The Amazing Exploding Mr. Ziggi - Go Pitbull .com

Sydney · 09-16-2008, 04:06 PM

Ok so Ziggi is a super high energy, non stop, action packed little moster...and has a horrible problem with ALWAYS eating and drinking way too fast and then suddnely exploding and puking water or food up with no warnings whatsoever...almost like if you just ran up and squeezed him...BLAKK!

I have tried various things to help curb this issue...

-feeding 3 small meals a day-so he feels full throughout the day, and doesn't go into crazy starvation mode
-feeding in his crate, then 30 min of down time to help settle his stomach
-endless supply of water so he doesn't feel the need to drink all the water in the container

He hasn't had a real problem with food in a couple of days but water OMG get out of the way!! I am hoping this is something he will grow out of, but I am concerned that it will possibly grow into a bigger problem~like bloat

Anyone have any other ideas???

BedlamBully · 09-16-2008, 04:29 PM

http://www.handicappedpets.biz/xcart...food-bowl.html

They make special bowls that force dogs to slow down their eating YOu can probably use it for water also.

BTW Cheryl said HI!

babyshae · 09-16-2008, 04:40 PM

Go to your local Petsmart if you have one and they have a bowl there for only $6. It's called the "Slow Down" dog dish made by Top Paw. I tried the one listed in the link above(the "Brake Fast" bowl) and it did not work for my dog. Plus it's more expensive than the one at petsmart. This new one works perfectly.

NesOne · 09-16-2008, 05:22 PM

Not sure if you already do this, but I would tire him out before feeding him, get that energy level down.

MY MIKADO · 09-16-2008, 05:25 PM

Mikado did this too when he was younger he will still do this if he is stressed too the max. I try to give him just a little bit of water then wait like 20 min to 1/2 hour then I will let him have a little more usually this if enouh to curb his craze for water. As for the food you can go out find a few big stones put those in his dish he will have to work around them and cause him to slow down.

Sydney · 09-16-2008, 05:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by babyshae

Go to your local Petsmart if you have one and they have a bowl there for only $6. It's called the "Slow Down" dog dish made by Top Paw. I tried the one listed in the link above(the "Brake Fast" bowl) and it did not work for my dog. Plus it's more expensive than the one at petsmart. This new one works perfectly.

Thanks I might try to find one of these I have seen and heard of the Break-Fast Bowl but they cost more then I wanted to spend on a dog dish...I have tried putting things in his bowl that he has to eat around but that doesn't really work either...

MY MIKADO · 09-16-2008, 05:33 PM

Have you tried hand feeding him.

Sydney · 09-16-2008, 05:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BedlamBully

Eat Slow Dog Food Bowl - HandicappedPets.Com

They make special bowls that force dogs to slow down their eating YOu can probably use it for water also.

BTW Cheryl said HI!

Awesome, how did the show go??

BedlamBully · 09-16-2008, 05:48 PM

It was good. She brought Candy Girl too! (Ernie Simms dog) And she had a black dog, Hitman there it was a blast.

She got a little tipsy on Saturday night, she is one funny woman.

Sydney · 09-16-2008, 07:45 PM

How did Candi and Hitman do?

Yeah just from talking to her on the phone she seems like she would be a riot!

MIKADO-I haven't tried hand feeding, but it might be dangerous to my fingers...he gets this glazed over look in his eyes when he gets hungry~LOL! nothing stands between this boy and his meal!

But just for kicks I will give it a try tonight, I have been thinking about switching him over to raw, because at least then he has to chew (kinda), but I really like him being on the Orijen...I may just try to switch to raw for him at night and kibble in the A.M.

We will see I don't like changing methods too fast because it doesn't give me a chance to see any changes~although feeding him in his crate and then keeping him in there for some down time (like waiting to go swimming

) really seems to help...

Lisa from K9Performance Kennels also suggested I just dump the food in the bottom of his crate then he has to eat it one piece at a time...I like this idea, but since his crate is partitioned off I am afraid this may be a bit of a pain if the little pieces go under the partition--so I have yet to give it a try

bahamutt99 · 09-16-2008, 10:08 PM

What I would do is restrict the water, not allow him free access to it. A wise woman has told me that a dog needs roughly an ounce of water per pound of body weight. So if he's 20 lbs, 20 ounces of water. Even then, you can take his ration of water and mix it in with his food. This will not only help slow his eating a bit, but it will prevent him from gorging on water. If you want to give him water in his crate, do it via a water bottle, so he can't glom down a bunch at once.

You might want to restrict activity for a period of time before and after eating as well, so he doesn't get all hyped and then puke up what he ate/is going to eat. I don't feed my dogs until they're well cooled off from any exercise they may have had. They naturally sleep after their meals, but if they wanted to be crazy, I'd probably crate them for an hour afterward.

Sydney · 09-17-2008, 12:54 AM

Mikado,

I wanted to let you know I tried the hand feeding thing, and it went really well. I made him earn every last piece of kibble, and he was really into the whole thing, very focused. I was actually able to teach him "DOWN" which up until now has been a struggle because of his hyper nature...especially when food is involved. So Mr. Ziggi now "SIT"s beautifully, and he is on his way to a nice "DOWN" as well. I think this will really help him slow down, learn some patience, and gain focus.

MY MIKADO · 09-17-2008, 03:31 PM

That is great to hear.

Indica · 09-25-2008, 07:04 AM

Sorry, if I am being annoying but I can't post pictures until I have 15 posts in.

matias_pit · 10-13-2008, 01:58 PM

hy Syd, for what you describes that ziggi do after eating and drinking, what can be happening is that his esophagus is a little under developed, so is a little harder for him to swallow, try this: put his dish of water and food over something that allow him to reach the food and water without having to put his head down, something at his mouth high. If it works it might be some level of megaesophagus, is principally a defect of the development before birth that appears when pupps go into solid foods, there is many tools to use for help them to eat well, like hand feeding that usually dont take the dog´s head down, but for some dogs it can go forward into a incapacity to eat and drink, so hope it can help you in some way, possibly is just him being to electric as a puppy Pit used to, but maybe can help you. regards