Swallowing kibble whole

[Kelliwic Border Collies]

Hi all,

 

Does anyone have any ideas or experience with the long-term effects (if any) of a dog literally swallowing kibble whole?

 

One of my girls has done this for the almost five years I've had her. Her first two years were in a kennel/barn situation. There were some 10 dogs or so kept in the barn, I suppose creating the potential for a dog to feel the need to "hurry!" before the food was stolen by another dog. However, the dogs were each in their own stall/kennel. They could see the dogs across the aisle from them through the chain-link doors, but a half-wall separated them from the dog next door, so from my human perspective, I'd have thought they'd feel "safe" enough when eating not to bolt food.

 

At any rate, she eats very fast and almost never chews. Her teeth and gums are fine, so she's not avoiding chewing due to mouth pain. I've tried feeding my two dogs in separate rooms, or feeding her crated with the other dog out, and feeding her out with the other dog crated, but she still seems to feel the need to eat as fast as possible. When I come to her while she eats, she eats even faster (somehow!), but never guards the food or challenges...just tries to get it all in! She also frantically chews bones (because of this, she mostly only gets Nylabones). She works them so hard and fast she actually gets herself panting in about 10 minutes of chewing.

 

It seems to me that this twice-daily abrasion of her esophagus and upper GI can not possibly be okay in the long run. Am I right, or just worrying too much? I'd also guess it would affect how well she digests her food, though she very rarely ever has too loose or too firm stools. She is also in good general health.

 

I've been considering asking my vet for some SD TD to force her to chew, since the "kibbles" are so huge, but I understand that the TD isn't intended to be the primary diet.

 

I don't know if her food (brand/flavor/shape) makes a difference, but it doesn't seem to. She eats equally fast no matter what it is. For the primary part of the five years, she's been on the standard Iams stuff, along with a teaspoon per day of Missing Link supplement. Earlier this year I fed Eukanuba Puppy when I thought we were expecting (there's another story). I have just bought a sample bag of Wellness to try. She's been fine on the Iams, but I think on a better food she'd probably do better. The Wellness is a very oddly-shaped kibble; it's PYRAMID shaped, and (from my human perspective!) that has GOT to be a heck of a lot more rough on the throat than the UFO-shaped Iams, but it's not slowing her down.

 

Should I stop worrying and let her inhale and do it the way that comes naturally to her? Should I soak her food a little before putting it down? Should I find a 12-Step program for dogs with eating disorders?

 

BTW- on a tangent here...when I was out looking for a better brand, I compared labels of a variety of brands mentioned on another thread on these boards. Did anyone know that Paul Newman has a dog food line now? Anyone know if it's any good? And, I see that the Wellness line is made by "Old Mother Hubbard" dog food. I thought they were like, a way-cheapo junky-food manufacturer, was I wrong? Or perhaps I am thinking of another company. The product info on the label looks good, which is why I figured I'd give it a try.

 

Thanks for any comments or input!

[Zoye's Mom]

I'm not very knowledgable but maybe try hand feeding her for a few weeks. When I was searching for food for my dog on these boards, Canidae was suggested. I tried it and have had really good results. Almost immediately noticed a difference in Zoye's fur. It was very soft and slick. I'm sure others with more knowledge on this board will be able to give you some other ideas.

 

Beth

Zoye's Mom

[BigD]

My 14 month old does this. Not as bad as she used to though.

 

I see on your site that you have 2 dogs. Do you have any more dogs? Do you feed them at the same time? Are they close or in the same room eating?

 

What I found was that Marzipan was racing to finish her food - IF I fed my other dog after her. She thought she was missing something. So I started feeding them at the same time. Asking for a down stay from both dogs and releasing them at the same time.

 

I've also put their feed dishes closer together (about 10' apart now). She doesn't seem to race so much now. Before, they were fed in different rooms. I don't know why this worked when I thought the opposite would have been true.

 

We did try feeding by hand for some time - that didn't help. I did try putting a LOT of food in her dish and timing her eating. She seemed to slow down when she thought she had more food. Very odd.

 

We've found a happy distance between the dogs. It's not so much a race now. She still finishes after Buddy does...which is good - she's not inhaling it as bad.

