Bloat
Posted September 17th, 2003 @ 07:12pm by Erik J. Barzeski
Frankly, I'd have expected Dean to know better. I've read countless stories of bloat - and read many before I got my Flint - and am well aware of the harm (i.e. death) that bloat can bring. In case Dean hasn't stumbled across this tip yet, here's another: buy food dish "elevators" to raise the food to a level comfortable for a dog to eat while standing and not bending its head too low. I have a plastic one that cost $10. It raises Flint's food and water dishes about 12-18 inches. (See comments)
Being a dog owner is difficult. There's a lot to know. I'm sure Dean knows more about some aspects of Weim ownership than I do, and it's not my intent here to say in any way that he's failed as an owner. Instead, I'm merely expressing surprise at the fact that he hadn't stumbled onto that information. It - along with a bone disorder that affects larger dogs (which grow very quickly) - are two things I read quite a bit about when I was researching Weimaraner care.
I am very, very glad that Oliver is doing well, and wish him continued health for many, many years. Dean too. 🙂
Donate Life
Posted 17 Sep 2003 at 9:47pm #
Is your raised bowls for Flint a preventive move? From the link Dean gave, it says "Eating from a raised feeding bowl (In one study, about half of the dogs with GDV had a history of eating from a raised feeding bowl.)" under risk factors. Which sounds the opposite of what you're doing. I'm not very familiar with bloat and don't want to do something that might put my little guy to be at greater risk.
Posted 17 Sep 2003 at 11:53pm #
Everything I've read has said that making the dog eat from bowls laying on the ground is more stressful and likely to be linked to problematic situations than not. This is the first I've seen saying the opposite. Odd.
Now I want to do more research. I don't recall my exact sources before, but given this evidence (and a quick Google search), I tend to believe now that I listened to old wives' tales on newsgroups or something.
Thanks, Brad.
Posted 18 Sep 2003 at 12:38pm #
NP, thanks for looking into it more. I didn't have time to when I posted last night.
When I was watching a couple coyotes outside late last night, I started thinking about this. From an evolution stand point, having their bowls on the ground makes sense. In the wild all of their food and water is normally at ground level. So the body should adapt to eating with the head down. Making a raised surface a little bit unnatural.
Unless of course the coyotes had a table hidden some where that they went to sit down at after catching a rabbit. 🙂