[Barry]

not sure this is in the right place, but i have abit of a problem.

my dog goes INSANE over food. He's well behaved for a six month old but as soon as i bring out food,all training and obedience goes out the window. ill tell him to sit and wait,and he will..until the food is eye level. I'm bringing it up now because tonight he got a bowl full and he got so excited,he jumped and knocked the bowl. it hit my lower lip and busted my lip. Now i'm really concerned...

Is there anything i can do? i tried putting the food out without him knowing,and then calling him to eat, but then he ate so fast he choked! i had to pull dog food out of his mouth..it was a scary moment. Then i tried putting down an empty bowl and having his calm down,and THEN adding food- same thing, he ate so fast he choked. I really don't want to hit him or anything-i don't believe hitting would help anyway.. i watched dog whisperer stuff but it doesn't work on him. I'm usually very dominant around him, but he gets so excited and uncontrollable that i get nervous... and even when i try to be assertive, his behavior doesn't change at all! He has even bitten my hand once..he jumped and tried to get the bowl,and grabbed my hand instead- no blood but it scared me a little..

I can't let him eat alone because he'll eat too fast and choke. i know if he ever got into his dog food bag, he'd NEVER stop eating. he'd eat himself to death! Please help! and share you experiences with this problem too.

 

[SilverMarble]

I personally use "brake-fast" bowls, that are designed to make the dog eat slower. A cheaper alternative to this is placing a large rock in the center of the bowl to make the dog eat around it to slow eating. I had to do this with my lab/pit bull mix due to a bloat scare we had...not fun.

You can find a similar bowl online, like these

ProSelect Plastic Slow Feeder Dog Bowls | PetEdge.com

Good luck!

Edit- one thing I also forgot to mention is that you can try feeding him via interactive toys like kongs or buster cubes. Provides a lot of mental excersize and makes it impossible for the dog to eat overly fast.

 

[ames]

I am sure others will chime in about food agression, I do not have experience with that, my boy could care less about food. As for the Dog Whisper, he sucks and to be is the one who should not be named, lol.

One thing I have heard is feed him kibble by kibble sitting in front of him. Every meal you literally sit and feed him kibble by kibble to get him to realize the food is from you, not to think you are trying to take it.

Once you get that under control, You can put things in his bowl that make him have to slow down to get to the kibbles.

Here are 2 examples of a bowl for fast eaters, they have to work to get around and cant just suck it up. They also have some in my local Unleashed, but not these ones.

Platinum Pets Slow Eating Stainless Steel NON Tip Dog Bowl Color: Sapphire Blue

Eat Slow Bowl - 10.7 Diameter Holds Up to 6 Cups Food

 

[9361]

It doesn't sound like food aggression. It just sounds like "omg, omg, omg food, my favorite, my favorite!" I would definitely try putting a rock in his bowl, or buying one of the bowls form the link. Also, when you feed him I'd put him on a leash and a corrective collar such as a prong collar if you have one. I would have the food bowl already filled and on the floor. I'd make him sit and wait until he can eat. If he breaks his stay I'd make him wait longer and give him a pop with the prong collar. If you don't have a prong or don't want to use one, a regular collar should do ok for this too. Just a quick pop and say "WAIT" his reward will be getting to eat. Each time make him wait a lil longer. Until finally he can do it off leash and then always make him wait before his meals.

 

[performanceknls]

All my dogs eat like that! lol for that reason I would feed him in a crate so he knows when it is food time to run to the crate and wait for his food. I would start by getting his food and throwing it in the crate and letting him bolt in. Pretty soon he will learn to run to his crate to eat and stop jumping on you. Yes I said throw his food in! I do not use bowls for a few reasons, one I have over 22 dogs at any give time and doing food bowls takes too long, but the main reason is it keeps them from choking and eating too fast. I just get the food scoop and chuck it on the crate floor and the dog has to pick up each kibble one at a time and can't choke. I have tried food bowls that are meant to slow them down and my dogs just throw them around. Food cubes my dogs just chew up, lol. It's what works with my kennel from trial and error.

