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Young Puppy Eats Too Rapidly?

I have adopted a very young puppy (4-5 wks old) that was either abandoned or lost her mama. She's actually a wonderful puppy, extremely smart and very laid back...except when it comes to eating. OMG, it is unreal!

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My sister found her and fed her canned food for the first 5 days. My sis warned me that she was crazy when she ate. I switched to giving her dry food soaked in water. But the first day, I just got it wet and let it sit for about 5 minutes. She ate it so fast!

I didn't realize there was a problem until her next few stools; they were loose with a pinkish/clear liquid. I was immediately concerned that the food was too hard on her little tummy, not to mention the fact that she couldn't possibly be chewing the food. I then let her food completely soak up the water so it was soft. That seemed to help as far as her stools go, they have been normal.

I just cannot get her to slow down! I've tried hand feeding a few kibbles at a time and letting her eat from the bowl while I hold it, then taking it away to make her take a breath. But, as soon as she can she's inhaling again. I've read to keep food down where she always has access to it (this is what I've always done with my other pets), but I'm afraid she might hurt or kill herself if food was available all the time.

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I have two main concerns with this: she's not chewing the food at all, (there are a few pieces of kibble that don't get completely soft and I worry she's going to choke). I'm afraid I'll never be able to give her dry food if this continues. The other is, I'm afraid that when she's older, she'll be food aggressive. I'm hoping to have her certified as a therapy dog or at least an emotional support companion. And she "cannot" be aggressive at all to be certified.

The common theory would be that she had to fight for food from her litter mates, but she wasn't underweight when we found her nor was she old enough to fight for "regular" food. She'll try to take my food from me, right after she's eaten, so it can't be from hunger; can it?

She still wants to suckle. Would bottle feeding her help? I was thinking once a day? I'll do whatever it takes to break her from doing this. If not bottle feeding, what else can I do?

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I've already fallen completely in love with my DaisyMae, and I want the best for her. I just need her to slow down enough to at the very least, chew her food. Woman kissing puppy.

 

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you so very much!

By MaryAnn M.

Closeup of puppy.
 

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