Most dogs love food, but some eat so fast it is a hazard to their health. Fortunately, there are many ways to slow a speed-eating pet.

It’s no secret that many of our pets love food, but some dogs eat so fast it can put their health in jeopardy. Chowing down at warp speed not only prevents proper chewing, but can lead to choking, vomiting or a condition known as gastric dilation that is potentially fatal. That is why it is crucial to slow down speed-eating pets.

Colloquially called canine bloat, gastric dilation occurs when a dog’s stomach expands due to gassy build-up, to the point it can twist your dog’s abdomen and prevent gases from exiting the stomach. This serious condition can cut off circulation to the stomach, heart and other vital organs and can prove fatal within hours if left untreated. Though this is just one of the most serious outcomes of eating too quickly, it highlights the importance of slowing Fido down during mealtimes. Fortunately, there are many easy ways to stop your pet from plowing through his dinner too fast.

One of the easiest ways to slow dogs down during mealtime is to change the physical structure of their food bowls. You can purchase a puzzle bowl online, with dozens of designs to choose from. The idea of these feeders is to present a food dish with irregular shapes that that slow Fido’s eating. Some pet parents may want to try their hand at an easy, do-it-yourself version of these bowls, which can be as simple as placing a smaller bowl upside down inside a large dish. By creating a narrow “moat” for food, your dog must work harder to eat his way around the dish. You can also try placing large (meaning too large to swallow!) toys in his dish to slow your pet’s eating. Other pet parents chose to scatter food in various compartments of a muffin tin, across a baking sheet, or simply around the flood so their dog has to move for each piece—although the last option works best in single-pet households, where it will not provoke competition. Other interactive objects known as treat-release toys are designed to make your dog work to extract small portions of food from a cube, Kong or other device. Some pet parents find these loud, but they can be another great option for keeping dogs occupied during the day while are you are at work. In addition to physical devices designed to slow your pet down, you can using feeding times strategically to prevent Fido from gulping his food. Turn dinner time into a game of hide and seek to provide mental and physical stimulation for your pet. If you schedule allows, you can also feed your dog more small meals throughout the day to combat his desire to inhale his dinner. Try a few of these options with your pet to see what works best to keep Fido fit and avoid the potential pitfalls of speed eating.