Sam(Cocker Spaniel) is my second dog he is 17 weeks.   I have Holly (Cocker) who is 21 months.

I am having problems with Sam.   He doesn't chew his food!!   He bolts down his main meals with
great gusto.  When I give him treats he just swallows them.   Even when I give him puppy markies,
the twice I have given him one he just swallows it whole.   He is also bothered with diarrhoea every
few days.   I have twice had him at the vets for it.  The first time he had coilitis and the second time
they put it down to him eating something.

I never had this problem with Holly she is a slow eater and smells everything before taking it!!

Any ideas

Thanks

I suspect the bolting of his food may be contributing to the tummy upsets, along with the usual puppy love of eating inappropriate things from the garden..

His food either needs to be too big to swallow (as in say a rack of raw ribs, meaty bones etc), meaty bones will help keep his teeth clean, and any kibble will need to be soaked.  Also you could put something in his bowl that he has to eat around, to slow him down.

My pup was awful for swallowing his food and bolting it down so fast he would end up with a bloated belly and lots of wind :( I decided to feed him by hand, keeping my hand cupped but no fully closed so as to help slow him down a little, it also helped build up a lot of trust with food (peoples hands GIVE food).

He did slow down a lot but still swallows anyting that will fit down his throat (as a 2 & half year old Mastiff, that is huge chunks of food ) and will finish his bowl of food in a matter of seconds (but still slower than he used too!!). He does, however, now chew dry dog treats, just one chomp, but better than nothing! He doesn't give him self a belly-ache from bolting his food any more and hasn't done so since he was about 5 months old.

Do you feed your pup in the same room as your other dog? He may slow down his eating if he were to be fed on his own (less competition), but my pup was fed on his own and still couldn't get his grub in fast enough!

As for treats, if he is swallowing them whole, I think it would be better for his little belly if they were broken up first, or switch to a treat that can be cut up into small pieces. I used 'all sorts', 'Schmakos' and cheese, as training treats, chopped up into pieces about the size of half a peanut (once the novelty of dry dog kibble as treats had worn off)., and still do now, even though he is adult sized :)

Best of luck, it's such a worry, but the positive side is he is obviously food motivated so that makes training so much easier :)

My young pup is a GR of 16weeks and she also chews nothing,just swallows it as fast as possible,very greedy puppy.
I feed my other dog in another room so she has no competition.
I chop all treats up small or she will swallow whole. I mix wet food with complete as well,so it can slide down easier.

I have had no problems with her digestion or diarrhoea.
My other dog has always been a very slow eater and not food driven.

We feed Sam in a seperate room, so no competition!!   He is probably just a greedy dog.
I have taken your advice and cut up all treats and hopefully this will help his digestion.
Oh its not easy!!

Thanks

there are bowls on the market especially for this - I use one for my WSD who would eat his food so quickly he would then throw it back again or would end up struggling for breath.  His bowl has like three rounded prong in strategic places that he has to eat around - we tried putting in an upside down bowl but he just learnt to dig that our first and then wolf his food down.

OK  thanks for that.   I will see if I can get one on-line.

I will try anything.

this is a link to the one I use

http://www.canineconcepts.co.uk/item--Brake-Fast-Bowls--brake-fast-bowl---dogs

What are you feeding him on? Is he in good weight? If he isn't getting a diet that suits him, this could be one reason why he is bolting food (if he's very hungry) and having bouts of diarrhoea - Or he could just be a greedy dog! :) How many meals a day is he having? If he's only having one, i would also suggest breaking it down into two smaller meals. EDIT: Just noticed he's only 17 weeks, so i'm guessing he's still on three meals a day?

We feed him 4 times a day with Butchers Choice puppy food, and he has 3/4 of a 150 g tray at each sitting.
When he gets to 5 months I will going to bring it down to 3 times.  
This worked for Holly and she has been fine.

He has been fine this week so fingers x.   We are hoping he will grow out of it.

Okay :) Fingers crossed for him!

Yes thanks.   Its very frustating at the moment.
As soon as I think we have the toilet issues sorted. We are back to square one again.
He is just so greedy.   When Holly has finished her dinner, I open the kitchen door and
he comes charging in to lick the bowl!!!

I am sure as he gets older he will get out of it. 

hmmm dont be soo sure.  my boy has wolfed his food since the day I got him at 11 weeks - he was 6 yesterday and still does it if we feed him in a normal bowl.