{"id":13798,"date":"2020-01-04T08:01:00","date_gmt":"2020-01-04T15:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/outwardhound.com\/furtropolis\/?p=13798"},"modified":"2021-10-15T09:30:58","modified_gmt":"2021-10-15T15:30:58","slug":"slow-feeder-device-test-savor-the-flavor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/outwardhound.com\/furtropolis\/product\/slow-feeder-device-test-savor-the-flavor","title":{"rendered":"Slow Feeder Device Test: Savor The Flavor"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n
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“Slow feeder” bowls and other tools are available to help (okay, to be honest, to force) your dog to eat his food more slowly, which is far better for his health.<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Originally written by By Stephanie Colman for Whole Dog Journal<\/a><\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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Can your dog make an entire bowl of food disappear faster than you can say, \u201cBon app\u00e9tit?\u201d Has he ever inhaled a bowl of food so fast he vomited it back up a few minutes later? Does her seemingly frantic consumption lead to gagging or choking?\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

If any of these scenarios sound familiar, it\u2019s wise to check out one of many commercially available slow feeders or experiment with creating one yourself to help your dog dial down her speed-eating ways.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Eating too fast can lead to gagging and choking \u2013 plus, speed eaters tend to gulp air as they execute their deep-dive into the food bowl. This excess air can interfere with digestion, cause gas, and even lead to gastric dilation and volvulus, commonly known as \u201cbloat,\u201d<\/a> a potentially fatal condition where the stomach fills with excess gas and flips on itself, restricting blood flow and requiring life-saving emergency surgery.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Turn Meal Time Into Puzzle Time<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Slow feeder bowls and other tools also can help turn mealtime into an opportunity for enrichment. When using a slow feeder, your dog can tap into his problem-solving abilities as he maneuvers the device. This engages his brain more than when simply diving face first into an open bowl of food. Mental exercise is just as important as physical exercise in creating a well-rounded canine companion.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The ability to slow a dog\u2019s eating is also critically important to the success of certain training protocols. For example, when working with a dog who tends to guard his food, it\u2019s helpful if he\u2019s eating slowly enough to give us time to implement some behavioral interventions.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

A common positive-reinforcement approach to working with a dog who guards his food is to pass by the dog as he eats and drop a food item considered \u201cbetter\u201d than what\u2019s in his bowl; this helps to counter-condition how the dog feels about a human approaching his food. However, if the dog inhales the contents of the bowl before you can approach, this is difficult to accomplish!<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Who Needs a Bowl, Anyway?<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

While slow-feeder bowls are helpful, another approach to slowing a speed-eater is to ditch the bowl all together in favor of stuffed food puzzles, planned scavenging opportunities, or even hand-feeding via training.\u00a0\u00a0There\u2019s no rule that says dogs must eat meals at set times, and from a bowl! Often, high-energy dogs benefit from a \u201csit quietly and color\u201d activity such as extracting part of a meal from a well-stuffed, frozen Kong or a Toppl toy. You can easily split a dog\u2019s daily ration of kibble into three or more puzzle toys and offer them at different times throughout the day.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Snuffle mats allow dogs to fully engage their sense of smell as they poke around the fabric strips in search of kibbles. You can even offer a wide-spread kibble scatter out in the yard as if you\u2019re feeding chickens! (Admittedly, these last two techniques work better with kibble than with home-prepared or raw diets, but these work well in Kongs and Toppls.)<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

And of course, there\u2019s training time! On busy training days, my dogs have always eaten very little from a bowl. Rather, I\u2019m leveraging their daily caloric intake in an effort to generously reinforce desired behaviors \u2013 especially when working with them as young puppies.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Don\u2019t be afraid to ditch the dog bowl in favor of more creating feeding strategies that support your training goals and the development of a harmonious household!<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

SPEED TESTS<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n