Eats food, still intact
 

Please help. Pikko is 14.5 weeks old. He has a regular diet and normal stool. However, I notice when he eats, he practically inhales it! Not only that, I hear him chew the first couple of kibbles (Purina Puppy Chow), and then he stuffs his face into his bowl and swallows the rest!!!

I asked my breeder about this. She says it might be better to free feed him. Once he's full, he'll leave the rest of the food alone until he's ready to eat again. This might give him more incentive to chew his food so he doesn't act like a starving wolf...

What do you guys think? Is there another reason this is happening? Do you have any alternative solutions?

Put a golf ball in the food bowl. It will make him slow down and as he eats around it

You could try hand feeding him one by one, I did that with mine, and I said, slow, slow, chew, chew, and eventually she got it.. She stills sometimes go to inhale, and then I remind her, slow, chew, it does work… I think this is an habit, she has free kibble all day long (our other dog was used to free feeding and I didn’t want to change her habits) and I home cook for her, so, during the day she will only steal a couple pieces of kibble to play with

Interesting! I will try that tonight for his dinner! Thank you!

My Lady is like that and she is twelve! She vacuums food instead of chewing it. I just bought her come Vitality chicken breast chips and twice she has tried to swallow them whole and they have gotten stuck in her throat! I've had to reach my finger in and pull it out.

No more of those....

Another trick that I have used for years with Lady is putting her kibble in a Buster Cube. It's such a fun game for them because it plays on their prey instinct and it forces them to push and chase the cube around. They only get one kibble at a time so it really slows them down.

I actually tried feeding him kibble one-by-one. He would swallow it while looking at me! What a little devil! Hahaha. I think I'll try that again to see what he does. I'll update you. Thanks!

Oh, what a great idea! Never thought of using his kibble as a fun way to "treat" them, all the while feeding him. Thanks for the advice!

I free feed mine, they usually just eat a little at a time. It's funny someone said about the golf ball, our golden retriever will go and get her ball sometimes and put it in her food bowl and eat around it. Maybe he's not filling up on the purina puppy chow(there are a lot better puppy foods out there), but, if you decide to switch his food, start mixing it, start out with a little bit of the new, and everyday add a little more of the new and less of the old

Where can you buy a Buster Cube?

I'm going to see the vet on Thursday (Jan. 17) and am going to ask him what food to switch to. I might ask the vet if free feeding is good for Pikko at this age. What age did you start free feeding? From Day 1?

I tried feeding kibble one-by-one again. No luck. He swallows it one-by-one. I tried the golf ball. He just pushes it out/picks it up and vaccuums his food down. He is a smart puppy. Anything to get to his food!

So, I'm going to ask the vet about free feeding on Thursday. Although I'm nervous about it (because Pikko's barfed twice last week), I am going to see what the vet says.

The best way to feed Pikko seems to be by feeding him five kibbles at a time until he's done his meal. It seems like if I give it all to him at one time, he'll inhale everything and then throw up from eating too fast and not chewing. I guess that's my main concern about free feeding. I guess I'll wait till I see the vet.

One of my labs used to inhale her food like that and then throw up from eating it to fast. She acted like a crazed starved freak. LOL It was when she was just a wee pup and I thought maybe it was because she was used to being fed along with her litter mates and in eating as fast as possible to make sure she got enough food. We simply dealt with it and she learned that she could take her time and there would still be food in her bowl. I don't know if giving just a few kibble at a time will help matters, I would think he is still going to worry that the next five kibble won't be coming so hurry hurry.

I free feed my little dogs and they do really well with it. I honestly think considering all you have tried that would be your best option too. As far as asking your vet about it first, if that is what makes you feel comfortable why not just give them a quick call and ask over the phone if it is ok? And do yourself a favor and research dog foods on your own and decide what you feel is best for your dog. Nothing against your vet in particular but many of them recommend whatever pet food they get kickbacks from, unfortunately it isn't usually the best choice.

I'm pretty sure both Petsmart and Petco carry them as well as most online stores.

http://www.bustercube.com/

Another fun treat dispensing toy is the Twist and Treat. I put cut up frozen green beans in that for Lady:

http://www.busybuddytoys.com/moreinfo.cfm?Product_ID=2

I agree with the Free Feed - Also, Purina is not a very good food :(

Can you go to a small pet food store (not any chain store or supermarkets)? I don't know what brands are available in Canada, but try to stay away from foods that contain: By-products (in any form of written text) and Corn (in any form of written text).

Some good brands that come to mind:
Canadie
Wellness
Merrick
Natural Balance
Soild Gold