A lot of people say elevated food/water bowls can be a cause in bloat.. so I wouldn't recommend them. Because bloat's pretty scary. And if you don't know what bloat is, here's a link with a pretty thorough explanation


Bloat in Dogs

 

A lot of people say elevated food/water bowls can be a cause in bloat.. so I wouldn't recommend them. Because bloat's pretty scary. And if you don't know what bloat is, here's a link with a pretty thorough explanation


Bloat in Dogs

This is exactly the deal with this link - it puzzled me. See what they write there:

Causes

Stress

Dog shows, mating, whelping, boarding, change in routine, new dog in household, etc.
Although purely anecdotal, we've heard of too many cases where a dog bloated after a 3rd dog was brought into the household (perhaps due to stress regarding pack order).

Activities that result in gulping air

Eating habits, especially...

Elevated food bowls

So I do not understand - elevated bowls as a cause of bloat or as a prevention?

 

I began using an elevated bowl when he was around 8 mos...it was adjustable. It takes strain off the neck, but there are those who claim it can cause your dog to eat too fast and bloat. I fed 1 cup of kibble in the am with either organic yogurt or 2% cottage cheese, and 1 1/2 cups at night with evo canned beef or lamb.

 

I feed off the ground. I think raising feeders is a completely unnatural way for a dog to eat.

 

Murray, first off I respect your opinions. However, I don't agree that it's an "unnatural way" for a dog to eat. I find that larger breads have an easier time eating off an elevated bowl, but you need to feed smaller meals to eliminate the threat of bloat.

AmimalThing. It has been discussed that using a raised bowl can increase the risk of bloat as a dog may eat too fast. However, this can be prevented if you feed smaller meals two times per day. It's unproven but a good precaution if you choose to use an elevated feeder.

 

I would like more input and research on this topic being that I am considering an elevated feeder as well and would never want to use something that would increase a risk of bloat (or any other danger for that matter) in any way. Any one else have any input??? Im gonna do some more research and get back to you guys.......thanks for posting!

 

Ahhh!!! No consensus!!! What to AT to do? :cwmddd:

 

Look, try not to make this a difficult decision. My dobe, and other dogs i have had, have done fine either way. I had German short haired pointers who ate at ground level. Dobermans are tall, and I found that Harley did just fine with an elevated feeder. I also took the precaution of feeding him smaller meals twice a day.

 

Look, try not to make this a difficult decision.

Haha! This is my friggin nature to overthink everything. I am a perfectionist (let alone my spelling - I will take it to the grave - no improvment here whatsoever, lol). So for me it IS a big deal... Well, I will feed three times a day while she is a puppy and then, twice a day - when she is grown up. I will start with regular bowl at ground level and see how it works for her. If no problem, then I will stick with it. :wavey:

 

You aren't going to find a consensus cause there isn't one. Vets don't agree on it either. But I have to say I see no benefit in using an elevated feeder, especially if it's suspected to be a factor in bloat. I agree with Murreydobe that it's unnatural because how many times do you think a dog out in the wild takes their food and puts it in a higher place to eat? No, they eat it off of the ground. Horses have to bend THEIR heads all the way down to nibble on grass, and they are much higher off the ground than dogs. I *DO* think, however, if a dog has an EXISTING condition..arthritis or pain in the spine/neck, that an elevated feeder would be easier on the dog. But I see no reason why eating off of ground level would cause any problems itsself. There ARE of course SEVERAL other things that can cause bloat, and I'd wage a bet that there are more serious risks than elevated feeders. Eating/drinking too much after strenuous work outs, drinking/eating too fast..etc.

If I WERE to use an elevated feeder, I'd have one that is still low enough so the dog still has to bend their head and neck straight down, but maybe not AS much..Not one that they'd have their neck up but heads down in the bowl for. Does that sound confusing? I'd imagine feeding them with having to arch their neck awkwardly to eat wouldn't be comfortable.

 

how many times do you think a dog out in the wild takes their food and puts it in a higher place to eat?

LOL! Fair enough.:biggrin55:

 

LOL this is gonna be REALLY goofy because I just did this in like literally 2 minutes to visually explain what I meant earlier (forgive me for non-dobe looking Doberman drawings, I'm on a laptop and can't draw with a scroll pad )

If I were going to use an elevated feeder.... it would be okay with me if it was like this.. See how he's still reaching down for the bowl but not AS low?

This feeder they're not bending at all and if they went to eat and stuck their nose in, they'd be all bunched up at the throat and I imagine that would be awkward. I've seen my friend's collie use an elevated feeder and that's how he looks when he eats.

 

Oh, you are such a great artist! Seriously! I love pictures and dobes look real and AT understandz the concept. Thank you! :clap_1:

 

Uh, yes you did say that one needs to feed smaller meals to eliminate the threat of bloat. That does NOT eliminate the threat of bloat.

 

Uhhh, what I said was that I took the precaution and fed smaller meals to eliminate the threat of bloat, all of which is unproven with using an elevated feeder....the key sentence is TOOK THE PRECAUTION. I didn't imply that it eliminates bloat in it's entirety, as it is unsure as to what causes bloat in the first place.

