Gulping

Question
My Italian Greyhound is very much a pig dog and loves his food. We feed him twice a day, but he seems to gulp his food and eats it very fast without chewing. We have tried big dog food mixed with his regular food, but he swallows that to, even 2 or 3 big pieces at a time. He does not have any stomach or choking problems, but this lets tarter build up on his teeth. We have even tried Greenies or things they are supposed to chew on for days, but he eats those in less than an hour. Even when we tried feeding him more frequently, he still gulped. We have also tried giving him his food piece by piece, but he swallows it whole to. Is there anything we can do to keep him from gulping and to make him chew his food?

Answer
Hi Jennifer,

Thank you for writing to me about your Italian Greyhound.   It can be very dangerous for a barrel chested dog to gulp his food.  It can trigger a condition known as bloat and once that happens the time frame for saving his life is very limited.  So let's see about prevention!

The first thing I would recommend is a an exam by your vet along with a full blood workup.  It's very important to rule out any medical conditions.

You might try switching his brand of food to a high quality human grade brand like Orijen 6 Fish or Solid Gold Fish and Potato.  The higher the quality of food the less chance that he might be missing essential nutrients.  Additionally, add into every meal some Prozyme (B-J Wholesale Pet Supply) and fiber in the form of sweet potato or pumpkin (no spice).  If your dog is missing essential nutrients, he will feel like he is starving.  Be sure to include a high quality vitamin/mineral in his food on a daily basis.  This is very important.

You can try putting some large stones into his food bowl to slow down his eating speed.  There are some companies that sell food bowls that have bumps in them to simulate rocks and will also slow down gulpers.

Best of luck,

Shelley Davis