How to Train Your Dog to Eat Slower
How to Train Your Dog to Eat Slower
Hard difficulty iconHard
Time icon1-4 Weeks
Behavior training category iconBehavior
Introduction

You live in fear of your dog getting bloat. He's a gorgeous deep-chested German shepherd, so not only is he a classic breed to get bloat but he eats way, way too fast. 

You swear he never tastes his food and just inhales it. You put the bowl down and in an inelegant frenzy he stuffs his face into the bowl and...voila...the food is gone. 

You've tried telling him to slow down, but being a dog he just won't listen. Hand feeding works up to a point, but there simply aren't enough hours in the day to spend hand-feeding a hungry GSD. What to do? 

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Defining Tasks

Eating too quickly isn't just about bad manners,  as it also carries significant health risks.  Dogs that inhale their food also swallow down lots of air as they gulp down that dinner. Once in the stomach, the presence of air distends the stomach and greatly increases the risk of bloat (also known as gastric dilation and volvulus, GDV). 

Deep-chested breeds are especially vulnerable to complications, as their anatomy means the stomach hangs more freely and is more likely to flip over on itself. 

For many dogs, wolfing food down is a way of life. Instinctively, they see food and eat it as fast as possible so as to stop competitors getting it instead.  Often the best way to make a dog eat slower is to address any psychological pressure to eat quickly (such as competition from other dogs) and use puzzle feeders so the dog has to work to access food. 

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Getting Started

To train a dog to eat slower,  a variety of commercial slow feeders or puzzle feeders are available. However, you can also improvise a slow feeder by using objects that are commonly found around the home.  If you have some or all of the following, you will be off to a flying start. 

  • Golf balls (or small rocks, too large for the dog to swallow)
  • Muffin tins
  • Empty plastic drinks bottle and a drill for reaming out holes
  • Hollow puzzle feeder such as a Kong (TM) 
  • Puzzles feeders such as a Buster Cube (TM)
  • A commercial slow feeder bowl or tray
  • Two food bowls: A larger outer bowl and a small bowl that fits inside when upside down
  • A large towel

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The Behavioral Issues Method

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1

Understand the idea

Fair enough, some dogs are just greedy and will eat anything, anywhere, as quickly as possible before the owner can get the food (or rubbish) away from them. However, sometimes there are behavioral issues that drive the dog's greedy habits, such as pressure from other dogs or an owner that accidentally trains the dog to eat fast. This method looks at some of those pressures and how to correct them.

2

Protecting resources

Food is an essential 'resource' for dogs, as is water, a comfy bed, and the owner's attention. However, in a multi-dog household there can be competition between dogs for valuable resources such as food. It might be an underdog learns to eat quickly so there's nothing left for a more bossy dog to eat. Or, it might be a bossy dog gobbles down his dinner in order to steal his slower eating fur-friend's food. Be aware of this and take steps to prevent competition so each dog can eat at their own pace. If necessary, feed the dogs in separate rooms and only allow them to mix once both dogs have finished eating. Indeed, it's wise to have a five to ten-minute time-out after a meal, so they realize there's no point rushing their food.

3

Food insecurity

Some dogs may feel insecure about food and its availability. The classic example is the rescue dog, who in a previous home was never sure when and if he was going to be fed. This creates anxiety around mealtimes, such that when food does appear it is gobbled down before the owner changes their mind. This can be a difficult motivation to get to grips with. However, feed at regularly scheduled times and over the weeks, months, and years, the dog will learn that meals do happen regularly, and really there's no cause for concern.

4

Boredom eaters

An under-stimulated dog that doesn't get to use his brain much during the day, may eat his food quickly out of sheer relief from the tedium. Get around this one by giving the dog plenty of exercise and by using puzzle feeders (See the 'Slow Feeders' method) to provide valuable mental stimulation.

5

Avoid accidentally training the dog to eat fast

Dogs thrive on attention. To the dog, attention from the owner is a reward in itself. Thus, if you have a fast eating dog and you chastise him, telling him to eat more slowly, this can backfire. Rather than realize you are displeased by his poor table manners, he's going to be pleased by the extra attention and try to eat even faster. The way around this one is to ignore the rapid eating and use slow feeders.

The Slow Feeders Method

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Understand the idea

Other than hand feed the dog, it is difficult to control the rate at which he eats. However, you can use tactics or feeders which make it physically impossible to eat quickly, either because of he has to physically retrieve the food bit by bit or because he has to problem solve ahead of eating. Here are just a few suggestions for how to do this.

2

Scatter kibble on the ground

Instead of putting his kibble in a bowl, scatter it over the ground. You could even scatter it over grass in the yard if you want to make it even more tricky. This makes the dog use his nose to sniff out the food, one biscuit at a time, making it impossible to eat fast. If you don't fancy putting his food on the ground, you can achieve a similar result by spreading food over a large baking sheet or tray.

