Puppy Hiccups and Barfing...awesome topics, I know.

So, Miles has been hiccuping a lot lately. He also eats so fast that he barfs.

I think that this has to do with the fact that he's growing like a weed currently (I am noticing a difference a little every day, and I think this is his last push before he's full grown). I sat down and looked up puppy hiccuping yesterday, and found that it's actually very common in puppies, particularly when they're growing, because their insides are growing too and they need to adjust to his eating patterns. Everywhere that I read said also that it's only normal in puppies, so if he is over a year and it is still happening, then it's time to talk to the vet.

Miles has eaten very fast since the day we got him. His feeding schedule is 7am, around 1pm, and 7pm, give or take. The only time it really gives him trouble is in the morning, and I think he eats so fast because after twelve hours of not eating at all, he is absolutely famished. So, he totally scarfs his food, whines and absolutely HOWLS for about three minutes, and then barfs. We used to feed him a wet/dry combo in the morning, and when we stopped and did only dry in the morning, the barfing seemed to subside.

Then, I was dropping Miles off at doggy day care early this week, and she brought it up, asking how he was doing with the fast eating. He had just barfed that morning and I told her so, and then she showed me this bowl:

It forces a dog to eat between the rivets and slows their eating significantly. When I say significantly, if this bowl had no rivets and was full of food, Miles would have emptied it in less than 30 seconds. With this bowl, it takes upwards of 3 minutes. He likes to chew on the bowl, and eventually he just knocks the bowl over, which knocks all of the food onto the floor, but he did pretty well with it, his own impatience aside.

It was good for us to get this for him, because it will prevent a very dangerous condition called bloat. It seems like it would be a pretty scary thing, and as diligent puppy parents, we want to do everything we can to make sure he stays our healthy and happy dog.

Speaking of dog, Miles looked like a dog, as opposed to a puppy, for the first time the other day when I looked at him. I mean, seriously - this is what he looked like when we adopted him (taken on the first day that we had him):

Also, when he curls up on the couch, he now takes up an entire cushion. I am beginning to think he's going to be bigger than originally thought. I do love when he still acts like a puppy, and though I posted it on my other blog, here's my favorite picture of Miles that I've ever taken:



He's such a good boy.