Training dogs to eat slowly requires a lot of patience on your part as well as theirs. Their instincts tell them they need to gobble their food up in three bites or less, but their tiny puppy tummies can't handle it. If a dog eats too fast, they will vomit. No one likes that.
Unfortunately, that typically means training with a slow feeder, and one German Shepherd puppy is learning that the hard way. On Friday, July 26th, her mom posted a video of her totally gaming the system:
Hilo and Kuna , Ally's first pups, have passed on, but I can't help but feel like they'd just love Honey. Hopefully she continues on these little inconveniences for her mom on their behalf!
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Honey is 3 months old, and she's a German Shepherd service dog in training. She's actually the product of a long series on her mom's TikTok account; she needed a new service dog after Hilo, her Malinois, passed away. She spent a long time researching not only ethical breeders, but breeders who bred specifically with service dogs in mind. She finally settled on one and flew to pick her up after months of preparation, and now, Honey is home.
The journey hasn't been easy; even though she's the sweetest, Honey is still a puppy, and setting a dog up for success as a future service dog is much more complex than training them to be generally good dogs. Even so, she's done great with so many things... except her slow feeder. She doesn't really understand it, so Ally has been spoon-feeding her from it. She's still interacting with the feeder, and she'll get there eventually, but she's meeting her where she's at!
Are Slow Feeders Actually Good for Dogs?
Some people, for some reason, are blessed with dogs who don't eat like it's a professional hotdog eating contest. They eat like normal dogs. What's that like?
Dogs aren't supposed to be super slow eaters. Their goal is not to taste and savor the food: their goal is to finish it. No matter what, dogs will typically eat faster than humans would. However, some dogs take that to the extreme, and they eat so quickly they get sick. Slow feeders create obstacles so that your dog has to work for their food, which helps them eat slower.
Slow feeders are good for all kinds of dogs, even if they're not the "inhaling" type. Not only do they encourage slower eating, but they provide enrichment and help to keep dogs engaged. Giving them their meals or even just a few treats in a slow feeder is an easy, inexpensive way to provide stimulation even when you're busy and can't play. You just have to be okay with spoon-feeding them until they get the hang of it, just like Honey!
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