3

Put food inside a towel

A highly effective variation on scattering food on the floor, is to scatter some kibble on a towel, which you then fold over. Again the dog has to sniff out the kibble and puzzle out how to retrieve it from the towel.

4

Muffin tins

Distribute his dinner equally between the pans of a large muffin tin. This means he has to come up for air before moving onto the next pan.

5

Place a large object in his dinner bowl

Another neat trick is to use a large food bowl, and place a large heavy object at the center. This forces the dog to eat around the edge, which slows up his eating. For small dogs, placing two or three golf bowls in the feeder works well. For larger dogs, either use a rock (make sure it is washed and clean) or upturn a smaller bowl to make an island at the center. Just be certain that whatever object you place in the bowl is too large for the dog to eat and swallow, as this would be dangerous. Alternatively, you can purchase commercially made slow feeders, which work on much the same idea.

6

Puzzle feeders

These require the dog to solve a problem in order to get to the food. You can make a simple version by drilling holes in a clean plastic drink bottle and put the dog's kibble inside. He then has to bat the bottle around to get the biscuits to drop out. Alternatively, there are a wide range of commercial puzzle feeders ranging from treat balls (kibble falls out when the dog bats the balls around the room) or hollow feeding toys, of which the Kong is the best known. Simply stuff the hollow feeder with wet food, and the dog then has to lick it out.

The Teach Self-Control Method

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Understand the idea

Does your dog almost snatch the bowl out of your hand as you place it on the floor? When the dog is so eager that mealtimes become a race against time, it's important to teach the dog some self-control (which also doubles up as good manners). A good starting point is to have the dog wait for your signal before he starts eating. While this may not slow up his consumption from the bowl, it does enable you to set up a slow feeder on the floor or else train the dog to wait to be hand fed.

2

Establish a 'sit'

Take the dog's food bowl over to the designated dinner spot. As the dog tags along at your heels, have him sit before you even move to put the bowl on the floor. No sit: no dinner. He may fool around for a little while, running in circles around your ankles, but eventually he will sit, if only to figure out how best to get your attention. As soon as his butt hits the ground, say "Good" and go to put the food down.

3

No sit, no food

If at any stage the dog gets up while you are putting the bowl down, say "Uh-oh" and take the bowl up again. Insist he sits and waits nicely while you put the bowl on the floor.

4

Have the dog 'wait'

With the bowl on the floor and the dog still sitting, hold up a finger to him in a 'wait' gesture. You want to be able to straighten up and back away from the bowl before the dog starts eating. To do this, start by staying within reach of the bowl, and if the dog moves before he's allowed, say "Uh-oh" and pick the bowl up. Start over with the 'sit'. The dog will quickly learn that if he breaks the sit, it takes longer to get his meal.

5

Step away from the bowl

Once the dog is sitting and waiting for the release command that gives him permission to eat, you can start stepping away from the bowl. Keep the 'wait' hand signal in place, and drop your arm when it's OK for the dog to start eating. This is a useful way of teaching some self-control around mealtimes.

Written by Pippa Elliott

Veterinary reviewed by:

Published: 12/20/2017, edited: 01/08/2021

Training Questions and Answers

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Čita
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Yorkshire Terrier
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3 Years
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Question
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My dog eats fast and swallows big bites and she is very easy to train. And she doesn't eat dog food she only eats chicken, two tipes of treats and other food that is for people.

Nov. 2, 2020

Čita's Owner

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Caitlin Crittenden - Dog Trainer

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1128 Dog owners recommended

Hello Beatrise, I recommend purchasing a large shallow cake pan type bowl for the chicken. Place several rubber balls that are easy to clean and too big for her to hold in her mouth, in the bowl covering 2/3 of the food dish - so that she has to push the balls around in the bowl to get the chicken under the balls. I also recommend mixing the chicken with kibble in a baggie, to flavor the kibble like the chicken, and feeding her that food...then slowly increase the amount of kibble and decrease the amount of chicken over the course of a month. Do not give her any other treats or human food besides the chicken and kibble - which can also be used as treats when you want to give her something, so that her only option for food is the chicken/kibble mixture. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Nov. 3, 2020

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Alfie
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Kelpie
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9 Months
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Have two dogs, both are gulpers. Treats, snacks, meal times. It's all the same. I've tried scattering it, they sit and wait until I say ok, Alfie has a puzzle feeder that he destroyed one dinner time because he couldn't get his food..... I may try the muffin tins, but I don't know what else to do. Alfie is also very very destructive. He destroyed the previously mentioned bowl, a door mat, pulled out herbs. this happens whenever he is left alone, even for 5 minutes He also loves to dig. We play fetch 4 times a day with walks becoming more regular and teaching him agility, but we are thinking of surrendering him as my parents have said he should be given a chance on a farm. Red is a failed herded but Alfie hasn't had that chance. I am at a loss of if I should keep trying to train him or give him to a farmer Please help

