Dog Eating Problems; A Mental and Health Insight

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Do you know there are Dog eating problems and your canine might be suffering from one

Dog Eating Problems – Ways Your Dog Eating its Food Can Give You An Insight Into Your Dogs Mental State And Health.

A Dog eating is not a subject that interest many people, but how a dog eats and how fast it consumes its food may give you some important insight into your dogs problems.

Many people cannot see the link between the two.

Let’s go back to the dogs ancestors, the Wolf.

The dogs wild ancestors hunted in packs and killed anything to gain a meal and fill their stomachs, whether the meal was nutritionally balanced or not. The pecking order in the way they ate was reliant on the pack leader making the lower pack order wait until he was finished. That meant that all the wolves in the pack had to compete aggressively to even eat anything. The upshot of this way of eating was that the Wolves would have to make this meal last for weeks or until they killed again.

While today the domesticated dog doesn’t have to rely on this type of eating today and it usually consists of a balanced diet. The aggression has been taken out of the dog eating even though it has other dogs in the household. If there is still aggression (snarling and snapping) when your dog is feeding then this problem needs to be taken seriously as your children and family are at risk.

When dogs eat together they tend to compete with each other and eat faster trying to devour their food as quickly as possible. This goes back to the Wolf pack instinct when they competed in the wild.

Many a dog eating alone has the tendency to sometimes refuse the food it ate yesterday. However introducing another dog often has a magical effect and the dogs instinct about competing kicks into action.

1. The common types of behavior of a dog eating its food.

The dog becomes aggressive with other dogs.
The dog is aggressive with you.
It gorges its food.
Always chokes on its food when eating.
Has a take it or leave it attitude to its food.
The dog bullies other dogs in the household.
Will only eat small amount at one time.
Unable to chew properly.
Has difficulty in swallowing its food.
Will not eat while another dog is feeding close by.

2. If you see any of these actions when feeding your dog then you need help.

A dog eating its food becomes aggressive with other dogs. This is dangerous and you cannot let this type of behavior continue if you value you and your families safety. There may be many causes:
Painful teeth or gums. (Check with your Veterinary Surgeon)
Not training the dog to feed from its own bowl. (Remove the competitive element)
Not training the dog to wait until its food has been served. (Remove the competitive element)
Keeping your dog constantly ravenous.
Baiting or teasing with food while a puppy. (Your dog needs professional aggression training)

3. A dog eating its food is aggressive to everyone.

This is the most dangerous and should not be avoided or brushed under the carpet. This type of behavior should be treated straight away and not be left to see if it grows out of it. They never do, they need professional help. It is too complex a subject to offer any advice without seeing and working with the animal concerned. So if you have a dog like this get some help straight away. You never know it could prevent serious injury or save one of your families lives.

4. Greedy dogs can be trained to eat slowly.

The way you do this is either to give your dog smaller portions, and then give it the rest of its meal slowly making sure it eats the portions before giving it any more. Remove any form of competition like another dog or even children when its eating. With patience and care they can become nearly perfect.

5. Any dog eating its food ravenously will always tend to choke.

Give it smaller portions.
Remove all forms of competition (dogs,kids,etc).
Use a drier type of dog food.
Give water before the dogs starts eating.
Use a different shaped dog bowl with a center piece or a solid ball placed in the middle.

6. A dog eating has no interest in its food.

- Get its teeth and gums checked for disease and also its throat for any symptoms of cancer or blockage.
- Keep a check your dogs general health and appetite.
- Boredom with food doesn’t only affect us dogs can also become bored with the same old stuff. Try your dogs with some home cooked treats they will work wonders.

7. A dog eating then bullies the other dogs in the household.

Again its who, in the dogs eyes, is the pack leader. That should be you. If your dog is a bully then you need to train your dog to accept that you and only you are the dogs pack leader. If you have difficulty in getting your dog to accept this, then you and your dog need professional help.

8. A dog only consumes a small amount. This can set alarm bells ringing to get to the cause. Like:

The dog is off color.
Its teeth are giving problems.
It has stomach problems.
The food is not tasty enough.
The dog has gone through some trauma.
It may have lost its playmate (another dog).
This is a process of elimination and needs plenty of patience and care.

9. Problem with your dog eating its food:

Check for pain in teeth or gums this is a common cause of dogs having difficulty eating.
Old age can cause many eating problems and may cause your dog to lose even more weight. This needs urgent Veterinary attention.
Lack of appetite is not natural in any dog and needs thorough investigation if no obvious cause can be seen.

10. A dog eating nearby causes it to shy away from its food.

The most obvious cause is a nervous disposition brought on by many causes.

The dog has been bullied as a puppy by other dogs.

The dog has previously been mistreated.

The type of dog breed can be the cause as many breeds suffer from nervous problems.

Try and give it own space and be patient. There are many people who suffer from the same problem.

11. Dog eating its own poop

One subject is the dog eating poo and type of poo. Although in many situations the dog thinks of it as normal the risk from disease is very in your face. You have to remember the eating habits of dogs are very unlike our own. They are dogs and behave like animals and eating rubbish is not seen as anything they shouldn’t do.

They have to be trained to ignore this trait by using alternative treats and making sure that they do not have the access to indulge in this bad habit.

Dogs have a remarkable sense of taste and smell that would drive we humans mad if we had the same ability. So when a dog sees any feces it also smells them.

The best answer is to treat the feces with a distasteful substance and let your dog eat them as normal. There is nothing more off putting then a nasty taste.

12. A dog eating grass is normal and wolves in the wild eat a lot of grass. The exact cause is unknown but dogs use their instinct when they need a fix, and only they know best.

In my own experience amongst many dogs they ate the grass and were sick soon after, suggesting that the dog needed to make himself sick to rid the body of maybe parasites. Anyway they know best. So, now that you know the various dog eating problems that exist, kindly share.