"Feeding your dog from a raised bowl increases the risk of bloat by 110%." This is very alarming. Can small dogs also get bloated?

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Have you hugged your american eskimo dog today? Well, I just did!

"Feeding your dog from a raised bowl increases the risk of bloat by 110%." This is very alarming. Can small dogs also get bloated?

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Have you hugged your american eskimo dog today? Well, I just did!

I have had Rhodesian Ridgebacks for over 30 years and currently have 7, Ridgebacks are a breed that has had its fair share of bloat incidents. I have ALWAYS fed from raised bowls and will ALWAYS do so. Calculate for yourself the number of years I have had RRs, the number I have (7) and they are fed twice daily - 7 x 2 x 365 = 5,110 meals a year x 30 = 153,300 meals over a 30 year period. I lost one lovely girl to bloat and this could not be put down to raised bowls, feeding time, exercise or anything else, it was just "one of those things" that can happen to MANY large, deep chested breeds which tend to be more prone to bloat than smaller breeds. If, according to other peoples' comments feeding from raised bowls caused bloat then surely I would have had many bloat incidents. One incident was one too many but in my experience the risks of feeding from raised bowls is minuscule compared to the benefits.

I never want another dog to die of such a horrible painful condition, look at the ingredients on a bag/tin of dog food, they are ALL processed and contain an awful lot of rubbish, start by feeding your dogs properly and as nature intended - feed a RAW meat food. If you are in the UK look at Natural Instinct - Home for the best available. If you feed raw then you will have healthy dogs and low vet bills. Look at the ingredients on the food you are feeding, I bet you can't even pronounce half the ingredients let alone know what they are (use the internet and you will soon find out what rubbish and dangerous preservatives are in the food) - compare these ingredients to those in the Natural Instinct range. Also, if kibble was the best food to feed your dog or cat why don't zoos feed kibble diets to their lions, leopards, wolves, wild dogs, hyenas and EVERY other meat eating animal in their care? The only time I used a bowl on the floor was with a 15 year old bitch who became food-obsessed as she got older, I fed from from a washing up bowl on my tiled kitchen floor. By spreading her food around she could only take small amounts as she chased the bowl around the kitchen, it moved away from her every time she hit the side of the bowl - it worked for her (tried the balls in the bowl, she knocked them over the side). My advice is to feed a BARF diet and use a raised feeding bowl for large breed dogs.

Checkout the research by Purdue University into gastric torsion, A raised bowl - although NOT the primary cause, can be contributary to bloat!

I have deep chested dogs two, have dealt first hand with bloat of my own dogs MORE then once, and survived.

Deep chested dog owners SHOULD = know the drill regarding feeding and exercising
To add! many forget that one of the main causes of bloat is actually stress!

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Apparently I never noticed this thread before


Great video been posted on youtube felt the need to share.

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R.I.P Barney, I had 4 wonderful years with you, Thank you-29/04/06-25/11/09
The dog who saved my life
Proud owner of Maya, the Rescued Alaskan Malamute

http://www.dog-breeds-plus.com
Mine and My husband's Dog breed website

i am so so so sorry to everyone here who has loved their beloved dog through this shocking disease. it must be so hard to share such terrible stories but you are doing such a good service to all owners who have never experienced it and potentially saving many lives.

I didn't want to read this thread as i thought it may be too distressing and in a way i am right but i am glad i have read this and know the signs to look for and to rush my dog to an emergency vet if ever they should present themselves.

thank you to the brave owners whose dogs have sadly passes. my thoughts are with you.

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Just hunted this thread down for advice.

I am fully aware of the precautions for deep chested dogs and follow them to the letter, however, I have been increasingly concerned about my youngster. After meals he 'bloats up' with a stomach as tight as a drum and then spends the next hour belching and burping like a good un. I have even taken to attempting to 'wind him' like you would a baby, gentle patting/rubbing on his sides which sometimes assists a burp.

Have read a few of the links and think I may have figured it, or at least something, out.

As you may be aware I have two dogs, currently four and one years old. Both dogs are fed in bowls on the floor and start at the same time with the same amount of food.The older one always finishes first so you would expect him to have the problem, but it's the slower finisher who bloats up. Having just read a write up on a site somewhere about the 'dog pause' bowl something caught my eye and given me pause for thought.

My older dog doesn't gulp his meals but is constantly eating in a grazing style - nose down, lick some food in, chew swallow and repeat - he savours his meal yet will still finish first. The younger one is also nose down but seems to snatch at a mouthful of food, chew and gulp to swallow and yet finishes last.

The 'dog pause' write up I read mentioned that it encourages the dogs to use their tongues to eat with as opposed to biting at their food. So in essence I need to get the younger one 'licking' by making it harder to snatch at the food.

Before I go and buy a bowl to test this theory out I will attempt some homemade theories first and will update you on any progress/improvement or not.

PS - the youtube clip comparison was very useful, well done

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Bugger the lot of them

Good luck & Keep us all posted how you get on coz it could be of benefit to someone in the future

Hi Irish Setter Gal,

Your posting is very worrying, no dog should show the symptoms yours does after eating. If I were you I would change the food immediately (see my previous posting). Commercial dried diets swell up, are un-natural, they also dehydrate the dog. Remember, we are 70% water as are dogs, cats, rabbits, birds etc. Dogs, cats, wolves, lions, and every other carnivorous predator is geared to eat a food that is 70% moisture, if you are feeding a dried diet then in order for your dog to be able to digest it, it will have to use water from its own system to do just that. Look at the armed forces these days - they have removed dehydrated rations/treats from their diet, why? For exactly the same reason given above - they dehydrate the soldiers. Just try feeding raw and see how different your dog will be after eating - no swelling, no gases.

Doesn't make any difference, tripe, bones or biscuits, same result. They usually have mix of biscuits and tripe for most meals and darling hubby usually moistens the whole meal with warm water. I really believe it's how he's eating, not what he's eating in this case.

Thanks for the concern though, I am too hence the decision to try to do something about it.

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Bugger the lot of them