Why Do Some Dogs Gobble Up
Their Food At Lightening Speed

By Teri Champigny

When it comes to leftover food found in the trash, just about every dog will enjoy devouring it as much as they would when eating fresh food in their bowl. Regardless of cleanliness, it is all a feast to your dog!

Either way, some dogs will tend to eat as fast as they possibly can. There is a genetic reason for this and that is due dogs' ancestors never having food to waste. When food is scarce, as it was for dogs of the wild, the only concern an animal has is to gobble up as much as possible.

Although many domesticated dogs of today may eat their food slowly without a care in the world about the food running out, their predecessors did not have this luxury. They knew that if they came upon food and didn't eat it right away, it would probably be gone with the blink of an eye. This behavioral characteristic is still dominant in many dogs today.

Evolution From Wolves

Dogs have evolved from their ancestor, the wolf. Wolves are extremely functional eaters and he can devour as much as 35 to 40 pounds of meat in just one sitting. The same also holds true for ancient dogs. It is important to understand that these animals did not eat like this just to get stuffed. Without knowing when their next meal would come, eating as much as they can (at one time) was the safest way to ensure their survival. They were hunters who had to catch their own food.

Ancient dogs and their wolf-kind also knew that they may not find prey for several days at a time. Their bodies were able to go this distance of time with full efficiency so long as they had fed in large quantities before having to fast while hunting.

Another important factor that helped dogs survive is that they hunt in packs and were quite efficient by working together as a team. Because they hunted together, the pack would share the killing with each other so that all of the dogs were able to eat. However, not every dog was able to get his fill because there is a rank system and the leaders always ate first. They also devoured the biggest pieces of meat, while the lesser ranked pack members ended up with just the leftovers.

10,000 Years Later

Humans and dogs have only been living together for approximately 10,000 years.  Because of the short time span it is easy to understand how old habits of evolution could still exist in today's domesticated  house dog.  Even though your dog gets his feedings on a regular basis, with no competition and fear of having his food eaten, there are still times when that hardwired urge to gobble up food as fast as possible will kick in.