# How bad is it that my dog doesn't chew?



## JLWillow (Jul 21, 2009)

When I give Willow her meals she doesn't chew it for the majority of the feeding. She'll chew her treats, and if you give her one kibble at a time she'll chew it, but she'll just inhale her food.

I was considering giving her her meals in a Kong to see if that'll help slow things down a bit.

My main question is that does her not chewing her food effect her stool quality?


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## misty073 (Mar 31, 2009)

Bella doesnt chew kibble either when was giving it to her, it kinda freaked me out because I was afraid she was going to choke. Maggie chews it all, Bella would be done her kibble way before Maggie...she kinda reminded me of a vacume 

I have heard you can put something bigger in the bowl on the kibble and they have to pick the food from around it. I never even thought to try that until I posted this LOL


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## mrslloyd09 (Jul 12, 2009)

When Melodie was on kibble, she ate like she was never going to have another meal. We started putting her food in Busy Buddy saucer thing and she would roll that thing all over the place to get her food. A five second feeding went to ten minutes and gave her great stimulation.


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## GypsyJazmine (Nov 27, 2009)

JLWillow said:


> My main question is that does her not chewing her food effect her stool quality?


I don't know the answer but I must say that was asked like a true dog lover!


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## JLWillow (Jul 21, 2009)

GypsyJazmine said:


> I don't know the answer but I must say that was asked like a true dog lover!


I think that was my official baptism.

I am truly grateful! XD


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## GottaLuvMutts (Jun 1, 2009)

Check out the thread on treat-dispensing toys - some of them are big enough to fit a whole meal. I like the tricky treats ball pretty well. 

As long as your dog isn't choking, I don't think it's a big deal if it's not chewing the food. Don't expect a treat-dispensing toy to change that, though, although it might for some dogs. Do you brush Willow's teeth? I only ask because chewing kibble can help clean the teeth.


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## JLWillow (Jul 21, 2009)

I don't brush her teeth because I don't have to. She has fairly nice teeth because she chews on bones very frequently.


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## littleboodog (Aug 19, 2008)

misty073 said:


> Bella doesnt chew kibble either when was giving it to her, it kinda freaked me out because I was afraid she was going to choke. Maggie chews it all, Bella would be done her kibble way before Maggie...she kinda reminded me of a vacume


It's only bad if she chokes on her kibble or bloats from sucking air. I don't know why people expect dogs to chew (at all, since they don't have the mechanical ability to do so) bits of cooked dough. If she doesn't choke or bloat, there's no reason not to hoover down easy stuff. If you want her to slow down, make her meals difficult. Kongs are one way, so are Buster Cubes or whatever they're called these days; you can scatter her food over the floor, you can soak her kibble in water. You can put rocks in her food bowl, you can buy one of those bowls that have impediments built in.

Dogs bolt their food. That's how it works with real food. They bolt kibble too, but kibble just doesn't bolt the same way.
Marie


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## KibaKibbles (Mar 6, 2010)

My dog does that too, she breathes in her food O_O. I'm just worried because she has coughed up un-chewed food a few times.


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## littleboodog (Aug 19, 2008)

Maybe I'm wrong here, but to me coughing up is not a problem. The kibble gets coughed up, it gets reswallowed, it's done. But if you don't want that to happen, then you have to keep her from vacuuming up her kibble. Kibble is an artificial, manmade invention. Dogs are not built to eat pebbles. So sometimes, if kibble is going to work, we have to change the way we feed kibble.
Marie


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## tonisaysss (Jan 18, 2010)

because dogs DON'T chew. their teeth were made to rip and tear; with kibble, this obviously isn't necessary. they instinctively inhale their food like it's the last meal they'll see for 2 weeks because this was exactly how food worked in the wild.

the only concern i would be with bloat, otherwise it's nothing to worry about. i use a 6$ "bloat bowl" for my golden retriever and haven't had a problem. i dislike the rapid inhaling _rate_, not the inhaling itself.


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## DJEtzel (Dec 28, 2009)

Kit inhales food too. I've found when I add in green beens she doesn't do it. 

Perhaps getting one of those balls to put in or a rock (cheap) like suggested would work.


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## misty073 (Mar 31, 2009)

Some dogs do chew because my other dog takes each piece out and chews it (or a few at a time) but each time she takes some she puts her head up and crunches. The same with treats...she will run away and chew it and then come back for another.

Inhaling isnt a problem for Bella now because she has been switched to all raw and I add some water to her food (she is at risk for UTIs so I like to make sure she gets some extra)


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