Oct. 5, 2020

Alfie's Owner

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Caitlin Crittenden - Dog Trainer

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1128 Dog owners recommended

Hello Madeline, First, know that you are in the height of doggie teenage-hood, which is often one of the hardest ages behaviorally, especially with destructiveness and hyper-activity. Age can be a factor here. Second, I would try the metal tins. You can also use a large metal or glass dish, put the food on the bottom and cover most of the way with tennis balls pup has to push out of the way or pull out of the dish, to slow them down. Check out the article linked below on chewing. I would implement several things found in that article - confine pup while away and at night - like the crate option. Work on commands like Out and Leave It - instructions in the article. Use a deterrent spray on objects pup is chewing over and over again. Destructive chewing can increase again between 6-10 months because pups jaws develop then, even after teeth have come in. I generally recommend people crate train until at least 18 months since most dogs are chewers until then naturally. Some mature sooner and are ready for more freedom at 1 year, but you often see the pay-off from confinement, supervision, and training after 1 year in that area. The main goal is for the chewing not to become a long time habit, but something pup grows out of because their has been enough training and supervision to interrupt it when it does happen. Chewing article: https://www.petful.com/behaviors/train-dog-not-to-chew/ Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Oct. 6, 2020

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Bruno
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Pit bull
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2 Months
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The thing is he eats to fast and chokes on his food and if tried a few tings but nothing works its like he is scared he wont get more food and also he bites alot when he plays and its not a playing bit he gets angry quik what do i do about both those things

June 17, 2020

Bruno's Owner

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Caitlin Crittenden - Dog Trainer

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1128 Dog owners recommended

Hello Marico, First, make sure he is being fed the correct amount. Many puppies eat a lot more than you would think because their metabolisms are so much faster than an adult dog. Check with your dog food manufacturer and vet to find out how much pup needs at this age - usually it is based on expected adult size, but can vary as each pup is a bit different. Second, check out the PDF e-book, AFTER You Get Your Puppy, and try using pup's kibble as stuffing for chew toys like kongs and as treats during socialization and daily training. You can also look into devices like Kong wobble that make your pup work to get the food out so slow down the feeding process - plus those things keep pup stimulated mentally and can help prevent bad habits like barking and destructive chewing. As far as the biting, work on desensitizing pup to handling. Use pup's daily kibble for this (another way to slow down eating also). 1-2 times a day, feed pup their kibble this way. Gently touch an area of pup's body and give a treat. Touch and ear - give a treat. Tail - give a treat. Paw - give a treat. Collar - give a treat. Practice this with every area of pup's body to train pup to be tolerant of touch. Be careful not to handle pup too roughly, discipline with hands too harshly, or remove objects without trading it for a dog toy or practicing the "Drop it" command proactively. Doing those things with a pup can cause more biting. If you can find a free puppy play date class attend one of those with him so that he can learn how to control the pressure of his bite by playing with other puppies. Petco and some other pet stores with training offer free puppy play classes if you call and ask for the schedule. If you have any friends with puppies under 6 months of age, set up play dates with those puppies too. Moderate the puppies' play and whenever one pup seems overwhelmed or they are all getting too excited, interrupt their play, let everyone calm down, then let the most timid pup go first to see if they still want to play - if they do, then you can let the other puppies go too when they are waiting for permission. Also, check out the article linked below. Starting today, use the "Yelp" method. At the same time however, begin teaching "Leave It" from the "Leave It" method. As soon as pup is good as the Leave It game, start telling pup to "Leave It" when he attempts to bite or is tempted to bite. Reward pup if he makes a good choice. If he disobeys your leave it command, use the Pressure method to gently discipline pup for biting when you told him not to. The order or all of this is very important - the yelp method can be used for the next couple of weeks while pup is learning leave it, but leave it will teach pup to stop the biting entirely. The pressure method teaches pup that you mean what you say without being overly harsh - but because you have taught pup to leave it first, pup clearly understands that you are not just roughhousing (which is what pup probably thinks most of the time right now), so it is more effective. https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-shih-tzu-puppy-to-not-bite When pup gets especially wound up, he probably needs a nap too. At this age puppies will sometimes get really hyper when they are overtired or haven't had any mental stimulation through something like training. When you spot that and think pup could be tired, place pup in their crate or an exercise pen with a food stuffed Kong for a bit to help him calm down and rest. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

June 17, 2020


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