Eating too Fast?

Bulldogs love to eat and can eat extremely fast.  Eating too quickly is not ideal and can cause aspiration pneumonia. That’s when the dog inhales a piece of food or a food particle into the lungs.

So the question is… how do I slow down my bulldog from eating too quickly?

First, you want to make sure that your bulldog is eating at the correct height. This isn’t a huge issue with bulldogs because they are pretty low to the ground. You can elevate food and water bowls if you feel that they will eat more comfortably. They should be eating from stainless steel or ceramic (I will blog about that next month). 

Secondly, you can find a maze bowl or slow-feeding bowl.  The purpose of these is to slow the eating process by spreading out their food. Unfortunately, depending on the personality of your bulldog they will sometimes get frustrated and flip the bowl on purpose to eat faster.  This is where the raised eating area comes in handy.  The raised framed should fit your bowls tight enough to discourage your bulldog from being able to move or flip their dishes. 

If you are looking for a quick solution without having to buy a special food dish or possibly the maze bowls don’t fit in your raised frame I have the answer for you!  A large rock (I do mean LARGE) in your bulldog’s food dish will do the trick of slowing their eating.  Pushing around the rock to get to their food will make the eating process take longer. 

Lastly, make sure that you are feeding your bulldog the correct amount of food and that they aren’t eating quickly simply because they are being underfed… not a huge problem in the bulldog world but something to think about.