Doesn't chew his food.

[ZeusCsmommy]

So I feel like zeus just swallows his food..The reason I feel like he doesn't chew it its because he will sometimes start coughing and spit back out his food whole. Is there anything I can do to change this... ??

 

[KMARINO]

If he is inhaling you can always use a slow feeder bowl (google it) Vegas is 4 and I dont think he has ever "chewed" his food and he's fine. What flys out of the bowl the cat is right there to clean and eat it up.

 

[Davidh]

Mine don't chew much of it either, they just swallow it whole. I know this because they have thrown up hours later and the kibble is still whole.

 

[2BullyMama]

Banks is like this too.... some here use slow feed bowls or a slow feed ball that you place in the bowl with their food. I add water to banks' kibble... she then has to lap the food instead of glupping it all at once.

 

[ZeusCsmommy]

Banks is like this too.... some here use slow feed bowls or a slow feed ball that you place in the bowl with their food. I add water to banks' kibble... she then has to lap the food instead of glupping it all at once.

I was thinking of putting something to soften it.

 

[2BullyMama]

I was thinking of putting something to soften it.

experiment and see what works for him... try soften.. if that does not work try one of the other options

 

[ZeusCsmommy]

Hopefully I can find a slow feeder bowl that fits in his stand.

 

[RazrRila99]

Colossus doesnt know what chewing is. He has to chew his crunchy fruitable treats, but his food and ham slices (used to camouflage benedryl) he doesnt chew. I will hear him "gagging," he then takes a break and then right back at it. Poor guy, doesnt even get to taste it. However, I put some plain yogurt in it yesterday and that slowed him down some. Then when hes REALLY good Ill put a tablespoon of canned food with his beef frittata and that takes him a while to eat.

 

[linwhite]

It's important to slow him down. Eating fast could cause bloat which can kill a dog (I think there's a thread about it in the Health section). find a slow feeder something or moisten the food as suggested.

 

[anatess]

Dogs do not need to chew if the food is small enough to go down its throat.

Dogs are different than people in this way:
1.) Dog teeth is not designed to grind food. It is designed to rip and tear flesh and crunch bone. This design functions simply to make the food fit in a dog's throat, nothing more. The saliva in the dog's mouth functions to soften the food, make it slippery, and start the breakdown.
2.) A dog's digestive system is acidic. This design functions to break chunks of food down fast.
3.) A dog has a highly sensitive regurge instinct. A dog decides if something is food or not food by smell. He swallows it and the digestive tract rejects it if it can't process it by regurgitation. This is also true for food that went down the throat but is too much to fit through the digestive tract all at once. A dog can even regurge something that has already reached its stomach by contracting the stomach and hacking the thing up. Perfectly normal. Other food that the digestive tract can't process but small enough to pass through the short intestinal tract just goes right on through and gets excreted.

So, a dog eating kibble doesn't need to chew it as it is small enough to go down the throat. The chewing action goes purely by instinct and not necessity.

What you do need to worry about is a dog taking in too much air while he eats. This is why we need to slow down the dog who eats too fast that it gulps in air with its kibble. This leads to bloat and other issues.

 

[ZeusCsmommy]

Thanks everyone I will add yogurt to his food to slow him down and I will look for the slow feeder bowl...

 

[ajwhitt44]

Dogs do not need to chew if the food is small enough to go down its throat.

Dogs are different than people in this way:
1.) Dog teeth is not designed to grind food. It is designed to rip and tear flesh and crunch bone. This design functions simply to make the food fit in a dog's throat, nothing more. The saliva in the dog's mouth functions to soften the food, make it slippery, and start the breakdown.
2.) A dog's digestive system is acidic. This design functions to break chunks of food down fast.
3.) A dog has a highly sensitive regurge instinct. A dog decides if something is food or not food by smell. He swallows it and the digestive tract rejects it if it can't process it by regurgitation. This is also true for food that went down the throat but is too much to fit through the digestive tract all at once. A dog can even regurge something that has already reached its stomach by contracting the stomach and hacking the thing up. Perfectly normal. Other food that the digestive tract can't process but small enough to pass through the short intestinal tract just goes right on through and gets excreted.

So, a dog eating kibble doesn't need to chew it as it is small enough to go down the throat. The chewing action goes purely by instinct and not necessity.

What you do need to worry about is a dog taking in too much air while he eats. This is why we need to slow down the dog who eats too fast that it gulps in air with its kibble. This leads to bloat and other issues.

This needs to be a sticky, SOMEWHERE!!

 

[RazrRila99]

Dogs do not need to chew if the food is small enough to go down its throat.

Dogs are different than people in this way:
1.) Dog teeth is not designed to grind food. It is designed to rip and tear flesh and crunch bone. This design functions simply to make the food fit in a dog's throat, nothing more. The saliva in the dog's mouth functions to soften the food, make it slippery, and start the breakdown.
2.) A dog's digestive system is acidic. This design functions to break chunks of food down fast.
3.) A dog has a highly sensitive regurge instinct. A dog decides if something is food or not food by smell. He swallows it and the digestive tract rejects it if it can't process it by regurgitation. This is also true for food that went down the throat but is too much to fit through the digestive tract all at once. A dog can even regurge something that has already reached its stomach by contracting the stomach and hacking the thing up. Perfectly normal. Other food that the digestive tract can't process but small enough to pass through the short intestinal tract just goes right on through and gets excreted.

So, a dog eating kibble doesn't need to chew it as it is small enough to go down the throat. The chewing action goes purely by instinct and not necessity.

What you do need to worry about is a dog taking in too much air while he eats. This is why we need to slow down the dog who eats too fast that it gulps in air with its kibble. This leads to bloat and other issues.

I agree with [MENTION=4822]ajwhitt44[/MENTION] - this post NEEDS to be stickied. I encountered this with Colossus just yesterday. He hacked up part of both breakfast AND dinner, but then right back to it and tried to gobble it back up.

 

[KaidasMom]

We got a slow feed ball from amazon for Kaida, who also doesn't chew - but we noticed in the very beginning of having her that she ate superfast like someone was going to take her food! We even spread her feedings out. She got bloat (a super scary ordeal that I had posted about in the past) that they thought was an obstruction, went in for exploratory surgery and found her stomach had torqued and needed emptying and essentially untwisting -

After this ordeal, we continue with the slow feed ball, 3 meals per day and now also soften with water. My poor girl went through so much in her first year...she was spayed, had the surgery due to bloat a month later, then I think a month or so after that - she had developed an ulcer on her eye from ingrown eyelashes scratching it - and had surgery to remove the eyelashes growing down through her lid by an eye specialist. Distichia? I can't remember the name of it.

Anyhow - we use a few methods to slow Kaida down. She's still a bit of a speed demon with her food -

 

[ZeusCsmommy]

Thanks I will check them out