avail. Any tips in getting her to chew her food or is it ok since she doesnt have any symptoms? FYI she does chew on her treats just not her food.
I have 2 dogs - a 7 month lab and an 8 year old shihtzu and I swear neither of them has ever chewed a bite!
Mine is 8 months now and has never chewed a bite either lol. I had the exact same worry at 13 weeks and googled and searched this forum like crazy and found out it's totally normal. Lookup the dog "slow feeder bowls" and they help a ton!
Slow feeder bowls are good and you can scatter the food on the floor to slow her down. That the way most labs eat their dentition is not designed to chew just grab and swallow. You can also feed using a khong it a wobbler it makes the food last longer.
Mine doesn't chew either - 8 1/2 months. He did chew up the slow feeder mat, though, so I had to get rid of it. He still eats as though his whole litter were competing for it so, unless it is wet outside, I weigh out his food and scatter it on the lawn, telling him to "go hunt". I think he still scoops it up and swallows, but it takes him a lot longer.
I tried slow feeding bowl with Mango and he figured it out in a day. He lifted it and shook his head and they would fall out. So that was it.
Clever Mango Another problem that can occasionally arise with a slow food bowl is resource guarding. The dog starts to panic that they won’t be able to get the food down fast enough to prevent anyone else taking it (a concern that is often at the heart of food bolting) and they then start to guard the bowl. So if your dog tips over his slow food bowl or seems to panic when people approach it, just scatter his food around on the ground. If you scatter it quite widely he’ll happily search for it, and won’t be able to vacuum it up in three seconds flat.
When I first started with the slow feeder bowl I stood with my foot on it (with boots on!) so that our pup could not tip it over. I dod tgst every meal for a couple of weeks. Now if it starts to wobble or move around he puts his own foot on it to keep it in place! My 5mo was sick after eating one day a few weeks ago, and it was a full pike of perfectly formed kibble. Not one had been chewed. I think it's pretty normal. We scatter his dinner aroind the garden at night and he really enjoys the hunt. It takes 20 minutes for him to get his meal, rather than the 90 seconds the slow feeder takes him. But he still doesn't chew - just drools a lot from walking around with an open mouth and the continual sniffing.
Dogs don't chew - their don't have any 'flat' teeth like us or animals like horses and cows that grind their food. Also unlike us, dogs don't produce amylase in the mouth to start digestion. Amylase us produced after swallowing. So not chewing is perfectly normal - dogs crunch, rip/tear/shred and swallow but not chew
