Hoover Dog

Labs have the reputation of loving their food. Having owned five, we can say it is a well deserved reputation. But among our babies, past and present, Dylan has always stood out in this regard. We nicknamed him Hoover Dog because, well, he eats like a Hoover vacuum cleaner. A meal never takes more than 30 seconds.

Earlier this summer I noticed that Dee Dee was finishing her meal ahead of Dylan. I put it off to maturing and not feeling the need to rush. He is quite the distinguished gentleman now at age nine.

Then he regurgitated some breakfast one morning. A few days later he did it again. I began to keep an eye on him and noticed he sometimes would cough food up and chew it (I can't say "re-chew it" because Hoover Dog always just swallows it).

Mom began to worry. We discovered thyroid cancer in Dyna, Dylan's grandmother, when she was nine and knew it can invade the esophagus. Off we went to Dr. Skinner. I explained about our Hoover Dog and what was happening, he took Dylan off for an x-ray. All came back fine. Dr. Skinner suggested feeding Dylan some food and taking another x-ray to see what was happening as he swallowed, "What food would he like?" I told him Dylan would eat rocks if you put them in a bowl. He smiled and said, "I think we can find something better than that."

Shortly, he came back into the room with eyes as big as saucers, "Wow, he really does like his food." I told you so! Why do we always feel so good whenever we have been vindicated? Dr. Skinner thought it was simply Dylan's aging throat muscles not keeping up with his robust eating.

He suggested one of those slow-feeding bowls. I chose a highly rated one on Amazon Prime which arrived on Thursday.

I filled the bowl, shaking the bits around the grooves and set it down for Dylan. He took one look, stepped back and gave me a "Are you kidding me?" look. Over the past few days he has been getting used to it but he makes sure to let me know he doesn't like it.

It now takes him a few minutes to finish eating with no issues. Well, other than the occasional look of disgust.

The packaging calls it a "Fun Feeder." Dylan says, "I don't think so..."