Elevated bowls
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8025312luv
Boxer Buddy
JulieM,
I was totally confused about the whole barrel-chested and deep chested thing. I also have a doberman (he's at my parent's house since he's the family dog) and always thought he was barrel chested. Thanks for the link to those pictures! I get it now.
I was thinking the right thing but calling it the wrong thing. Note for future reference, they are deep chested. :D
Ngoc
I was totally confused about the whole barrel-chested and deep chested thing. I also have a doberman (he's at my parent's house since he's the family dog) and always thought he was barrel chested. Thanks for the link to those pictures! I get it now.
I was thinking the right thing but calling it the wrong thing. Note for future reference, they are deep chested. :D Ngoc
Scrapper's Mom
Boxer Insane
This topic has come up before on BW and caught my eye. I noticed when I first checked the links to the Purdue study on bloat, that there also seemed to be a relationship to the type of food used and the incidence of bloating/volvulus; i.e, without going into detail, I think it was something about there being a higher chance of bloat if 1. fat was one of the top four kibble ingredients, and 2. where the kibble was moistened and there was citric acid as one of the ingredients. So I immediately went and checked the ingredients on the food I use and was relieved to find out that those things weren't there. That being said, I do use a slightly raised feeder, maybe only about 6 inches higher than the bowl would normally be. Scrapper does have to bend down to get his food, he's not just standing there perfectly straight and eating. I've seen some raised feeders and they are pretty high. It seems kind of unnatural to me that the dog wouldn't have to bend at all to get its food.
My initial impression that having a raised feeder decreased the incidence of bloat was incorrect and I was glad to find out here what the true risk factors were.
BTW, "Barrel chested" to me, would imply being round, like a barrel. (Like my Dad was built!
) Boxers are deep from top to bottom but not that wide from side to side.
My initial impression that having a raised feeder decreased the incidence of bloat was incorrect and I was glad to find out here what the true risk factors were.
BTW, "Barrel chested" to me, would imply being round, like a barrel. (Like my Dad was built!
) Boxers are deep from top to bottom but not that wide from side to side.
gordsan
Super Boxer
aaaaiiiiieeee!!!! I hate it when you try to do what you think is best and you find out you've been wrong! Mason has been using a raised feeder, but I guess we'll go back to a bowl on the floor. I don't want to do anything that will increase his risk of anything bad - it's hard enough trying to do the 'don't feed an hour before or two hours after exercise' thing when you have to work and have an energetic dog! Sometimes I wonder how any of us stay sane trying to make sense of it all!!
DogNamed_Boo
Completely Boxer Crazy
So true......!! I remember growing up ....we always had a dog ....all mixed breeds ....but my parents never worried about what they fed them ....rasied bowls .....bloat ....chocolate.....etc.! The only thing that I can remember ..they never gave our dogs were chicken bones......they ate table scraps ...canned dog food .....& chocolate!
They lived long lives & gave us a some cute puppies over the years.
How times have changed ...if Boo stumps his toe I worry .....if he doesn't eat like I think he should ...I worry....Sometimes I worry more about him than I did about my kids as they were growing up ...!
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Boogity...Boogity...Boo
Cindy Creel
Boxer Insane
Duchess died from bloat
My last girl died from bloat. She was ten. I had never heard of bloat until she died. She ate slowly , from a bowl on the floor. Her mother is still alive. I have checked with some of her brothers and sisters owners and they did not ever have bloat. She was on a special diet because of a cancerous growth on her leg. Now the question is.: What caused her bloat? I was devastated. I do not want to go through that again. Samson and Delilah eat from stainless steel bowls that are raised. Vet recomended. Now I need some advice on this.
Cindy
My last girl died from bloat. She was ten. I had never heard of bloat until she died. She ate slowly , from a bowl on the floor. Her mother is still alive. I have checked with some of her brothers and sisters owners and they did not ever have bloat. She was on a special diet because of a cancerous growth on her leg. Now the question is.: What caused her bloat? I was devastated. I do not want to go through that again. Samson and Delilah eat from stainless steel bowls that are raised. Vet recomended. Now I need some advice on this.
Cindy
buddy'smom
Boxer Pal
Just my two cents
But I think we all need to just relax a bit and enjoy our furbabies for what they are, and not spend our lives changing this and changing that just because someone else says it is the best thing going.
With Kailee, I made the drastic mistake of fooling around with her meals, adding some of this and some of that and truly making a ton of work for myself. Well, I ended up with a little gal that had some digestive problems and who also wouldn't eat!! I continued on in my mission of adding this and that to solve the digestive problems and entice her to eat. I was going nutso, and Kailee was in reality not benifitting from all of my struggling.
