My dog started to drink his water and drank it too fast, which he seems to do lately. He then began to gag and it sounded like a "horse cough" and then he threw up a little bit of water. How can I slow him down when drinking to avoid this problem. This morning he is fine and running around like nothing happened. He is a male 16 month old MalShi

First stop would be your vet to make sure there is nothing medical going on, there are a few things that can cause a dog not to be able to swallow properly.
Is this a sudden problem or has his drinking always been an issue?

A bowl I would suggest is a fountain bowl.
They can be expensive but well worth it in my opinion.

They are a bowl with a large 'hump' in the middle. It has a small pump inside of the hump which forces water out the top.
The water trickles down the sides of the hump continuously.
The dog can get plenty of water by licking the hump, but not too much in one go.

You could also try a licky bottle like they use for rabbits.
They are a plastic bottle turned upside down with a metal rod sticking out.
2 ball bearing sit inside the rod and water is released a few drops at a time when the dogs tongue rolls over the ball bearings.

It only seems to happen after he has had a large drink and then decides to run around like crazy. He had his "physical" just a short time ago and all was well. So we hae been putting a little less water in his bowl and once he drinks that we put a little more in and that seems to hae helped.

Sounds to me like he's just gulping his water too fast. Putting less in his bowl is a good idea, as are the suggestions Shaz gave.

If he's had a physical and all is well, then I wouldn't worry too much. Just one question though. Did you mention this to the vet at his last visit? Was the vet aware of what's going on when he drinks water?

If not, then the vet probably didn't check to see if there could be an issue that's causing this.

During a physical they don't check for every possible illness or abnormality. They check for the basics. If something else is going on, you have to mention it to the vet so they can test for that specific issue.

Good luck with your pup. :)

Sorry Altenweg, got to spread some more around before I can give another greenie. I agree, especially about the physical. Unless you specifically told the vet about this issue he would not find/look for a cause.