 

I had a dobie who slipped a disk in her neck playing tug of war and used a raised feeder thereafter. Before that all my dogs ate at floor level and now they all eat at raised level. I do feed twice a day instead of once. I agree that wild animals, dogs included do not raise there food high to eat it, but they also lay down to eat a great deal of time, but I can't get my girls to take the time to do that. LOL Whatever your most comfortable with.....

 

Purdue Bloat Study - Puppy & Dog Forums

I'm sorry, I couldn't find the original Purdue study, but I remember reading it when I was thinking of getting a Great Dane. If I remember correctly, not only did elevated bowls not prevent bloat, but a higher occurence of bloat was found in dogs with raised bowls. (!)

Again, it seems that all bloat research is fairly inconclusive and they haven't gotten everything figured out, but according to Purdue, raised bowls haven't been proven to help.

Bloat is a scary thing, and I hope this helps - sorry I couldn't find the original study - darn, should have saved that article!! If someone who is better at finding stuff gets a hold of it, I definitely think it should be posted on the forum.

 

Sorry, Like A Boxer! Didn't see your post!

 

Unfortunately, Purdue's links on the GDV studies have been taken down.
Their studies identified both dietary and non-dietary risk factors: (in no particular order)
feeding a single large meal
raised feeding bowls
having a close relative w/ GDV (parent, sibling, offspring, etc)
fat in the first 4 ingredients of the food
citric acid in food
increasing age of dog
eating rapidly

Diet-Related Risk Factors for Gastric Dilatation-Volvulus in Dogs of High-Risk Breeds -- Raghavan et al. 40 (3): 192 -- Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association
AVMA - Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association - 217(10):1492 - Abstract
Diet-related risk factors for gastric dilatation-volvulus in dogs of high-risk breeds: A nested case-control study

 

I started Hara off feeding with a raised bowl. The reason being that when I first got her the Doberman show person in Russia who found Hara for me told me to do that. She said they use it as part of the training for the dogs to stand more "on their toes" so to speak. In the show ring in Europe they cannot stack their dogs or use bait, so from an early age, apparently they try to teach them to stand for the show ring.

Early on in Hara's career I was not sure what I wanted from her, and thought we were going to be into showing. I found out it is not really my thing. So now when she is in her "summer cottage" she eats with the extended bowl. When in the house she gets whatever bowl is hand on the floor.

I will mention there was an added benefit to having the attached bowl to the wall- when I fed with a bowl on the floor it always ended up in her outside run, the reason she would take it out there is beyond me.

In terms of the bloat thing, I had read that as well but saw nothing that looked conclusive.

 

I will mention there was an added benefit to having the attached bowl to the wall- when I fed with a bowl on the floor it always ended up in her outside run, the reason she would take it out there is beyond me.

It is a great idea to secure a bowl no matter what feeder I will go with. Thanks

 

Since dogs have been domesticated for many,many years now I'm confused why do people say wild dogs do not eat from a elevated position. Wolfs & coyotes and the like do not eat from a elevated position.No one can say either way is best for our domesticated dogs even the vets are not sure the reason why dogs bloat.
Fed my Bouvier's 20 years from a elevated feeder so Buddy gets to use it now I do think feeding adults twice a day helps.On the other hand Wolf's and coyotes and suck gorge them selfs when feeding since they do not know when they will get their next meal. They also usually have run long distances to kill their prey they eat immediately after all that running ( exercise) do they bloat ? no one knows for sure but I would guess not or there would be their bones laying by the carcasses of their prey? No one knows you just have to do what you think is best in your situation and hope for the best.

 

Since dogs have been domesticated for many,many years now I'm confused why do people say wild dogs do not eat from a elevated position. Wolfs & coyotes and the like do not eat from a elevated position.No one can say either way is best for our domesticated dogs even the vets are not sure the reason why dogs bloat.
Fed my Bouvier's 20 years from a elevated feeder so Buddy gets to use it now I do think feeding adults twice a day helps.

Your first two sentences just confused me... a lot.

 

Here are a couple other threads about this topic:

http://www.dobermantalk.com/doberman-related-chat/9887-food-water-bowls.html
http://www.dobermantalk.com/doberman-health/13628-raised-feeding-not.html


Personally, I feed my dog from ground level. I see no reason to use raised feeders unless there is a medical problem that warrants it.

 

I don't know what you see at your homes, but at my house I see dinner vanish in less than 90 seconds. My dogs spend far more time running around with noses on the ground, sniffing things, in fact they spend a huge amount of time with their heads to the ground on a daily basis. Seriously, how can that not cause strain but the few minutes it takes to eat in that position will cause neck strain? That makes NO sense people! None what so ever.

I feed Kinder in raised bowl because the woman I got her from INSISTS. She doesn't like it much and would clearly prefer not to. In fact, I have bowls of water out at all times on the floor for the cats, and Kinder has her raised bowl. She drinks from the floor, every, single time. Both are stainelss steel, same water, changed at the same time, in fact the bowls are even the exact same size.

Didi eats from the ground, same way all of my dogs have for the last 20 years and I've owned Boxers, Collies and GSD, all large, deep chested breeds who are more susceptible to bloat and I have never had a dog bloat, nor have I ever had a neck/spine issue. I feed smaller meals, twice a day. We dont feed immediately before or after exercise and the dogs are kept quiet for an hour or so after eating.