Slow Feed Dog Bowls
Is your Sheltie eating too fast?
If so, a regular dog food bowl is not the best way to feed your pooch. Did you know there are some simple yet clever slow feed dog bowls which will physically stop your Sheltie eating too fast and gulping down air?
Competition and Eating Too Fast
If you have one dog in the house, you probably find your pooch can afford to be picky about when he eats, and will leave a bowl of kibble out all day if he likes. There is never any hurry to eat his food, and he remembers to chew sensibly.
If you have two or more dogs in the house, this kind of behavior is much less common. Multiple dogs often behave in competition with each other – and food is a resource worth fighting over. It’s likely they’ll wolf down their daily meal in 10 seconds flat!
The Problem With Eating Too Fast
The problem with your Sheltie eating too fast is two-fold:
- By vacuuming up the little bits of kibble so fast, your Sheltie is also vacuuming up lots of air, which frequently causes bloating and hiccups.
- By rushing through the meal and swallowing the kibble whole, your Sheltie is missing out the first stage in the digestive process.
What’s more, by eating slower and actually chewing, your dog will feel fuller after a meal and wont be begging for more in 10 minutes’ time.
So, if your Sheltie is a “gulper” – I recommend a slow feed dog bowl:
Slow Feed Dog Bowls
Here are two recommended dog food bowls that stop your dog from eating too fast:
The Brake-fast Dog Food Bowl (right) features a patent pending design that physically prevents your dog from being a gobble guts! At meal times, he’ll have to eat around the shapes, and this really does make him slow down and chew. It’s an amazingly simple solution to a frustrating problem.
For a stainless steel design that does an equally good job, try the Indipets Stainless Steel Slow Feeding Dish (below). This one is heavy and durable with a rubber rim so your Sheltie wont be able to nose it across the room. Both are dishwasher safe.
This problem kicked up in our household the day we brought Piper home. Howard (who usually left his kibble out all day) suddenly began vacuuming his precious kibble without stopping to chew. He’d then hiccup for several minutes afterwards.
I did some research and discovered these slow feed bowls – a simple enough concept that has a noticeable effect on the speed the boys eat. They’re still food-centric and do their best to gobble, but the design slows them right down so meal times last more like a minute and they don’t have those awful hiccups afterwards.
The sooner you make the switch to a slow feed dog bowl, the sooner your Sheltie will start to benefit from healthier digestion and eating habits. Highly recommended.