 

I wouldn't risk it by getting bigger kibble. She may choke. Try the distance if you can...or give her all her food at once...switch things around and see if you can get to the root of her speed.

 

Denise

[Gwen]

Molly is a scarfer too. I also feed her Wellness Super 5. I'm pleased with the food and haven't had any problems with the shape of the kibble.

 

Try putting a tennis ball or something similar in the dish, they have to slow down while trying to eat around the object.

[Valhalla]

My 7 month old is a scarfer. I've tried putting the TD in with his regular kibble and he swallows those whole, too. I've also tried putting larger chunks of carrots and he will chew those, but when he finished the carrots, it's back to big mouthfuls of kibble.

 

The method I've found that works best is to feed him on a cookie sheet. That way he can't "dig in" to the food by large mouthfuls as he has to nibble them off the cookie sheet. He still doesn't chew the kibble, but at least he is slowing down his eating.

[borderbob]

out of our 4, 2 are scarfers and 2 are well lets just say they like to enjoy thier meals one bite at a time.the scarfers seem to just inhale the kibbles.no problems yet

[Rebecca, Irena Farm]

First, don't forget that normally they'd be eating the bones of dead animals and so their gi tracts are geared to handle coarse chunks. Not sharp, of course, that's why you don't feed splintery type bones like anything cooked.

 

Second, however, I'd be a little alarmed at the potential for bloat if this were my dog. Not very likely, I know, but it would still concern me. When I feed kibble I put warm water in it. What about this idea? Soak the kibble and then freeze it overnight. It might make a bit of a mess on the floor but it might help her realize that if she slows up a bit the food won't go away.

 

Of course, this is a great application for the raw diet, but I won't proselytize.

[Kelliwic Border Collies]

Thanks for the replies! Lots of interesting ideas.

 

I did try hand feeding for a little while, but it didn't change things and it was just impractical for me. I only have the two dogs. They are in a sit stay till the bowls go down and I release them to eat, so they both start at the same time.

 

I had thought of the rocks we used to use at the barn for a horse who sucked up his grain, but that forced him to take it in more slowly...I don't see how rocks (tennis balls) in her dish will actually make her chew so I didn't try that.

 

I like the cookie sheet idea, even though it doesn't make her chew, at least she's not "scooping" the food in by the mouthful. I guess this would actually have the same end result as the rock/tennis ball in food, by forcing slower intake. LOL!

 

Rebecca, good point about nature's diet of BARF. Even though the dry kibble seems as though it must be abrasive, I suppose it's nothing worse than raw broken bones. Still it's hard to be "okay" with it when I hear the noise of the kibble chunks grinding against each other as they are swallowed. Guess I'm too soft, hee!

 

If I soak her food and freeze it, do you mean I should be putting down a bowl full of frozen, pre-softened food? Like rock-hard, straight from the icebox? So it would slow her down because she'd have to chip away at it with her front teeth? I am probably being really dense here and missing the point, but this sounds to be the opposite extreme of hoovering up the food. As I've mentioned, she's an industrious chewer on the really hard Nylabone things, so I guess the frozen food challenge wouldn't make her give up.

 

I hadn't thought about bloat in a Border Collie, but I guess it can happen to any dog with risky eating habits. Raising her food up is easy to do, and maybe that would even cause her to intake fewer kibbles at a time.

 

Again, thanks to all, and I'll be interested to hear if anyone else has additional input.

 

Edit: Christine, I can't imagine a BC sized dog swallowing TD whole...yikes!

[juliepoudrier]

Not real helpful, but to be honest I've never noticed any of mine actually chewing their food carefully like a human might. Dogs' molars aren't flat for grinding like horses, humans, herbivores in general, so one wouldn't really expect them to chew the same way IMO. My dogs seem to grab bites just as they would if they were taking chunks off prey or picking up pieces of raw food. I figure it's perfectly normal. Some of mine eat way faster than others, and I do add lots of water to the kibbles (kibble soup), largely to make sure that the dogs' GI tracts don't have to pull water out of the body to process kibble (because I want them to stay well hydrated for work). So mine lap up a bunch of liquid and then scarf down the kibble. Never had any problems.

 

J.

