My new little sister loves to run! Bailie is pretty quick on the short distance, and all the running in the yard is good exercise for her. She is thirteen weeks old, so pretty young, but she still goes on a couple shorter walks every day. We can’t take her on our long morning walks yet because she barely has any belly fur and she gets cold really quickly in the morning.
We do have two problems with her, though. First, she has lots of energy and loves to get into trouble, second, she is absolutely obsessed with food. She comes from a litter of fourteen, so she has had to fight for food her entire thirteen week life. She sticks her head in the bowl, gets a mouthful and swallows, barely chewing. Her first evening at our house she camped out in front of our snack drawer. She has started to learn to sit when she gets a treat, but what could we do to slow down her eating at mealtime? Katie and I didn’t care much for eating as pups, so this was all new for Mom. When Katie was young and left home alone, mom had a food ball that she would fill up and give her to keep her busy. We decided to try feeding Bailie using this ball. Guess what? It really solves two problems at once. Bailie gets her entire meal in the ball. She has to push it around with just one or a few pieces of food falling out at a time, so she can’t gulp down a mouthful. Instead of two minutes it takes her about twenty minutes to get all the food. It keeps her walking around and thinking which wears her down. Shortly after she finishes she lays down for a nap which is what Katie and I do after our meals. We found a solution that solves two problems. One day when she learns that she doesn’t have to fight for food at our house, she will get her food in a bowl once again. This short video shows the problem and the solution at work.
Another exciting happening I would like to mention is the PetsMove.org program. We strongly believe in a healthy lifestyle for pets and their humans.
What is PetsMove.org? PetsMove is an ongoing virtual event to encourage people to get active with their pet. Participants will be able to:
1. Visit the PetsMove.org website to learn about the program and how they can participate.
2. Enter their pet in regular sweepstakes contests.
3. Track their pet’s fitness progress using the tools on the website and collect “paws” based on their dog’s activity levels. “Paws” collected can be redeemed in the sweepstakes giveaways.
4. Learn how to create fitness programs for themselves and their pets, how to choose the right food for their pets, and receive pet health tips from our team of experts.
5. Become a part of the PetsMove Community and share your stories and triumphs with other members.
Why should pet owners join PetsMove.org?
Three reasons: time, money and prizes.
• Goal number one is to give pet owners more TIME with their pets – a lean dog will live on average 2 years longer than an overweight dog. Pet owners can use the information learned at PetsMove to get or keep their pet fit and hopefully extend their lifespan. Who doesn’t want more time with their beloved dog?
• Goal number two is to save the pet owner MONEY – overweight dogs cost the owner hundreds if not thousands of dollars each year in extra food, medical care & prescription medication.
• Goal number three is to have fun! There will be numerous fun, healthy & useful prizes given away each month to active PetsMove members. Plus, eligible members could be selected to appear on The Pet Show with Dr. Katy Nelson, on ABC News Channel 8 in Washington DC with their fit and healthy dog.
Stop by the website and take a look, sign up, see what it is all about.
Lastly, don’t forget that on Monday, September 23 it is the Scoop That Poop Campaign blog hop headed up by Sugar the Golden Retriever along with several cohosts including me – believe me, with Bailie we have plenty to scoop! The theme of the hop is “Be a Scooper Hero” so have fun and post about poop!
I am joining in the FitDog Friday blog hop sponsored by SlimDoggy, Peggy’s Pet Place and To Dog With Love Stop by and see what other dogs are doing to stay fit!
Oh the video won’t work for me, will come back later. I eat my kibble like a lady, one chunk at a time, the humans think it’s hilarious BOL xx00xx
Mollie and Alfie
Hmmm…try this link
Katie and I eat like civilized dogs, Bailie will learn.
That is a great way to take care of the problem. We soak our kibble and that slows the dogs down a bit too but it is probably not as fun for the doggies. Bailie is sure a cute puppy!
We like to keep the kibble hard for the teeth, but she is already getting a bit better and now she almost always sleeps after eating instead of running around which is so important.
Mom has often thought about putting my food in maze or treat ball or a slow eating bowl, but thinks I would lose my mind if she did. Barks and licks and love, Dakota
You should talk to Bailie about that, she was about to have heart failure the first time she had to try the food ball, but now she gets it and is okay with it.
Great solution and as you say makes the food last longer and gives exercise and mental stimulation as well. Win/win we say too. Have a fabulous Friday.
Best wishes Molly
She is snoozing already after her breakfast, a wonderful simple tool!
What a great solution. We use those treat toys all the time for extra snacks and mental exercise. Smart thinking Emma. Thanks for the shout out about PetsMove. We’re going to be announcing some of the contest pretty soon so get on over and sign up!
It was really just to keep Katie busy when she was an only dog home alone, but now it has a new function and it works quite well.
The mom has had puppies that ate too fast and we both know that ends in an ugly mess. You and your human are so smart to think of the treat ball for Bailie. I have seen on Fb a doggie food bowl that is designed to slow down fast eating doggies. I have always been a slow, picky eater. Right now at 13 I am supposed to be on a kidney diet, but I would rather be anorexic that eat that stuff. The mom even cooked for me special foods and I said ‘NOPE!” So, the mom fixes me my regular food, begs me to eat it, gives me lots of treats that I like, and I seem to be doing okay.
Maggie, the PBGV
My crazy cat bro Bert eats like Bailie, so he has a food bowl with a block in the middle forcing him to slow down but we thought this would be good for Bailie and it works so well. She goes to sleep almost immediately after she finishes, which is what we do and is the best so no one gets bloat. Katie and I eat normally now, but as little ones we had no interest in food and eating either. Take care of yourself 🙂
Bailey is so cute, and that seems like a great solution to the problem. Torrey came from a litter of 11, so she kinda had that problem too. Thankfully, she grew out of it.
