![]() Slowing down dog feeding has been a popular topic of discussion for years, and slow feeder bowls have become very popular as a means to slow them down. This can be dangerous, as it can be both a choking hazard and a cause of stomach issues (including very serious ones, like bloat). Many dogs, especially labs like Oats, will scarf down a bowl full of kibble in about 10 seconds. It gives dogs a job to do, it stimulates their brain, it helps prevent resource guarding, AND it forces them to take a longer time to eat. These are two excellent opportunities to give your dog (or three opportunities for puppies!) some much needed mental stimulation. Oats gets two meals a day, like most dogs after they grow out of their puppy stage of eating three times a day. I use a variety of different toys to feed Oats, which I talked about in a recent Instagram video (link below) and which I list below as well if you’re interested in purchasing them for your own dog! You want to keep this fun, and not so challenging that they get anxious or stressed. This can mean that you use food-dispensing toys, that you play games for their food, that you sprinkle their food in the grass and have them search for it, or almost anything fun you can think of to have them “play” or “work” for their food. Interactive feeding simply means to use something other than a bowl to feed your dog. Now is definitely the time to try out some of these fun ideas, and give your dogs a different kind of “exercise.” I’ll be talking about a lot of different dog enrichment ideas over the coming weeks, but today I want to talk about one of my favorite ideas that I practice every single day with Oats - interactive feeding. Some cities have closed down all their parks and trails, and walking your dogs outdoors can be quite challenging. Mental activities are also vital if you are in a quarantine situation right now where you cannot physically exercise your dog outside. Please note that even if your dog is not hyper and does not have behavior issues, mental stimulation is still extremely important for them and should be something they experience as much as possible. But mental exercise is often overlooked as an essential part of a dog’s well-being. Physical exercise for dogs is vitally important, yes. Dog owners often attribute these issues to a lack of exercise, but that’s not the only thing dogs need to thrive. Just like humans - they have incredible brains that need to be stimulated. The main reason dogs are overly hyper or have behavior issues is because they are bored. Today I want to talk about something I do for Oats every day, twice a day, that has made a world of difference in her life, and is something any dog owner can (and should!) try.
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