 

[Sadie]

I thought I was the only one who deprived my dogs from food bowls LOL. I keep a measuring cup in the bag of dog food because I measure their food out and then I pour it directly on the floor of their crates they jump right in and eat away LOL.... I have these huge tin bowls that I use for water I let them drink first then once they are done with water I pour their food in the crates and they eat. I never use bowls for food all they do is knock them over anyway LOL

 

[Celestial88]

Dakota eats really fast... So I ended up putting his dog food in a muffin tin, it helped a lot. And Alice gets a cup inside her dog bowl.
My other two have no problems.
I'd try different things and find out what works for your dog.

 

[Barry]

Yes,it's not so much aggression as it is what shes got heart said. I'm going to try to rock in the bowl this morning,and a muffin tin tonight. I'll let you know how it goes! I'll also do the leash too. even though he hates him leash and will probably avoid me for the rest of the day,LOL.

and performanceknls, i tried feeding him without the bowl but last time i did that,he grabbed the bag with his teeth,ripped it and all the food feel out.i was cleaning for HOURS.he,on the other hand,was very pleased.

Thank you everyone for your tips!! I'll keep you updated on how it goes!

update!
The rock made him very angry and he barked at it for a while..but eventually,he gave into his food addiction and ate around the rock. very slowly at first, but i was very pleased with the steady speed he reached. he did very good on the leash. he tried to fight to get to food at first,but soon he sat and waited. ill try muffin tins tonight as well.

 

[Loke-a-doke]

oh gosh...I can just imagine cleaning up a bag of dog food off the floor! Haha glad to hear he's doing better though!
Loki has always been the gentlest eater somehow. lol he's not gentle with anything else in his life but he'll eat just one or 2 kibble at a time out of his bowl every time.

 

[Barry]

we have a poodle that will carefully pick through his food to find certain pieces he likes...drives me nuts for some reason. and then Barry will go in behind him and eat the leftovers.

 

[9361]

lol Yeah I highly suggest getting the food ready first and keeping him behind closed doors til it is ready to be eatin.

 

[performanceknls]

How did he get a bag of dog food to rip up? He should be in a crate already before you feed. Then get the food scoop and toss the food in the crate that way he is not all over the place. If not hope the rock works for you but it sounds like you need to teach him some manners around food. There could be a medical issue too, is he thin? How much are you feeding a day and how many times?

 

[PerfectPit]

He needs to learn food manners. I would teach him NILIF. read about it at Pit Bull Rescue Central. You can hand feed him or put it in one of those interactive toys where he has to work for it, while he rolls it around the food pops out.

 

[ddwelch]

oh gosh...I can just imagine cleaning up a bag of dog food off the floor! Haha glad to hear he's doing better though!
Loki has always been the gentlest eater somehow. lol he's not gentle with anything else in his life but he'll eat just one or 2 kibble at a time out of his bowl every time.

I left my pups inside while i went for a quick errand. Took a little longer than expected, and they had a hole on each end with a path around the house where they drug it.

 

[American_Pit13]

All my dogs eat like that! lol for that reason I would feed him in a crate so he knows when it is food time to run to the crate and wait for his food. I would start by getting his food and throwing it in the crate and letting him bolt in. Pretty soon he will learn to run to his crate to eat and stop jumping on you. Yes I said throw his food in! I do not use bowls for a few reasons, one I have over 22 dogs at any give time and doing food bowls takes too long, but the main reason is it keeps them from choking and eating too fast. I just get the food scoop and chuck it on the crate floor and the dog has to pick up each kibble one at a time and can't choke. I have tried food bowls that are meant to slow them down and my dogs just throw them around. Food cubes my dogs just chew up, lol. It's what works with my kennel from trial and error.

:goodpost: I have been at Performances house and have seen this work very well and just like she said they have to take the time to pick it all up.

I thought I was the only one who deprived my dogs from food bowls LOL.

Lol Lisa laughed at me when I brought out all my food bowls for my dogs.:rofl: