my dog gulps

by the way i was wondering who runs this? as you can tell im new considering my # of posts
 
might as well tell you the type of dog i have since that might help in the explanation
i have a chow, 11 months. i use to feed it puppy science diet but i got the adult one(large) just to see if he would stop gulping. but he still gulps. so i put kibble inbetween his back teeth and closed his mouth so he could crush it so he'll know how much pressure to put and actually learn how to do it. but he doesn't chew on his own.

Hi, welcome to idog.  This site is owned and operated by dog.com, an online pet supplier.
 
Most dogs DON'T do a lot of crunching when they eat.  Some are slow, deliberate eaters, some GULP.  You can slow your dog down a bit by using a flattish metal pan to spread it around...a cookie sheet works pretty well.  You can also find some fist size rocks, wash them off and scatter THOSE around on the pan...anything that he has to eat around will slow him down.  But, you really CAN'T teach him how to chew.
 
Science Diet is a pretty poor quality food.  Read the label and you'll see that it's chock full of grains, byproducts and grain fragments.  Plus they use a preservative that has been BANNED for use in human products since it can cause various cancers.  For the money you are paying for SD you can get a TRUELY excellent product like Innova, Wellness, Eagle Pak, Canidae.  I don't believe you'll find GIANT sized kibbles in any of those either, but, if he's gonna gulp, you'd rather he gulp SMALL stuff.
 

11 months huh? He should be over trying to gulp to get as much as the rest of his birthing litter but as mentioned above dogs do chew a lot less then we think is appropriate. My girl was a big gulper so one day my boyfriend put a can in the middle of her dish and poured the food around it. She had to eat around it which slowed her down a bit, just a thought!

theoretically you should be able to teach your dog at least to slow down when gulping. first you must have a strong trust and make sure your dog is not food aggressive. one great way to do this, although it can be quite time consuming is to feed your dog from your hands and not from the bowl. this only needs to be done for about a week or two for them to get the point. do this only when they're very relaxed and you can even work in a command like "slowly," by moving your hands away from them if they start to gulp. when you start to see a change manner then you can return to the bowl. and work in a similar way with the bowl. no guarantees that this will work though.

does slowing down solve the gulping problem? i've noticed sometimes with the bigger kibble he'll take it out of the bowl and start playing with it. then TRY chewing it but he doesn't? then somtimes when hes eating out of the bowl he'll try to chew but to no success.
i put a basball in his bown a couple days ago and he only ate half of his food

Science Diet is a pretty poor quality food. Read the label and you'll see that it's chock full of grains, byproducts and grain fragments. Plus they use a preservative that has been BANNED for use in human products since it can cause various cancers. For the money you are paying for SD you can get a TRUELY excellent product like Innova, Wellness, Eagle Pak, Canidae. I don't believe you'll find GIANT sized kibbles in any of those either, but, if he's gonna gulp, you'd rather he gulp SMALL stuff.

 
dont all dog food contain preservatives. the breeder told me to feed the dog science diet so im not too experienced with food. and the vet said science diet was good.
i know my cousins dog died from cancer and it was said because of the dog food. and you said its better for him to gulp small things. isn't chewing kibble cleaning the teath?

teath?

teeth**

Some preservatives are better than others.  Some are SAFER than the ones that SD uses.
 
Actually, no, chewing kibble doesn't help clean the teeth.  Kibble contains carbs and carbs actually are thought to be the BIGGEST factor in plaque build up.  RAW bones are the best thing for cleaning the teeth.

is that like raw hide? or like the nylabones?
 
but the carbs are all together and it'll scrape the plaque that has already built up wouldn't it? also strenthens the jaw and stuff right?

Kibble cleaning the teeth is a myth.  Doesn't happen.
 
No RAW meat bones like come from a cow, pig, chicken, etc.

Horsemen often put large stones in feed troughs of horses that gulp, and it does work rather well.  I like the hand feeding idea, too, since it teaches your dog that all good things come from you, the human.  You get a little more respect as the leader that way.
I do not like SD, because it is so heavily grain-based.  I have one dog who has CKF that wouldn't eat their kidney diet, so I ended up making my own diet, and have kept her alive for three years.  She is only now becoming really frail, and she is 17.

is it like an actual raw bone? cuz i read not to give raw stuff. chicken bones splinter too, wouldn't that be bad?
on the bag of SD it says cleans teeth.
 
What does slowing their eating habits do? would that like eventually make him chew because he's taking his time?
What are other ways of showing your dog that you're the alpha and he should trust you?
What did you put in your diet? Somtimes i give my dog carrots hoping it'll clean his teeth. I give him greanies too but i heard that some dogs swollow large chunks which isn't good. so when he gets a chunk out i take the other piece away and give it to him some other time. What about milk bones? they're suppose to clean teeth but they're mostly carbs too, i think.
 
anyways... better get back to studying for my exams. thanks for all the help and opinions. show how inexperienced i am.
 
Justin

Justin, many people feed nothing BUT raw.  My dogs get raw a couple nites a week, and it's usually chicken.  COOKED bones will splinter, raw are fine.
 
Science Diet SAYS a lot of stuff that isn't true.  I would believe that it's gonna clean teeth either.
 
Slowing their eating could help prevent bloat.  I have one who inhales his food, and then a couple at the other end who eat slowly, deliberately and crunch every bite, and some in between.
 
If you want to EMAIL me, I'll be happy to send you a copy of the recipe.  This recipe was approved by a canine nutritionalist.  You don't want to just be tossing stuff in his bowl and hoping that it's ok.
 
Honestly?  The very BEST thing you can do is get your pup into classes.  I can tell you all sorts of things to do to show your dog that you are a benevolent leader, but its MUCH better to TAKE your pup to a positive reinforcement trainer.
 
You're welcome...that's what we're here for...is to help one another learn and grow.

Oh, sorry, milkbones are pretty crappy too.  The only good HARD treat I know of is Innova Health Bars...and those are the only things my dogs will touch...they like homemade liver treats better than anything tho.