Elevated bowls

[Sherry]

Now I'm very Confused!

Wow, after reading the info on the links that Julie posted, I need to seriously consider going back to floor feedings.

Actually my oldest guy who will be 8 next month does have a tendency to barf up his food shortly after he eats. He's always running to the door to try and go outside instead of barfing in the house. I wonder if the raised bowl could be contributing to it. What about their water bowl, should it be low also?

Thanks for the info.

Sherry

Taz, Maggie & Seger's mom

 

[DogNamed_Boo]

I have noticed since I started feeding Boo in elevated bowls he doesn't have as much gas as before....& he does eat slower..!
I just want to do the right thing for my son ...there are so many pros & cons on this that & the other ...all you can do is what you think is best for your boxer ! Whats good for one ..may not be good for the other...!!

lovicon
Boogity...Boogity...Boo

 

[Scorpio]

I feed my guys with raised bowls. Never had a problem. I find it better for their legs. When I used normal bowls my rottie would spread his legs to get to his bowl. Now he stands straight without having to bend down. A book I have here on Boxers says to adjust them as they grown to keep yur boxers foreglegs fromturning out and becoming bent.

 

[boxers4life2001]

Chance eats from a raised food bowl but Maddie does not. Chance eats very very fast. There was a time when he started throwing up his food several hours after he ate. I started raising his bowl when he eats and have not had any problems since I raised it (unfortunatly he still eats fast), no more vomiting. Weither or not that has anything to do with it or if it was just luck, I don't know.

~Carrie~

PS. I didn't vote since on does eat from a elevated bowl and one doesn't

 

[Scorpio]

MY friend across the street has a shepherd, her bowl was on the ground, she hardly ever ate and was thin, the vet said she was healthy just thin. She would always lay on the floor when she did eat. After 4 years, they bought her a raised bowl , she eats all her meals and has gained 10 lbs.

 

[HELENE]

Yes, Sergeant has his dishes raised, Gunther made a wooden platform for his food & water dishes. It is about 10" high so that when the stainless steel bowls are in it the base of the bowls are 8" from the floor, he looks much more comfortable eating from that than when he is eating from the floor, as he is quite a tall boy. He has never had any problem with bloat.

 

[BooBoo & Riley]

I started feeding BooBoo on a raised dish since he was young...but after hearing about the different reserach, I've compromised and lowered his raised bowl from 12" to 8"... he's 25"-26" tall, and it still looks pretty comfortable for him, so I'm sticking with it for now...

 

[divazoe]

Raised bowl here...

...used to have a low one, but Diva used to throw up all the time and get gas. Since I've elevated both food and water (6 years now), she has not thrown up and has very little gas. I've definitely noticed a positive difference BECAUSE of the bowl change. I don't know anything about the Cornell/Purdue study, but I DO know that the elevated bowl is recommended by many vets and breeders for ALL barrel-chested breeds. It makes sense though. How would WE humans like it if WE ate in such a position!?
I'd have to say intelligent trial and error. But don't just dismiss it because of some study. Try it for yourself! Then if you find it doesn't work for your baby, then at least you experienced it. And if it DOES make some improvement in their ohtooshort lives, then KUDOS!:p
Good luck,
Tanya

 

[JulieM]

I don't know anything about the Cornell/Purdue study

Purdue. Cornell has not done any study on bloat that I could find, and their publication, DogWatch, refers only to Purdue when they published an article on bloat.

but I DO know that the elevated bowl is recommended by many vets and breeders

Are these vets and breeders who know about the Purdue study?

for ALL barrel-chested breeds.

Boxers are not barrel-chested - in fact all of the standards specifically state that the ribs should not be barrel-shaped. :eek:

Deep, narrow chests are associated with an increased risk of bloat, compared to other dogs of the same breed.

But don't just dismiss it because of some study. Try it for yourself! Then if you find it doesn't work for your baby, then at least you experienced it.

Well, no, don't dismiss it because of "some study." But don't dismiss "some study" because people who have never read it do the opposite thing. It is one risk factor of many, it represents a 110% (that 2.1 times) risk of bloat - but if that's the only risk factor, it might not be a big deal to you. It's certainly less of a factor than moistening food preserved with citric acid - which increases risk by 340% - but doing both might be disastrous.

The problem with "if you find it doesn't work" is that if it doesn't work, the dog bloats - and quite often, dogs that bloat die. I'd hate for someone to "experiment" with a known risk factor and lose their dog because of it.

Read the study, know what *all* of the risk factors are, and then make an informed decision based on your dog's lifetime risk. (Purdue does give a 'formula' to calculate lifetime risk of bloat, so take advantage of it.)

 

[Roxanna]

I feed my two twice a day from an elevated bowl. I was under the impression that elevated bowls prevented bloat. I've been recommending it to alot of friends. I better email them the study results. Thankfully I never threw away the old traditional stainless bowls and will go back to using them. The elevated bowls will now become planters.