To raise or not to raise

[Rio]

No I did not decide to post about the Titanic!!!!
I have seen so many conflicting answers about this I thought I would ask on here instead.

Does having a raised food bowl or water bowl in anyway help ease the risk of bloating?

Thanks for any opinions you have on this.

[Chowmomma]

I had raised due to an older dog who had trouble leaning down to eat

Sent from me, Chowmomma

[Auddymay]

I don't think there is a scientific certainty regarding raised bowls and bloat. It has been debated in the past. Bigger contributing factors are speed eaten and amount of food, and activity afterward. If your Chow coughs and gags while drinking, a raised bowl might be in order for that particular thing.

[Rio]

Thanks for the replies, Auddymay the only time Rio coughs is when the little tike decides he wants a drink out of the outdoor tap (faucet) then the water goes up his nose, in his eyes,in his ears, well you get the picture!!!!!

[Rory's Dad]

Raised bowls, but for no scientific reason.

[Ursa's daddy]

I don't use raised bowl for food. As Chowmamma noted, some dogs have trouble bending down, and it is helpful for them. They make a bowl with raised lumps to spread the food around and slow down the eating process. Perhaps someone knows the name of it.

[Sarahloo]

As Chowmamma noted, some dogs have trouble bending down, and it is helpful for them.

It's also for preventing skeletal damage especially for larger dogs. The idea is that the bowl grows with the larger puppy, and there is no bending down from a great height every time they want to eat/drink.

[Rio]

Ursa's daddy, the bowl you were trying to think of was the aptly named Anti-gulp bowl made by Trixie. We have one, Rio hasn't used it for a few weeks, we were waiting for his muzzle to get a little longer as the raised areas were too tall and kept smacking him in the face.

[reddog]

Around the time I rescued my beloved Chloe (14 yrs ago) I read an article that said you should use a raised bowl feeding station for larger/taller dogs. The reason being is it makes it easier for them to swallow their food or water. Shortly after that my nephew became engaged and they rescued a German shepherd/boxer mix. Guess that they put on their gift registry – a raised feeding station for Bear. I bought them one and it caused some explaining and then laughter at the bridal shower. Both Chloe and Bear are now on the other side of the rainbow bridge. I’m so glad I kept Chloe’s feeding station because I am now using it for Whitby.

[Rio]

Thats a lovely story Red, thanks for sharing.

[Cam Atis]

Bruiser (my toy fox terrier of 7 years) and some others would just lie down and eat from their unraised bowls while at a rest. Some were even in a lazy sitting position. I guess they have a solution already. I always think of those standing all the time as not lazy.
I think the raised food bowl is a solution from a human perspective, or that it could be a marketing tack.

[sara]

just what i was reading about, i had always thought the raised bowl was best for the larger breed but this is what i have been finding out recently which says the opposite.
copy and paste job, here you go...... I'll have to go back and find where i sourced this info and let you know with an edit, it was written by some specialist or other, I'll post back on that soon..... EDIT. here you are..*Published in November 2000: Glickman LT, Glickman NW, Schellenberg DB, et al. Non-dietary risk factors for gastric dilatation-volvulus in large and giant breed dogs. J Am Vet Med Assoc 2000; 217:1492-1499.

The following factors have been identified as “non-dietary risk factors”* for BLOAT:

1. Using a raised food bowl - 110% risk increase associated with using a raised food bowl
2. Speed of eating (1-10 scale) – 15% risk increase for each unit increase in speed of eating (for dogs weighing from 49 to 100 pounds)
3. Age in years – 20% risk increase for each year increase in age
4. Chest depth/width ratio (1.0 to 2.4) – 170% risk increase for each unit increase in chest depth/width ratio
5. First degree relative with BLOAT – 63% risk increase associated with having a first degree relative with BLOAT (First degree relative is defined as a sire, dam, litter mate or offspring.)
*Published in November 2000: Glickman LT, Glickman NW, Schellenberg DB, et al. Non-dietary risk factors for gastric dilatation-volvulus in large and giant breed dogs. J Am Vet Med Assoc 2000; 217:1492-1499.

In addition to the risk factors listed above, many veterinarians believe that stress also causes BLOAT. Dog owners can’t do anything about a dog’s age (risk factor 3), a dog’s anatomical structure (risk factor 4) or a dog’s genetics (risk factor 5). Owners can, however, do something about risk factors 1 and 2.

Risk Factor 1 – Using a raised food bowl: Many manufacturers and pet suppliers are making claims that the raised feeder or dog bowl aids a dog’s digestion and prevents bloat. We have found no scientific research to support these claims. The Glickman et al study found that use of a raised feeder actually increases the risk of bloat by 110%. This risk factor can be eliminated by not feeding dog from a raised food bowl. Dr. Glickman’s data showed that “approximately 20% and 50% of cases of GDV among the large and giant breed dogs, respectively, were attributed to having a raised food bowl.” (J Am Vet Med Assoc 2000;217:1492-1499).

Risk Factor 2 – Speed of Eating: If a dog is a “greedy” eater and weighs between 49 and 100 pounds, then steps should be taken to slow down how fast the dog eats. When a dog gulps food, the dog ingests air with the food. Air ingestion causes gas that may, in turn, cause the dog to bloat. As the research data indicated that speed of eating was a risk factor for large breeds only, we asked Dr. Glickman for his thoughts concerning slowing the speed of eating in giant breeds. He stated that slowing eating rate would not be harmful to giant breed dogs.

FINAL NOTE: It should be noted that Dr. Glickman’s study was confined only to large and giant breed dogs. However, according to Dr. Glickman any breed of dog can bloat.

[beckysmyth92]

Hey I'm not sure about the raised bowl, but to prevent bloating you should mix a little water in with meals as when chow chows are eating dry food they swallow a lot of air as they are deep chested so its best to mix a little water with there food and this prevents bloating which can become dangerous!

hope this helps