Any creative and force-free ideas on how to deal with this dog training issue?

We have a large dry food storage bin with a snap lock closure that we keep our dogs dry food in…works well to prevent self serving from pooch

I also have a large dry storage snap lock bin for my dogs food.
I would rather prevent her from being able to get to her food than to trust that I can train her to not touch it when she shouldn’t.

We have a side board similar to this with the two sides pull down. They each hold 40 pounds of food.

Thanks, all, but I’m not worried about the accessability of the food. In fact, the bag is just there because my container fell apart, and I’m waiting for a new one to get delivered. Once it is, he can’t get in there any more.

I’m just worried about the unhealthy gulping. Wilson is only one. I’m hoping I can change this habit now, before it becomes a real issue.

Dogs tend to gulp and gobble their food, it is a dog thing. Most dogs eat their food in one sitting. We had one dog that thought it was a cat, we could put food for the day in his bowl in the morning and he would still have some in the evening.

I have had some success with these types of dishes. With this puppy I have now, I put a couple of rubber balls into the dish and he has to eat around them, which slows him down. Larger kibble pieces require more chewing which has also helped.

When we were trying to train Frodo not to bite the hand that fed him, the trainer had us put kibble in his dish one handlful at a time. That was for a different issue of course, but it might help you. However, as others have said, he’s likely to stay a gobbler since most dogs are.

What kind of home did he come from? Was there a fight for food? It may be that he just needs to know that there is no competition any more.

Dogs and wolves, canines in general eat this way. When it comes to “eat or be eaten” in the wild, the one who eats the most has the best chance of continued survival. Make sure there are no other dogs/animals around when you feed him.

When we had a pair of siblings, both seemed to wolf down their food, but one was leading the speed. One wanted to be able to eat a little of her food in the moment, and save the rest for later. The other wanted to eat everything available always no matter what. It didn’t matter that we rescued the one’s food after she finished eating, she knew the other one would try to get it so she wolfed her food down too. We fed them in different rooms, and then she was able to slow down (usually wouldn’t even finish, and we’d pull the food bowl up and give it to her the rest later in the day), but he kept wolfing. He was also the runt of the litter when we got him, not sure if that had anything to do with how he responded to food, or if he just had more of an “appetite” than she did and that’s the way they were. The boy was basically inhaling the food. At the time, we just let him be…

The dog we have currently, it depends. He used to scarf it down… He also used to be a stray, and then in a large cage with half a dozen other dogs. He’ll still eat rather quickly when he does eat, chewing just enough to swallow, but if he’s not hungry (which usually means when he hasn’t been run,) then he’ll just leave the food in the bowl—sometimes all day. We got him this treat maze ball for when he’s home alone—give him something to do—and when we’re leaving in the morning will often put his breakfast in the ball for him. Like the food dishes above, it also slows down the eating process.

Basically, I’m just offering first-hand experience that agrees with what people have said above—dogs seem to somewhat naturally eat fast (well, depending on the dog), and they also learn to eat faster/leave nothing behind when they’re around other dogs. In my experience, when they learn that their food won’t be touched, they usually become more relaxed about it… but not always.

I used to keep dry food in my German Shepherd’s bowl all the time when he was grown and never had a problem. The only time I ever noticed him wolfing it down was when he was a puppy on Purina Puppy Chow and his brother was around.

Yeah, good luck with that.

Use a bloat bowl for feeding, and interactive toys for treats.

(ps, as the owner of a lab, I strongly urge that you read up on bloat and GDV)

Our vet told us to give her small amounts of food several times a day, so she would get used to small amounts.

My Mom said keep the dog bowl full of food all day. That worked for her dog.

Thanks, all. Wilson actually eats all his food from treat balls and Kongs already, and I take the necessary precautions to avoid bloat and GDV. If you saw him, I think you’d agree that he is an extreme case. I meet a lot of dogs for work, and I’ve never seen anything like it.

He came from a home with nine siblings, so I’ll bet there was competition. There is none in his current home, though, because my older dog wouldn’t steal his food. I guess the issue may just have been the ritual of getting into that bag for very short, but highly rewarding periods. If I repeatedly let him eat the entire bag, that may help. It would also guarantee trips to the veterinary clinic, though, so that’s out.

I may just try the free-feeding for a while, if I can’t think of anything else. I’m determined to change this – it’s too dangerous for me to accept without a fight.

@syz Hey, great to hear from you! Wise advice as always.

Our lab mix used to wolf down food almost uncontrollably. Then we went on vacation and let my brother in law take care of it. He overfed our dog for almost a week. We found it not eating and on the verge of bloat (see above) when we came home. It took a few days before the dog would eat again. The dog never overate after that.

There is a reason Labs have a food obsession.

@RocketGuy That’s one way! ~

@Tropical_Willie Wilson’s definitely read that article.

Yup, @longgone the Labs can read in several languages. They are hardwired to gulp their food.

Well, I think my problem may be easier to solve than I had expected. I’ve been putting small portions of kibble into the (newly arrived) container. I used great treats and a clicker to teach Wilson that he’d be rewarded for just putting his head in there, then went on to click and treat him for grabbing a mouthful. It’s not about the kibble now, it’s about the sausage in my hand – I’m hoping this will become habit, with a bit of practice. Thanks again, everyone!