I have never seen a dog love food like my 4 mo. old GSD male puppy. The other day he ate his beef/greentripe mix sooooo fast that as soon as he walked away he threw it up and ate it all over again!!!

Now I just gave him a chicken neck and he swalloewd it whole!!!!!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

I am very worried about the swallowed neck,is this dangerous for him? I hesitate to call the vet because they are not very raw food oriented.

What can I do to get him to eat slower,if anything. Also, I worry about him getting bloat since he inhales his food and I heard that can be contributory.

I am afraid to feed the pup the rest of his breakfast now in case he will vomit up the neck he just swallowed!!!!!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

The eat and puke thing is called "puppy recycling" You might want to cut the in-between size chunks into smaller pieces (as in chicken necks or leave in a very large chunk that he has to tear chunks off before he swallows them. Another trick is to put a ball in their dish so they kind of have to nose around it to get their food this might slow him down a little bit if you are lucky. Dogs can bolt pretty large pieces of food without problems usually (in nature mother dog brings back food to puppies in her stomach)
Even puppies that eat slower will do the eat puke and recycle thing sometimes but as their stomach matures they grow out of it. Recycling is kind of unsightly but harmless but until he is a little bigger you might want to watch the chunk size. At least you know your diet is very palatable and he is a good eater! I find that my dogs will eat just about anything that tripe has even been near it is just sooo tasty to them!

So does this mean that I don't have to worry about the neck he swallowed whole?

Jeanette,
I understand that if you keep an eye on his bodily functions of eating, drinking and elimination, and his energy level, as long as those things remain normal, he's probably fine. If he starts having an diarhea (sp?) and/or lethargy, then it would be good to get him looked at. I'm not qualified to give medical advice, though, so anyone else want to chime in here?

...and a helpful hint if you have a dog that eats too fast. Feed on a flat plate, rather than a bowl. My mixed breed bitch had really awful flatulence from swallowing too much air along with her food. I switched her to a plate, and problem is solved. I can sleep through the night now! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Sorry Jeanette - I kind of didn't answer your question did I? If the neck went down ok and stayed down you shouldn't have to worry. Dogs have pretty swift and strong digestion so if puppy isn't showing any ill effects I would do as
L Swanston says and just monitor him. I understand what you are saying about calling the vet as most of them seem to be anti meat feeding and it can be hard to confront them on this issue. Hopefully you won't have any trouble with your little canine Hoover!

Tiggy2 I almost choked on my drink when I read your post <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> LOLOLOL!!

Little Hoover, I love that !!!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Ok Ok I'll try to get a grip......,anyway, Thank you guys so much for the advise. I'll keep a close watch on him and if he starts to act strange I'll take it from there <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

My puppy was exactly the same age when she swallowed not a chicken neck, but one of those huge, thick turkey necks. I about had a heart attack. She eventually threw it up and was fine, so I wouldn't worry too much about that. My dog used to eat really fast if she thought one of us or the other dog might try to take her food from her. I now feed her in her crate and we don't have that problem anymore.

Jeannette, There's a topic on bloat ("after bloat") that I started in the General Health Forum. There's some discussion on prevention and a link to Purdue's bloat site. They have done a lot of research and have some very helpful info on food and bloat risk. What I gained from their and other sites is that kibble swelling is the biggest problem. For example, 2 cups of raw is 2 cups of raw in the stomach. 2 cups of kibble expands and could end up being twice as much in the stomach, even though it was the same size portion going in. However, presoaked kibble with citric acid in it can greatly increase the risk of bloat.

One thing that's very important is prompt treatment. If the vet's taking their time getting ready, go glove up and tell them they'd better get in there 'cause you are going to start without them <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> .

I wouldn't sweat a chicken neck. It'll come out one way or the other <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> . You might find this gross, but I hold the backs for Auster and taught her the "chew" command. No chew means no food. Hopefully once I start the raw diet full time I can get her used to the idea of chewing without help and I won't have to hold it for her. Chew is completely different from her don't bite the bench, bed, quilt, sofa, cat, etc. command and she never hears "no chew" from me. She just knows that chew means that she'd better chew if she's really hungry and wants more.

I wouldn't sweat the chicken neck for now either. You may try holding the neck (or whatever RMB) you feed while your puppy eats it. This way he won't have a chance to swallow it whole.
I know of several people who have lost dogs that have choked on Turkey necks...although I am sure the statistics are probably the same for those that have choked and died from kibble.

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