It took one day at my parents for my dad to point out to me, that the food issues and tummy issues were my fault, nothing to do with Kailee. He told me to relax, not get so involved with the hype, and stop all this nonesense of trying new foods, raw and or kibbles. He said if I relaxed, she may just be able to enjoy her meals and actually eat for a change. Ends up he was right, Kailee eats her holistic kibble, from an elevated bowl and is doing very well. I do however bake treats for her, but that is because I enjoy doing it, and it controls what she is eating.
The moral is, if whatever you are feeding or bowls be raised or on the floor is working, your dog is healthy then leave well enough alone and just plain enjoy your furbaby. Just my two cents.
Jean
But I think we all need to just relax a bit and enjoy our furbabies for what they are, and not spend our lives changing this and changing that just because someone else says it is the best thing going.
With Kailee, I made the drastic mistake of fooling around with her meals, adding some of this and some of that and truly making a ton of work for myself. Well, I ended up with a little gal that had some digestive problems and who also wouldn't eat!! I continued on in my mission of adding this and that to solve the digestive problems and entice her to eat. I was going nutso, and Kailee was in reality not benifitting from all of my struggling.
It took one day at my parents for my dad to point out to me, that the food issues and tummy issues were my fault, nothing to do with Kailee. He told me to relax, not get so involved with the hype, and stop all this nonesense of trying new foods, raw and or kibbles. He said if I relaxed, she may just be able to enjoy her meals and actually eat for a change. Ends up he was right, Kailee eats her holistic kibble, from an elevated bowl and is doing very well. I do however bake treats for her, but that is because I enjoy doing it, and it controls what she is eating.
The moral is, if whatever you are feeding or bowls be raised or on the floor is working, your dog is healthy then leave well enough alone and just plain enjoy your furbaby. Just my two cents.
Jean
Cindy Creel
Boxer Insane
Holistic Kibble
What is holistic kibble and where do i get it? I want my babies to eat right.
Cindy
What is holistic kibble and where do i get it? I want my babies to eat right.
Cindy
buddy'smom
Boxer Pal
Cindy
Holistic kibble is a kibble that is made from human consumption grade foods with no chemicals or preservatives in it. It contains many of the supplements you may read about on here in the BARF forums, herbs etc. No fillers which means she is only getting the food products she needs. There are a few different brands of holistic foods out there. The first one I tried on Kailiee was just called Holistic Blend the website is www.holisticblend.com
She was on that brand for just over 6 months but alas she tired of it, and the company told me I needed to start adding supplements to it to encourage her to eat it. That was enough for me to once again begin researching and find a food that she liked. She now eats Royal Canin Natural Blend and Loves it! She eats just 3 cups a day, is very satisified and the waste she expels is minimal now. Here is their website
http://www.naturalblend.com/
I know there are others, Solid Gold being one as well as Candide (sp?)
I chose this way to feed her, as I felt is was the best alternative to feeding an all natural diet (BARF) not that I have anything against BARF I just don't have the time to get involved in it right now.
Although one may say that feeding a good quality kibble, holistic or otherwise costs more, it really doesn't 3 cups a day vs. 4 to 5 on lesser quality kibbles averages out to the same costs, not to mention the fact that she has less waste.
Jean
Holistic kibble is a kibble that is made from human consumption grade foods with no chemicals or preservatives in it. It contains many of the supplements you may read about on here in the BARF forums, herbs etc. No fillers which means she is only getting the food products she needs. There are a few different brands of holistic foods out there. The first one I tried on Kailiee was just called Holistic Blend the website is www.holisticblend.com
She was on that brand for just over 6 months but alas she tired of it, and the company told me I needed to start adding supplements to it to encourage her to eat it. That was enough for me to once again begin researching and find a food that she liked. She now eats Royal Canin Natural Blend and Loves it! She eats just 3 cups a day, is very satisified and the waste she expels is minimal now. Here is their website
http://www.naturalblend.com/
I know there are others, Solid Gold being one as well as Candide (sp?)
I chose this way to feed her, as I felt is was the best alternative to feeding an all natural diet (BARF) not that I have anything against BARF I just don't have the time to get involved in it right now.
Although one may say that feeding a good quality kibble, holistic or otherwise costs more, it really doesn't 3 cups a day vs. 4 to 5 on lesser quality kibbles averages out to the same costs, not to mention the fact that she has less waste.
Jean
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