I've got one dog that chews his food nicely, and three that scarf it, barely chewing anything.

I watch them eat (just in case) but I no longer am overly concerned about things that go down unchewed. It seems that nature has devised a system whereby if it can be swallowed, it can be digested. If not, it comes back up for more chewing.

I also have one that chews nice and thoroughly and a 5 month old scarf hound. Just the other day he had worked a turkey neck down to the larger end being left to eat and he had a couple chews and I heard him gasping!!!
I was worried for a second thinking I might have to do a doggy Heimlich manouver, but he got it swallowed down, and went right into eating another piece!
I have tried holding the neck when it gets smaller, just to slow him down a bit, but then my fingers get in the way.
I used to wonder how they could digest whole chunks that went down unchewed, but his stomach acids sure do a great job breaking it all down.
I wish that he would slow down a bit and realize he has more than enough time to chew, but I suspect that once a scarf hound, always a scarf hound!

I asked a similar question in a thread a few months ago. My Presa puppy, Cleo, now 8 m/o, absolutely INHALED everything she got her paws on.

Over the past few months I have held all her RMBs (from duck and turkey necks to 1/2 chickens, etc.). She eats 2xs per day and gets some RMB with each meal.

Remarkably it's WORKING!!! Now I can put a 1/2 chicken down and she will eat it a reasonable pace. Also, she no longer inhales her other food (e.g. ground meats, gizzards, yogurt, veggie glop, etc).

After a few punctured fingers I developed this technique: I grab the RMB in my palm with a bit sticking up and then make a fist around the food. This prevents Cleo from mistaking my finger for a duck neck or chicken leg . Then I tell her "gentle" and praise her when she chews. I then expose a little more of the food and repeat till gone. It really has worked wonders.

One other thing that seems to have helped. I feed her alone. Alex, our other dog, is feed in another area. At first, I would even ask my wife to wait in the house. I think Cleo had some anxiety about others trying to get at her food, perhaps because she came from a large little.

Hope this works for you!

Eric, thanks for the great description of how you taught Cleo to eat slower from your palm etc. I am going to try your suggestion because I really want to teach my Kodi to eat slower and to not feel like he has to eat in milliseconds! LOL!
I also think that if you work on hand feeding, the dog learns to trust that you will not take their food away as well.
I know that Kodi came from a large litter too, so I bet you are right about this as well. I am going to try your technique and hopefully my Kodi will do the same and learn to slow down!
Thanks again Eric!

Turkey necks are a staple in my household (for the dogs). I order a 30 or 40 lb case every month. I partially thaw them (always overnight at least) and then pull them apart with my hands and refreeze. I've been doing the refreezing for 2 years and never had a problem. The turkey necks I get range from 14-24 ozs each. My GS mix (~80lbs) gets 14 ozs and my terrier-husky (~50-60 lbs) gets 12 ozs per RMB feeding. They are fed based on a percentage of their weight. I use a cleaver to cut off the ends when they are too heavy because I am one of those anal people who still weighs everything. I feed them whole and it takes my dogs around 10 minutes to finish them. I'm not an expert but if you're standing around waiting for them to eat they will probably not be swallowing them whole.

My turkey necks come in a 30 pound frozen block. I bought a hand meat saw, cut off 5-10 pound chunks and thaw them for about 3 hours in a 5 gallon bucket filled with cold water. The temp stays low enough to be safe, and it still thaws them quickly.

As far as chopping them up, I only cut them when they are too long to fit nicely in the bowl. I have a $10 wood cutting block from Ikea, and I bought a cheap but heavy Farberware cleaver for cutting them. Put one on the cutting board, put your free hand behind your back, and give it a good hefty swing. Goes right through the bone.

 Quote: John Stopps

...put your free hand behind your back...

A bit of caution so as not to whack your free hand off John?!?!

Katie

I will have to try John's method.I was holding the puppy's chicken necks while she ate them and it did slow her down. I would hold the neck while saying "Chew". Then praised afterward. It did help, however she occasionally did mistake my fingers for the neck. (OUCH...sharp little puppy teeth like razors!)

I did not cut the necks up small, they are still very large pieces. I was wondering how they would digest being swallowed whole if they didn't chew them. Thanks for the input.

I will have hubby read these posts, maybe it will ease his mind.