{the dog blog of Outside magazine}
Slow Food Movement
by Grayson Schaffer | on October 5th, 2009 | in Features, Training

Many common dog bowls can be used upside down to prevent wolfing

Many common dog bowls can be used upside down to prevent wolfing

Wolf–verb (used with object)

9. to devour voraciously (often fol. by down): He wolfed his food.

What your dog eats is important, yes, but so is the way he eats. Scarfing down a day’s worth of food in 30 seconds can lead to digestive problems, bloat, or even a deadly condition called gastric torsion. Here are some tips on how to feed your dog, regardless of what you feed.

  1. Feed your dog twice a day. I’d often heard that since dogs are carnivores and thus evolutionarily adapted to go for long stretches between meals, you can feed them once a day. Then Sue reminded me that dogs aren’t carnivores, they’re scavengers—and in the case of Danger, panivores. One larger meal a day will work, but two will lead to better digestion, less bloat, and less hunger-related anxiety around the house. Remember to subtract the calories of any treats or scraps you give your dog from his food bowl.
  2. Get a bowl that forces your dog to slow down. You can buy bowls that have posts in them, or if you have a bowl with a hollow rim (pictured) just turn it over and feed from the edge.
  3. Give your dog a quiet area to eat. If Cooper approaches while Danger is eating, Danger aggressively inhales his food as a defense.
  4. Have your dog offer a behavior, like a sit, before you set the food down. If you can manage, also require him to sit still until you release him to eat. (A dog that knows to release by name will learn other name-related tasks easier, too.)

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5 Responses to “Slow Food Movement”

  1. Lynn Mirassou says:
    November 3, 2009 at 1:07 PM

    Hi Grayson,
    I was just reading your Slow Food Blog and was astounded to see you referring to someone named Sue, who said that “dogs are not carnivores”. It’s sad to see such misinformation in print.
    Dogs are carnivores, as are cats. This debate should now end as the Smithsonian has recently confirmed what researchers have known for many years. In short, same DNA as wolves. You can simply look it up.
    It’s bad enough that we feed them all sorts of grains and crap that comes dried in a bag, when what they need is proper nutrition for a carnivore: meat and bones. Really, if you had a horse, or cow, would you feed it meat?
    Please tell Sue to do some research!

    • Jack says:
      March 8, 2010 at 9:20 PM

      Dogs (including wolves) in the wild naturally eat meat AND vegetable materials. They are NOT carnivores, they are omnivores. Where did you do YOUR research?

  2. Slow Food Redux: What To Feed – OutsideK9 says:
    November 10, 2009 at 5:56 AM

    [...] few weeks ago, Grayson posted some tips on how to prevent your dog from wolfing down his food. That post drew a criticism for referring to [...]

  3. Alison says:
    December 15, 2009 at 12:36 PM

    Hey Grayson,

    Do you have suggestions of brands/styles of bowls with posts? I looked around and saw several styles, most had several small posts in the middle. But, to me, most looked like you could bump your nose on the posts pretty hard (or is that the point?) especially if you were the type of dog to lunge at your food…

    The overturned style seemed ideal to me, as it’s just the one big round “post” in the center, so maybe I would just buy one that works well when turned over. But if you have some more specific suggestions for the ones with built-in posts that would be super helpful!

    Thanks!

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