Dogs tend to gobble up their food at the fastest speed possible, and there is a reason behind this behavior. Dog's ancestors make sure that they do not waste food, as food is scarce, and as wild animals, their only concern to survive in the wilderness is to eat as much as they can.



Nowadays, some dogs may take to eating their food slowly without worrying about low food supply, but their ancestors did not have this luxury. They would not have the chance to eat if they dawdle when they come across food, as other animals would have come across it. This characteristic may be apparent in some dogs today, although not all.

Dogs are evolved from wolves, who are very functional eaters. They are able to eat as much as 35 to 40 pounds of meat at one go, as well as other species of ancient dogs. These animals do not eat just to be full; they have to stuff themselves as much as they can for they do not know when would be their next meal. Survival instinct tells them to eat as much as possible, and they have to prey for their own meals.

Not each hunting session will turn out fruitful, and these ancient dogs and wolves have to keep up with hunting and other activities for days without eating. Their bodies are able to withstand distance and time with efficiency, as they usually feed before they hunt, and during the hunt, they will usually fast.

Teamwork is extremely important as well to help these dogs survived in the wild. They hunt in packs, and they are efficient as they work together, helping each other out and the food they hunted will be shared about all the dogs. Even among dogs, there is an existing hierarchy, and the leader usually ate first, and the other dogs may not get a chance to fill up as much. The biggest parts of the prey usually goes to the leaders as well, and the other lesser ranked dogs will have to make do with leftovers.

10,000 Years Later

Dogs and humans have only coexisted for 10,000 years, and in this short period of time, old habits still exist in some dogs which we thought of as domesticated. Your dog may be getting its meals on a regular basis, and have no competition or fears that its food will be taken away and eaten by some other dogs, but sometimes it is just unable to control its urge to just swallow everything in its food dish as fast as it can.