Rocks in his water, rocks in his food

Gabe had his first appointment with a groomer yesterday.  I didn't have the patience to wait until he was perfectly posed for a picture, but this gives you some idea.  

He looks a lot different.  I sort of miss his furry ears, but at least I can see his eyes now.  His hairy eyebrows were hanging down in front of his eyes before.  

A new puppy problem has arisen of late, and I think I brought it on.  I have been reading various articles online to get tips in the proper raising of a dog and found a suggestion that one should not leave dog food out all the time, because the dog will eat too much and get fat.  Of course this is a bigger problem with the smaller breeds.  Ideally, you give the dog the amount he can consume in five minutes, then remove it.  Do this twice daily (three times for a puppy) and he'll be getting plenty.  Well, it sounded simple, although I felt like a tyrant not filling Gabe's dish when he went looking for food; I was sure he'd get used to it.  

Gabe, however, decided to adapt.  Once he realized the food wasn't going to be available constantly, he started eating his dry dog food faster... and faster.  He found if he swallowed it whole without taking time to chew, he could eat a lot more in less time.  Once he had eaten his allowance of puppy food, he'd go to the water bowl and drink as if he hadn't had water for days.

Then he'd start retching, I'd jump up and carry him to the door, and he'd puke up everything he had just eaten and drunk.  When he was done, and back inside, he'd run to his bowl to fill his now-empty stomach.  This happened daily for about four days, so I did more googling.  

Turns out you can get special bowls for food and water that slow down consumption.  For around $20 I could get a couple of those and possible correct the problem I had created.  I should have named this dog Money Pit, because I find myself spending money on him constantly.  It's awfully easy to click-and-spend instantly on Amazon, but for once I stopped myself before ordering the dishes and did some more googling.  (Isn't the Internet wonderful?)  

Cesar Milan's site suggests putting rocks in the food and water dishes to slow down the dog's eating.  Well, I have rocks, and if they'll save me $20 (a pittance, compared to the total amounts I've spent on this dog, but you have to start somewhere), I'll try rocks.

Two days have gone by now with no vomiting.  When Gabe gets down to those last bits of kibble, he uses his paw to move the rocks out of his way, but he is slowed down considerably.  I'm knocking on wood, hoping this continues to work.  

It's always something, if you have children or pets.  

Peace!