After nine days she is slowly learning that everyone gets something when it comes to treats, now she is learning to eat better. It will just take some time and we don’t blame her for being so obsessed.
Hehe. I used to eat like that, then Mom started putting my food in a bowl that has all these bumps in the bottom. That slowed me down a bit. And then she used 4 different food balls. Not only fun, but it took a while to eat.
How do you eat now? We know Bailie will catch on, she has already improved.
You have the smartest Mom. But I bet you told her what to do!
I had to, otherwise Bailie would try to eat my food too!
OMD, Bailie is so cute! But not cuter than you, Emma! That was smart thinking getting Bailie to use the food ball. Ours have Kong Wobblers for their breakfast, but we don’t use them for dinner because their dinner gets mixed with water and some supplements. I like that food ball, though. May have to get a couple of those to give them some variety. I think they might like the balls even better than the Wobblers.
The ball was what we had, so we are using it, she travels all over pushing it around and after eating she usually takes a nap.
In an attempt to wear Scooter out when he wasn’t getting his regular cycle-run exercise I hid his food in a number of different boxes so he had to do some extra ‘work’ to eat. He ended up eating the boxes too……He also came from a litter of 13 pups!!! Coincidence or what?!?
Oh yes, Bailie would most likely eat the boxes too, but that is also a good idea, especially for a hound.
That Bailie is too stinking cute! Eko is still a food vacuum so treat puzzles are a big help around here. In fact, we must be on the same wavelength because my video today is about Eko and his wobbler.
Oh funny. I can’t wait to see how the wobbler works. That cuteness sure helps keep Bailie out of lots of trouble for sure.
Bailie sounds a lot like Luna! Hopefully she grows out of it! Unfortunately Luna is just too food driven! I can’t feed her in a bowl anymore. Otherwise she eats too fast and gets sick, so we use a KONG wobbler, but that food ball looks fun! We might have to explore that as a new alternative!
We hope grows out of it as well as slowly learns that she doesn’t have to compete for food here.
“First, she has lots of energy and loves to get into trouble, second, she is absolutely obsessed with food.”
Sounds a lot like Kitshka 😉
Bailie is very cute!
Purrs
She is exactly like my cat bro Bert that is food obsessed. He has a block in his food bowl or he gulps down the food and gets sick.
aoife, my grand-doggie, is also a voracious eater. we bought her a slow feed bowl with a dome in the middle and that’s been working out pretty well for her.
it looks like the food ball is working for cutie pie bailie. she can eat while she plays! what more could she ask for?
wags, bailey unleashed
It is great as she almost always takes a nap right after eating now.
I love Bailie the food monster! Wow she can eat faster than me, that’s world record I think! happy Friday!
She is amazing with that eating if we let her! Hopefully she will forget about breaking a speed record and learn to actually taste what she is eating.
My dogs have kibbles in their bowls at all times (long story) but they will ignore the bowls and work very hard to get the same food out of a Kong or other food ball. I’m not sure why but it must be the challenge or the thrill of the hunt.
I think it is the self rewarding behavior maybe?
That is a cool idea and really solves the problem in a fun way!
Especially since it wears her out 🙂
What a great idea! The entire meal in the food ball. I just might consider that. Both Maya & Pierson are gobblers. They have a slow-feeder type bowl, but they still eat fast. Also, PetsMove sounds like fun!
I think they make the balls in different sizes, right now it holds about exactly what she eats each meal.
That is a really, really good idea for Bailie! Solving two problems with one idea was really clever. We have to use the bowls with the raised center for both of our girls to slow them down.
We have done that with my cat bro Bert but we thought this would also wear Bailie down.
Love the video. Great solution to the problem! We’ve never had a pup that snarfed food like that, but I’m going to remember this idea. Thanks!
It is a first at our house too, but sometimes you magically find a solution to a problem lying in the toy room!
Well this is just darling! I do love Bailey; she’s too cute!
Thank you 🙂
Bailey is adorable. We must have missed the new addition to your family when everything happened with Phe:( We are so excited to watch her grow up! Too cool!
We gpt Bailie on my birthday, the 11th. I’m sure you missed it and that is okay as you had plenty of other things to deal with. She is here to stay, so you will see more of her for sure!
What a great birthday present! And Happy Belated Birthday. We are so very sorry we missed your birthday. Hope it was a very special day!!!!!
What an adorable dog and blog. I just found you on Pet Blogs United and now following along via Bloglovin.Looking forward to visiting often.
Thank you! I have two cats that are sometimes on my blog too 🙂
Great solution for Bailie! Boy is she adorable! One of these days we’ll bring home a little sis for Kayo so we’ll be taking notes from your adventures with Bailie!
It turns everything upside down but it is fun.
She’s so cute! We used to have a similar thing for our beagle. Luckily Rita eats at a reasonable pace, so we don’t have to worry about it with her.
We hope she mellows down when she realized food is plentiful at our house. She is pretty good with treats already. She learned to sit and wait. She is very smart, so we are hopeful!
Nice to meet you! That pic is awfully cute! Glad I stumbled onto your blog 🙂
Thank you, I’m glad you found me 🙂
Sounds like a brilliant solution. Another top tip is you could put a brick in her bowl so she has to eat around it. Perhaps worth trying when you are moving her back to her bowl?
We do that with my cat bro Bert, but for now we are using the ball because it wears her out and slows her down. Thanks for the tip.
Great idea for the food toy, I’ve heard others say they’ve been successful at slowing down their dogs eating with the toys.
Delilah has been with us over six years and still hasn’t learned that she doesn’t have to snarf her food down. It’s very sad to me.
We hope that since she is still so young we can train it out of her. Time will tell.
She does look cute pushing the ball around. She did scoff when the food was in the bowl!