Rambo's handler has this to say:
Like just about any dog, Rambo chows down as fast as he can go when I give him his food. He has a German Shepherd chest which makes him susceptible to Dog Bloat. Dog Bloat happens when too much gas or other things get into the dog's stomach and the stomach can become distended and even twist over on itself. This is a true emergency and can kill a dog. Consequently I have to be careful with his activities after eating to make sure he doesn't jump around for about an hour after each meal.
After eating, he usually comes over to me, licking his chops, and probably hoping for more food. All too often he lets out a big burp. I figured maybe if I slowed him down when he was eating he wouldn't swallow so much air. I looked up various ways of slowing down a dog that eats too fast. Crazy designed bowls aside, the best suggestion I found was to put things like large rocks or balls into his bowl to make him work at getting to his food which also serves to slow down his rate of ingestion.
During Rambo's next meal time I dished up his kibble, added some water, then took three of his Chuck-it balls and put them in the bowl. Then I thought that maybe that isn't the best move. Rambo is clever enough to look at the balls and take them out to get to his food. Much to my surprise he paid no attention to the balls and went right after his kibble. Putting the balls in the bowl did indeed slow him down. I guess getting his dinner was the most important thing to him and he didn't really care about the obstacles. It worked like a charm. It slowed him down and there was no after dinner burp.
After he finished his dinner I paid no mind to the empty bowl as usual. I didn't think about the balls still in the bowl but Rambo did. One by one he quietly went to his bowl and took out a ball. Then he would slink off to some corner of the apartment, hide the ball and then go back after the next one. I didn't pay too much attention to this and figured he could have some fun chomping on the rubber balls.
The next morning as I was fixing his breakfast I went looking for the balls. I looked in the usual spots but I couldn't find any of the balls. So I told Rambo to "get the ball" and he scurried off and ducked into his hiding spot and returned with a ball. We did this for the other two and went on with breakfast. After breakfast he did the same thing, taking the balls one by one and stashing them. I tried to watch where he hid them this time but each time I moved to see what he was doing he popped up and came right over to me with the ball. Dang dog was pretty slick with this whole hiding the ball thing.
That ended the balls in the dog dish experiment. Even if I picked up the bowl and put it on the kitchen counter, Rambo knew where those balls were. He would sit right in front of the counter where the bowl was and just watch. He would occasionally look over at me hoping for a little help. No matter what I told him to do he would eventually end up back in the same spot. He won't get up on the counter without permission so he patiently waited. This was making us both crazy so I gave him one of the balls, washed the other two and stashed them in his toy drawer. So much for that experiment.
Rambo's favorite physical possession is his Chuck-it balls. One day I decided to see what he would choose when presented with his dinner and a ball just a foot away. Without hesitation he grabbed the ball and took off to give it a good chomping. I was amazed that he passed on dinner. I tried this at a few more mealtimes with the same result. This is why I thought he would just take the balls out of the bowl to get to his dinner. I have really become interested in animal behavior since Rambo has come home with me. Each time I do something like this to see how he would behave I learn a little more about what drives him. It's all very interesting.
Thankfully, Rambo's personality leans strongly towards his retriever side. The only thing he loves more than playing with his Chuck-it balls is swimming. If we are some place where he knows he is going to get in the water he gets so excited he becomes almost uncontrollable. When I take him off the leash he makes a beeline to the water and jumps right in. Last year we went to Detroit Lake several times so he became very familiar with the area. He knew when we were walking towards the lake and he would just as soon drag me right into the water if I let him. With absolutely no one around, I let him off his leash a good 100 yards from the lake. The second he felt that lead come off he ran like the devil was chasing him and took a flying leap off the shore and right into the lake.
I have a float toy that we play fetch with. Rambo would stay in the water all day if I let him. When I figure he's had enough I literally have to drag him away from the water. Rambo is normally very well behaved but that retriever brain goes haywire when there is a chance to go swimming!
You can see more videos of Rambo swimming in various places as well as his first experience at an ocean beach on his YouTube channel: My Dog Nose on YouTube
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