How to Prevent Your Dog from Eating Too Quickly

Does your dog gobble up its food too quickly? Eating too fast can harm their digestive system—your dog may choke, burp, pass gas, experience bloating, or even vomit. Fortunately, there are a few methods you can try to help slow down their eating. Address any competitive behavior that arises during feeding time, and discover some tricks that will encourage your dog to eat more slowly.

Fill the Bowl with Food. Instead of pouring a large amount of food into the bowl, try placing an inverted bowl in the center of the dish. Spread the food around the inverted bowl. This way, your dog will have to move around the dish or tilt its head to reach the food, slowing down its eating pace.

• This simple trick, using an everyday object, can significantly reduce your dog's eating speed without needing any special tools or equipment.

Buy a Slow Feeding Bowl for Your Dog. If you're looking to purchase a feeding bowl, consider options like the Brake Fast Bowl or Slow Feeder. These bowls don’t have lids but feature rounded obstacles in the center. As your dog eats, the bowl moves, forcing them to chase their food.

• You could also buy a crossword puzzle-style feeder. Your dog will have to push sliding sections to access their food.

Divide Your Dog's Food into Smaller Portions. You can split the food into several smaller bowls and place them around the room, or divide it evenly across a muffin tin. This way, your dog will either eat one piece at a time or have to search for each bowl.

Place a Large Rock in the Center of the Bowl and Spread the Food Around It. Only use a large rock to avoid the risk of your dog swallowing it. For puppies, try placing 2-3 golf balls in the bowl and spreading the food around. Your dog will need to move the balls aside to eat more slowly.

• Golf balls should only be used for puppies, as the size makes them impossible to swallow.

Elevate the Food Bowl. When all else fails, try placing the bowl on a low table or chair. This forces your dog to raise its front legs and lean forward, slightly tilting their esophagus, which helps reduce the amount of air swallowed. The elevated position also makes it easier for your dog to burp.

• Elevating your dog's food bowl is related to bloating, so avoid this method if your dog is prone to bloating.

Determine if your dog is food-obsessed. How many dogs do you have? Dogs tend to eat quickly because they fear that another dog might steal their food or they may eat fast to race and claim the food of another dog. This behavior is known as food guarding.

Distribute food across multiple bowls. Place separate bowls for each dog at different ends of the room. This allows each dog to eat on its own without the pressure of competition for food with the other dogs. If any dog still tries to steal food, move it to a different room, out of sight of the others.

• This method reduces the stress of food competition and helps prevent food hoarding behaviors in greedy dogs.

Feed your dog regularly. You'll notice that your dog might rush to eat the leftovers from another dog's bowl, driven by instinct. Feeding at consistent times will help mitigate the urge to compete for food.

• Your dog may have experienced unfortunate situations that made it feel the need to eat quickly. For example, if you were late coming home and your dog was hungry, it might look for leftover food. When the new meal appears, it rushes to grab its portion before going for any scraps from the other dog’s food, driven by a fear of hunger.

Train your dog. If your dog craves attention or noise, distract it immediately after it finishes eating. Have your dog sit down and play with it. If done consistently, your dog will learn to approach you rather than rush to compete with the other dogs for food.

Bond with your dog. Be patient with the changes you are implementing when feeding. While not all issues can be resolved, there are ways to help your dog. Keep in mind that teaching your dog to slow down when eating will take time.

• If your dog still exhibits food greediness or aggression towards food, it could be a possessive behavior rather than an eating speed issue. Most dogs will act aggressively if another dog attempts to take their food.

Be aware that eating too quickly can cause health issues. Feeding your dog rapidly is like tossing raw chicken into a crocodile’s mouth—it might frustrate your dog. However, more importantly, swallowing food too fast can lead to potential health problems.

• Never overlook habits like eating too quickly. Always keep an eye on your dog to ensure it develops healthily.

Wait for your dog to burp and release gas. When dogs eat too quickly, they also swallow a lot of air. This can cause simple bodily reactions like burping or passing gas, which are harmless.

Your dog could choke. If your dog eats too fast and doesn’t chew properly, it could choke on a large piece of food that gets stuck in its esophagus.

Watch for signs of bloating. Symptoms like a swollen or distended belly, difficulty walking, attempts to vomit without success, lethargy, or slow movement should raise concerns. Contact your vet immediately if you suspect any of these signs. This is an emergency, and it's better to make a phone call than risk overlooking a serious issue that could endanger your dog’s life.

• Bloating caused by food can lead to the twisting of your dog’s stomach, preventing blood flow. This can cause severe stomach damage or even death. You must get your dog to the vet immediately. There are no home remedies for this.