Has any one got any different ideas on how to slow puppy down when eating. Hero at 61/2 months goes at his food like a bull in a China shop. We've tried assorted slow feeders, mazes, puzzle balls, Nina Ottison puzzle toys, hide and seek games, spinny bottles, having him search through box full of paper, other puzzle toys, but he works out how to get to the food after a couple of goes so we go back to him getting his food too quickly again. Frozen Kong's only last about quarter hour too. Likimats he clears in a few minutes. Have thought about a snuffle mat or search mat with flaps and pockets but seems a dreadful waste of money if hes' going to work them out so quickly too. He doesn't have any competition from other animals so there's no pressure for him to scoff before it gets pinched. He sits patiently and waits for his food to be got ready and then waits until told he can have it but then goes into ballistic mode. He's been greedy like this from day one and everything we've tried has been advised by breeder and vet. Have now just run out of ideas
I train with my puppy's meals until they are many years old, which tends to ensure they eat a single piece of Ziwipeak at a time... There's so much to train a new puppy to do, I couldn't imagine not using meals to achieve that training.
I have followed Jo’s approach. Every meal and piece is a training opportunity and indeed they eat slower. Training topics are endless )
Thank you Jo. Although we have always used part of his kibble for training have until you said not tried using it all. Since your post we now start his training using his daily allowance one piece at a time. In the mornings we work on his impulse control which with him needs an awful lot of repetitive work each day and it then settles him better for the rest of the day. Still take out some of his allowance for his Kong's and treat substitution, but so far it is working so much better and by the time he gets to mid morning he is actually crunching some of the pieces instead of swallowing whole. We had listened to vets and trainer who said he must now be on two meals a day with odd treats in between, but working your way has settled him so much better. Training sessions are more enjoyable as he is no longer snatching and the attempts at pinching our food have lessened so that seems to be one problem at least now sorted. Thank you again
