Slow Feeders?

I'm using a paw print cut out plastic disc that I lay over the top of Nelly's food but it isn't slowing her down enough! She eats so quickly and looks instantly bloated and gets instant hiccups. Do you use a slow feeder? What do you use? Do they actually work?

 

When Charlie used to guzzle his food I was given a tip which is to spread the food either on a flat tray or straight onto the floor which really slows down feeding. I was also told that slow feeding bowls might cause tooth damage but lots of people do use them, I threw mine away x

 

I bought one for Axel after he choked, literally choked. Sigh. It worked amazing. It takes him maybe a minute or two to eat his food now that he's older and his tongue can get right in there between the gaps, but as a puppy it would take him 10-15 minutes.

I bought one that looks like a maze

 

Thanks for that idea. I'll give it a go.

 

Yes, I need to get a maze type one I think.

 

slowest feeder is a Kong Wobbler. I have the Kong slow feeder and it slows him down by an extra minute.

 

We mix up the maze bowl, Kong Wobbler and we hand feed him sometimes too. He was starting to food guard. The bowl works good, the wobbler is slower but it excites him more. Hand was the best.

 

Mine each have the green slow feeder that looks like thick blades of grass. It works well, particularly as Tuppence would just gulp her food in about two seconds from an ordinary bowl.

 

Generally, I sprinkle Luna's food over the floor of her pen. This was actually not to slow her down, but to encourage her a bit more, because she was a bit of a hesitant eater at first. I then tried to give her a meal in a bowl when she was tired, she took one look and blatted the edge of it to spread her food around the floor! Hehe.
Yesterday evening, I took her dinner and hid it all around the living room (in two goes) so she had to sniff it out. She loved that game and it would be great for slowing a fast eater. I played the same with my two adult dogs when it was their dinner time and it was a huge hit

 

I use the Kong Wobbler with Corona. Takes her 10-15 minutes instead of 20 seconds

 

We use this one.

 

I'll definitely give that a go and I'm sure it tires them out too.

 

And does it do much good?

 

It slows her down, it takes about 90 sec to finsh her meal. Compared to 10 seconds and throwing up it does good.

 

I wouldn't underestimate the power of hand-feeding.
Really helps with creating a bond - every bit of kibble is a training opportunity

 

Okay I'll try doing it more often.

 

So are you, down on their level and feeding puppy little bits at a time?

 

We crouch and he must be calm and obedient to receive the food at arms length. We don't ask him to obey commands he doesn't know, don't want to frustrate him during his relaxed meal. Towards the end I might try a new command but if he isn't getting it I quickly let him succeed at one he knows and give him more food. My wife also does this. It's great for bonding, training and getting them focussed on you. It slows down their eating. It's a win win in my opinion.

 

I used a muffin tin. Just sprinkle the feeding into the muffin "holes" and it works like a charm to slow down eating.

 

Wish I knew about that before I spent a small fortune on a dish. Well, actually four dishes by the time the wife was done getting the "right" one.