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Does your dog wolf down is food? Help him slow down with some of the cleverly designed food bowls we discussed in this recent podcast episode.

Fast eating can cause excess gas and can lead to gastrointestinal issues. But those aren't the only reasons to slow down your dog's eating habits: you can also help make life all the more enjoyable by making mealtime last longer. Slow Food Bowls present little mouth and brain challenges that can help you can extend the amount of time it takes your dog to eat his meal, while also upping the energy he expends getting at his food. Dogs like to have jobs, and if we don't give them jobs, they too often assign themselves their own occupations, which usually aren't careers we want them to have! Food toys can help tire your dog out in an appropriate way, and help satiate some of that need he has to solve problems.

Here are some great bowls (each of which can be used with dry food, frozen food, raw food, wet food or treats) that will help your dog gain a sense of purpose while he eats. 

The Northmate Green Feeder, made in Denmark, is a sturdy toy that has a small lip, which helps assure that food (or water you may add to the food) doesn't spill out. 

Although it is marketed as a toy for cats, the Northmate Pink Feeder (aka the "Catch") is great for dogs, who will sometimes use their paws (in addition to their snouts and tongues) in order to excavate food from the crevasses. 

Similar to the Northmate Green Feeder, the Silicone Shark Fin Bowl folds up easily, making it great for traveling. You can also cut it into a circle and place it inside of your dog's normal food bowl.

The Outward Hound Fun Feeders are cute little bowls that have different clever patterns in them that create little obstacle courses for dog tongues. Small rubber feet help keep them from sliding around. 

The Buster Maze Bowl, also designed in Denmark, is a sturdy, large bowl that dogs find endlessly challenging. Freeze wet food in it to make it even harder! 

We love work-to-eat toys at Store For The Dogs. Not familiar with this kind of dog toy? You've probably heard of the first one that was big on the scene: The Kong. Here are eight things you didn't know about this iconic dog toy.

Kongs...

...aren't just for peanut butter! There are lots of recipes for stuffing a Kong.

...were developed in the 1970s by a 25-year-old Colorado auto mechanic named Joe Markham who was trying to get his dog, Fritz, a retired police dog, to stop chewing on rocks. 

...have a design based on a rubber suspension part from a VW bus. Markham's dog enjoyed chewing on various car parts he found in the garage, but was specially interested in a bulbous, hollow black part he found.
...were initially shunned by all the pet stores Markham approached to carry it. Nevertheless, he poured all his money into a commercial saying that it was "Available at your favorite pet shop," in the hopes that shops would want to stuck it if they got a lot of calls from people asking for it. 
...bear an uncanny resemblance to the 28,000 year old Venus de Willendorf sculpture. 
... were called "Tuffys" for a period of time. 
...were named because one of the early distributors was a company called King, and someone remarked that the toy looked like King Kong's ear plug.
...fit into a special dispenser called the KongTime which could dispenser four of them over the course the course of the day. Sadly, the KongTime is no longer produced, but occasionally one pops up on eBay.  Sources:

• Feldman, Amy. "Learning Through Suffering." Forbes. 26 February 1996. Print.
• Jones, Rebecca. "Cornering the pet market; ideas must pass chews of approval." Rocky Mountain News. 5 October 1996. 2D. Print.
• Kong Company

I love lambs -- they're adorable! -- and I have great respect for lungs. But never did I think that I would mention the two things in the same sentence as often as I do... 

At School For The Dogs, we use dehydrated lamb lung as treats all day, every day. The dogs love lamb lung, so we do too. LL (as we fondly refer to it at the training studio) is great for training because it breaks up very easily into tiny bits without crumbling, and it isn't at all greasy, which means it's not the worst thing to have to have shoved in your palm, or lining your pockets. Our house-brand, sourced from New Zealand, is very thinly sliced, making it extra easy to break. It's a great source of lean protein, and contains no preservatives, flavorings, or additives of any kind. It's also a good treat for dogs who have allergies, since it contains a single protein -- a single ingredient!

Little known fact: Cats love it too! 

Thanks to everyone who submitted to our contest to pick our design for our third limited-edition Trump poop bag. The results are in. Congrats to artists Kurt Wolfe, Robert Risko, Jon Jones and Lia von Damm for making the final cut. Pick your favorite entry! You may vote up to once a day through 3/1/18. The winner will receive 250 rolls printed with their image.