Re: Bud......Hoovering quicker than me!!!! [quote author=KeeperTony44 link=topic=8947.msg127463#msg127463 date=1417339744] Harley has a kong wobbler that she used when she had just dry food. [/quote] We use one too...I timed Dexter once it takes him 23 seconds to eat 125 gs of kibble : :-[ out of his bowl x
Re: Bud......Hoovering quicker than me!!!! I thinks dogs in general, and Labs in particular, tend to gobble down food as fast as they can. It's part of their hardwiring. I don't think their taste buds function quite the same way as ours, I mean, many dogs eat poop. I think their sense of smell is more of a factor in what they eat, as chrism says. To me it seems the enjoyment of the whole process comes in the "this is food and I am eating it" factor, rather than what it might taste like
Re: Bud......Hoovering quicker than me!!!! Hi Tony. One of mine (Lochan) would be an All-England scoffing champion. As a puppy she ate so fast she would choke and regurgitate the food only to eat it again at breakneck speed. She was (and in fact is still) a total disgrace when it comes to food. I tried an anti-gobble bowl but she was so frantic to get the food she irreparably damaged an incisor tooth on it. From then on she has been fed solely on a flat tray with the food well spread out, or by hand as training treats. I would try him on a flat plastic tray - it will certainly slow him down although I'm not sure he'll savour it any more than now!
Re: Bud......Hoovering quicker than me!!!! [quote author=Lochan link=topic=8947.msg127497#msg127497 date=1417364446] Hi Tony. One of mine (Lochan) would be an All-England scoffing champion. As a puppy she ate so fast she would choke and regurgitate the food only to eat it again at breakneck speed. She was (and in fact is still) a total disgrace when it comes to food. I tried an anti-gobble bowl but she was so frantic to get the food she irreparably damaged an incisor tooth on it. From then on she has been fed solely on a flat tray with the food well spread out, or by hand as training treats. I would try him on a flat plastic tray - it will certainly slow him down although I'm not sure he'll savour it any more than now! [/quote] Hi there. I think i can safely assume now that it is just me that feels Bud should be benefiting from the taste of his food. Like Lisa has said, if it is edible then i guess he is going to enjoy it regardless of whether he can taste it or not. The flat tray sounds like a pretty good idea, and we might very well give it a go. Thank you.
Re: Bud......Hoovering quicker than me!!!! [quote author=Lisa link=topic=8947.msg127496#msg127496 date=1417364394] it seems the enjoyment of the whole process comes in the "this is food and I am eating it" factor, rather than what it might taste like [/quote] Ha ha - yes, Lisa, I think that is probably right! Although the anticipation is certainly part of the pleasure....anticipation of a bit of CHEEEEESSE is better than anticipation of small piece of kibble, although they both get inhaled and down the gullet equally fast! And as for anticipation of the LAMB BONE.... well....that's just off the scale in pleasure.
Re: Bud......Hoovering quicker than me!!!! Hi Tony, I had forgotten about feeding on a tray. I did that when Maisie was little and it worked well. Also, just throwing her food around the kitchen floor worked too!
Re: Bud......Hoovering quicker than me!!!! [quote author=Rosie link=topic=8947.msg127512#msg127512 date=1417368058] anticipation of a bit of CHEEEEESSE [/quote] You woke Bud with his favourite word. ;D
Re: Bud......Hoovering quicker than me!!!! [quote author=Debs link=topic=8947.msg127514#msg127514 date=1417368203] Hi Tony, I had forgotten about feeding on a tray. I did that when Maisie was little and it worked well. Also, just throwing her food around the kitchen floor worked too! [/quote] Hi Debs. Seems the tray is getting the nod. Not sure about littering the kitchen floor though - it might give Bud too many wrong ideas
Re: Bud......Hoovering quicker than me!!!! [quote author=KeeperTony44 link=topic=8947.msg127521#msg127521 date=1417369361] [quote author=Debs link=topic=8947.msg127514#msg127514 date=1417368203] Hi Tony, I had forgotten about feeding on a tray. I did that when Maisie was little and it worked well. Also, just throwing her food around the kitchen floor worked too! [/quote] Hi Debs. Seems the tray is getting the nod. Not sure about littering the kitchen floor though - it might give Bud too many wrong ideas [/quote] ;D ;D ;D ;D I'm sure he's got plenty of ideas brewing just to keep you on your toes!
Re: Bud......Hoovering quicker than me!!!! I kinda think that eating fast is a security and safety thing. They need to eat enough to survive. Eating fast means they get enough to live, so it's wired in (as I think Lisa said). Maybe eating fast is comforting, as they stash away the food as fast a possible. This is just wild speculation!! But I'd say that in the ancestral doggie brain, he who savours is lost
Re: Bud......Hoovering quicker than me!!!! [quote author=Oberon link=topic=8947.msg127536#msg127536 date=1417375289] I kinda think that eating fast is a security and safety thing. They need to eat enough to survive. Eating fast means they get enough to live, so it's wired in (as I think Lisa said). Maybe eating fast is comforting, as they stash away the food as fast a possible. This is just wild speculation!! But I'd say that in the ancestral doggie brain, he who savours is lost [/quote] That does make sense. I guess my beliefs (and even hopes) that Bud would be able to, and even want to, enjoy tastes must now be put to one side. From me to Bud...enjoy your hoovering. )
Re: Bud......Hoovering quicker than me!!!! [quote author=Debs link=topic=8947.msg127523#msg127523 date=1417370135] ;D ;D ;D ;D I'm sure he's got plenty of ideas brewing just to keep you on your toes! [/quote] Knowing Bud, you are probably not wrong. ;D
Re: Bud......Hoovering quicker than me!!!! Well I think they definitely do enjoy tastes - as in some foods are very desirable, and some are not and some are in the middle. But I guess that to a lot of dogs a full mouth is also hugely satisfying Think of it as not a diminished dining experience, but just one based on different dimensions. Maybe, in Dog World, a 3-star restaurant would be the one that can provide the largest quantities of food in the easiest to inhale format ;D
Re: Bud......Hoovering quicker than me!!!! Another hoover-er here! We use anti-gulp bowls and moistened kibble to help slow them down a bit and moistening the kibble helps avoid choking. It's curious how some kibbles expand dramatically when soaked and some don't, presumably it's the fillers like rice or oats which expand in water. I think in respect of bloat it's perhaps better to have that expansion occur in the bowl and not in their gut. Apparently you should never soak a kibble that contains citric acid though but I can't remember why. According to a course I've done : Yes dogs have taste buds but they are located at the back of the tongue, hence the habit on chucking food straight to the back. Regarding the fast eating that is in their DNA from their wild ancestors, where they had to scavenge for food, and eat FAST and get out of there before another prey comes along to challenge them for it, or they become prey themselves! I also think it is also influenced by their first weeks in a litter - if feeding from a shared bowl they must quickly learn to get their share fast or lose out. In multiple dog households with shared feeding times dogs are also more likely to eat even faster, as they sense the threat of competition for their bowl if the other dog(s) finish first!
Re: Bud......Hoovering quicker than me!!!! [quote author=JohnG link=topic=8947.msg127550#msg127550 date=1417381202] According to a course I've done : Yes dogs have taste buds but they are located at the back of the tongue, hence the habit on chucking food straight to the back. [/quote] That's really interesting John, thanks!
Re: Bud......Hoovering quicker than me!!!! Thanks John. Some useful and interesting information there. Appreciated.
