Oh dear, why do we have to get into a pointless argument which I have already explained in detail ?

Firstly Pedigree Chum canned products are NOT poor quality foods, they are in fact one of the best foods available. You say it is poor quality, then this is your own opinion and certainly not that of the industry and qualified experts.

Secondly, I have explained to the point of boredom that the dry food which I currently use - Barking Heads has under test by me shown a minimal expansion when subjected to water absorption, whereas the kibble that my beloved dead dog had, although produced by one of the best suppliers on the market, swelled to around 50% of it`s packaged size. AND it was much larger kibble.

All was as recommended by the supplier for a large dog. I do nothing wrong, but do take notice of expert recommendations until that confidence is shattered by use in practice.

PLEASE recognise ONE thing that I have said - I do not recommend that kibble should be treated like some poison. It is perfectly OK providing that the water absorption characteristics and gaseous emission is at a minimal level and the kibble size is appropriate to the dog size.

To test a kibble :-
Buy a small amount. Place a few kibbles in a saucer of lukewarm water. Wait for 2 hours and then see how much the kibble has expanded.

I did this and the Barking Heads kibble for which I am accused of being a sales agent for, did not swell very much at all. THAT is why I still use this kibble mixed with that market leader of wet food - Pedigree Chum. And I am not a sales agent for Pedigree Chum either, just a responsible customer who feeds his dog the best food I can without considering dried pigs ears or the various ridiculous concoctions that some other rather odd people appear to stuff into their animals and feel proud of it.

Unfortunatly the information given about ped products beiing good are from the makers and sellers. Pedigree is crap...there are no two ways about it! There are MUCH better wet food products out there! You seem very confident in what you say yet its just not true

The ingredients~
Sufficient water for processing, Chicken, Meat By-products, Wheat Flour, Beef, Liver, Wheat Gluten, Pearl Barley, Salt, Sodium Tripolyphosphate, Natural Flavors, Guar Gum, Caramel Coloring, Vegetable Oil (source of Linoleic Acid), Minerals (Potassium Chloride, Zinc Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Potassium Iodide), Sodium Alginate, Natural Smoke Flavor, Xanthan Gum, Onion Powder, Bay Leaves, Vitamins (Vitamin E, A & D3 Supplements, D-calcium Pantothenate, Thiamine Mononitrate {Vitamin B1}, Biotin), Garlic Powder, Sodium Nitrite (for color retention).

Fine Toryb, Pedigree Chum is utter crap as you so expertly define. I myself, thousands of satisfied users and the entire pet food nutritional and expert establishment bow to your infinite superior knowledge.

But my dog loves it. Quite honestly, it looks and smells so good that I am tempted to have a toasted Chum sandwich on many occasions.

Please can we get back on topic, which is BLOAT. We do not want a discussion on Pedigree Chum or any other pet food. I have given what I believe is an important factor in preventing bloat. OK, it involves food, but that does not mean we have to divert the thread into a long irrelevant ramble on dog food. I feel the subject has gone way past it`s "Sell by date".

Having had a tragic personal experience with bloat, I have done an extensive survey of the subject on the web and know all the other factors that pose a risk.

Now, let us simply take note of my own experiences and conclusions and concentrate on this scourge from another direction.

Dear me, here we go again! Dried Pedigree Chum contains carcinogens (I linked it on the other thread). It is horrible, cheap rubbish. You cannot in all seriousness try to tell people that it's any good at all! The only reason it is bought is because they advertise it well and it's an established brand.

McDonalds advertise well and sell well, too. Does that mean I can eat lots of it? Fab, I'm off!

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Transplanted Geordie
RIP Jake, my best dog. 10.8.10
RIP Boomerang, beautiful horse. 27.5.08

Can we please leave out the personnal insults on this thread, many thanks.......RAGGS.

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Support Bacteria, its the only culture some people have.

Its far better to keep your mouth shut, and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.!!!!!!!

Age Doesn't Matter Unless Your a Cheese



http://www.glanafonrags.webs.com/

My apologies. But I stand by everything said.

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apology accepted.........Raggs

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Support Bacteria, its the only culture some people have.

Its far better to keep your mouth shut, and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.!!!!!!!

Age Doesn't Matter Unless Your a Cheese



http://www.glanafonrags.webs.com/

Just too add though. Myself (and no doubt other posters) find it insulting to Be condescended too by someone sat firmly on their high horse.

If the posts of said member are checked you will see they all have the same know it all manner. Even to mods.

Yet it's deemed completely acceptable for a certain poster to attempt to belittle, condescend to and insult other members.

I don't see how that's okay.

I could have worded my post better, but am peeved with the attitude. I apologise for how it was said, not what was said.

Don't see how it's fine for one poster and not for others.

But hey ho.

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Thank you for the very useful information.

After nearly a month since my last post, I thought I'd give another update.

I have not gone through with the op yet.

We have discovered that another primary trigger for his bloat has been stress. To cut a very long story short, he bloats when fed with the other dog around, did it when at the vets after returning from the nurses station after having a bandage applied, and when under pressure in general.

We now feed both dogs isolated from each other, have been through a programme of de-stressing around food, soak any dry kibble if given, try to feed raw where possible, stick to the rules on exercise before/after feeding, put him straight to bed after food and in general treat him as a dog that needs stress out of his life. It's as if he is internalising stress that then manifests itself as bloat, yet outwardly he appears quite bold, unafraid and not backwards in coming forwards in social situations with other dogs and people.

He still bloats, but rarely now, and being so aware of the potential for torsion means we manage the problem with great care and our eyes open. What we don't do though is pander to him nor wrap him in cotton wool, just manage what we have.

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Bugger the lot of them