[Rebecca, Irena Farm]

Adding water to dinner is a great way to make sure they are taking in enough fluids when on the road - especially at trials when they need it. My trainer put me on to this, believe it or not. I just started doing it any time I feed kibble.

[Rave]

Just a word of caution that all scarfers are at risk to potentially bloat. Be careful to monitor/restrict water intake and exercise before and after meals to lessen any chances of bloat. I feed my bloat dog alone and spread her food out on the floor or put it in a buster cube. I also checked the food I give her to make sure it doesn't expand too much when wet (good idea if they're not chewing too)...some kibbles are worse than others when it comes to this. It's a good idea for every dog owner to know the signs of bloat (enlarged/distended stomach, panting, drooling, pain) and what to do (walk dog like you would a colicy horse, give anti-gas meds if possible and consult vet asap)...it can happen to *any* dog.

 

-Laura (been through one bloat and hopefully that's the last!)

[workindogs]

For dogs that scarf, I add water to kibble until it's floating....it slows them down, hydrates them and softens the kibble.

 

I especially do this for all dogs when traveling/trialing to make sure they stay hydrated.

[SunDogs]

Some of my rescues have been bolters. I usually use a molecuball or some other treat dispenser type ball to slow eating. also, the cookie sheet is a good option- or even the floor of the crate if that's where she is fed.

 

However, kibble is a really unnatural way too feed so you might follow the advice of adding water to it first. A dog would naturally get a meal of 70% water if eating fresh food. Kibble is what like 10%? So watered down kibble is probably better and canned is even better than that- less grains & preservatives. Of course the best is raw, IMO, but I won't go there

 

HTH,

[juliepoudrier]

For those of you working dogs in the heat and humidity, you can replace the water you add to kibble with electrolytes as well. I do this in the summer at trials, so not only do they get plenty of liquid, they also get electrolytes. Don't know if it really helps for work later in the day, but it makes *me* feel better.

 

As Laura pointed out, it's important not to feed right after or right before work. I make sure at least two hours pass before working my dogs after feeding (I feed in the morning). That meant gettting up quite early when I was running in N/N and P/N--another good reason to move up!

 

As for amount of liquid, I too make sure it's quite soupy, with kibbles floating, even for the nonworking dogs.

 

Becca,

Another way to encourage water consumption, which I use in addition to adding water to kibble (which is an everyday thing for me), is to add something flavorful to the drinking water. A little chicken broth or flavored Gatorade type drinks can encourage dogs to drink more. I do't do this at home, but do so when at trials to encourage water consumption throughout the day. Last time I used orange-flavored Pedialyte mixed in water and had all sorts of people asking me what was wrong with my water!

 

J.

[carolync]

Here's another idea similar to the cookie sheet.. won't stop the inhaling, but will slow it down.

 

I have a toy that you stuff with kibble, I think it was called a molecube or something similar. The dog has to roll it around for the kibble to fall out. Makes for a fun game too. Somedays I'll give Hero half his kibble in the bowl, and half in the toy... helps burn off a little energy too.

[Sparty]

we generally have food in bowl all day sparty and kira just grab a bit here and there. im prpbably going to get jumped on for doing this but they are not overweight as they are so active, kira has ribs!!! honestly when we clip her in summer she looks like a rat dog!!

im posting this as when we give them canned food sparty farts horrendously!!! lol and as he is usually sleeping on his bed next to my hubby he gets kicked out of the room LOL any suggestions to avoid the HUGE increase in gas?? and i know there are a lot of advocates for raw food diet any links where i can get info on this??

[Kelliwic Border Collies]

Thanks again for all the ideas. I'm going to start with the simplest idea of soaking the food, and work my way up if neccessary. So far, I've soaked two meals, and it seems to be doing the job. The kibbles are soft (but not total mush) after about 10-15 minutes of soaking, and I make sure there's enough water in there so that they're still kinda floaty. Although she's only had two soaked meals, I think this may be our solution. She can't really scoop up huge mouthfuls of kibble with all the water in there, so she's eating more slowly (hopefully lowering the risk of bloat), plus I'm not worrying about the hard/rough edges of the kibble going down her throat.

 

I was thinking of soaking the food anyway, but I'm glad that other people suggested it too.