# Choking on kibble



## JacklynBlack (Jun 14, 2012)

We feed 2 cups/day of Orijen large breed puppy, to our 10 week old GSD. He has been doing fine on it. Today, he started heaving, it looked like a piece of kibble was caught in his throat. Is this a somewhat common thing to happen if they eat too fast? We tried wetting the food last week, to minimize choking, but he never touched the food.

We lost a puppy ( from choking on kibble) last year, so we are extra paranoid with this stuff.

Thank you for any suggestions? Should I look into a slow feed bowl?


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

So your feeding it just dry? How about soaking it for say 1/2 hour before you feed? I know you said you wet it, but did you soak it? 

If not, i'd either go with a slow feed bowl, or hand feed him..


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## ChancetheGSD (Dec 19, 2007)

Try picking up some canned food, adding a spoonful of that to the dry and then some warm water to wet it down and mix it around for a "gravy". Should entice him to eat with the water added and help cut down on the choking. Not to mention the added moisture (vs. going the slow bowl route) will give many health benefits since dogs were designed to get moisture from the food they eat.


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## KatsMuse (Jun 5, 2012)

JacklynBlack said:


> We feed 2 cups/day of Orijen large breed puppy, to our 10 week old GSD. He has been doing fine on it. Today, he started heaving, it looked like a piece of kibble was caught in his throat. Is this a somewhat common thing to happen if they eat too fast? *We tried wetting the food last week, to minimize choking, but he never touched the food.*
> 
> We lost a puppy ( from choking on kibble) last year, so we are extra paranoid with this stuff.
> 
> Thank you for any suggestions? Should I look into a slow feed bowl?


IMO, since he doesnt like it soaked, you could try a slow feed bowl. 

Or you could just add water to the dry kibble so it is like cereal , and he'll have some liquid in there to lap up...might make swallowing easier.

I always soak my pups' kibble but, if yours doesn't like it, there are other good suggestions on here . . Kat


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## VTcoach (Jun 28, 2005)

Soak your food in some water to soften it.
If the puppy doesn't like it that way, take it away and when the puppy gets hungry enough, they'll eat what you put down for them.
Remember, you are in charge, not the puppy ...lol
You should break it up into several meals too, not all at once.
Good luck.


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## Zeeva (Aug 10, 2010)

Does the pup eat too fast? Try turning the bowl over and pouring the kibble into it upside down. Or try adding fist size rocks to the kibble bowl to slow down. OR use a cookie sheet...


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## jaggirl47 (Jul 18, 2009)

Has he been having problems eating the entire time? What does he do? Does the food come back up? Or is he just choking?


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

Simply adding water is not as appealing as soaking it.
Soak until soft, or use the slow feed bowl or place a rock in the middle so they have to work at getting the food out.


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## 3ToesTonyismydog (Dec 27, 2009)

Tony does the same, he is a pig and eats so fast he barely chews. I got a tip on another site about adding canned or something that has a better taste into the kibble. *It worked*, he would slow down to lick the canned or gravy. He used to eat so fast it would scare me. All is good, but he still eats pretty darn fast.


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## JacklynBlack (Jun 14, 2012)

Thank you for the replies. We soaked the kibble for 30 minutes and then fed it to him this morning. He ate it without issue. We repeated this evening, but he threw it up within 20 minutes (his throw up consisted of just food, with some grass). He also had diarrhea about 5 minutes later. Could the mushy kibble have caused this? We did give him a new Zuke peanut butter treat for the first time tonight as well. He hasn't had another bout of diarrhea and seems playful.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

He may need to be checked for MegaE or PRAA.


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## marshies (May 18, 2011)

I would take him to the vet to make sure everything is okay. Pup would frequently cough a piece of kibble back up if I used it as a training treat, but nothing like this.


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## jaggirl47 (Jul 18, 2009)

onyx'girl said:


> He may need to be checked for MegaE or PRAA.


 
These are my thoughts as well. It sounds very much like the symptoms. Take the pup to the vet and have them do a barium xray of the chest/abdomen.


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## JacklynBlack (Jun 14, 2012)

Well he has only choked on kibble once, we've had him for over two weeks. And this was the only time he's thrown up or had diahrea. He has already been to a vet too. We're going to try going back to dry food (no soaking) tomorrow.


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

The PB is oily and the fat may have been too much for him to handle. That may have caused the runs.


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## JacklynBlack (Jun 14, 2012)

We have started placing the food on the floor of his crate. It is working out great, we're not even soaking it anymore. Stool is back to normal, thanks for all of the replies and especially the private messages!


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