bloat

 Well I have a 112lb St Bernard, and a 75lb german Shepherd, and I feed the St, Innova, and the Shepherd, California Natural. So far so good. I stay away from foods that swell to much. I don't let them run for at least two hours after they eat..I know there is a lot of questions about bloat out there. But this is what I feed.

It is my opinion that the best dog food to HELP (nothing is a 100% guaranty) is to go raw.

Also to keep the dog quiet for an hour prior and 2 hrs after eating, and make sure your dog is well socialized with a good temperament, anxiety can also cause dogs to bloat.  Main thing, that I've gathered from research is genetics.  Some dogs are predisposed, lines with bloat in deep chested dogs are far too common sadly.

So, I crate my dog prior to and after eating (i do feed raw) and do my best to make sure he's a well adjusted dog.  Recently a friend of mine lost her dog to what we assume is bloat (pending autopsy) she put her dog in his crate for bedtime and when they woke up the next morning he was dead.  He was 22 months old. ... who knows what happened to make that night the fateful one that it was, but I'd have to guess genetics.

Just do your best and familiarize yourself with the symptoms and I keep tums (or pepcid or the like) on hand.  It will not stop a dog from bloating, but it can buy you a precious few minutes to get your dog to the vet.

another warning  on one of my golden etriever forums, a golden was put under for a minor proceudre--nd developed bloat from the gas give to it.  She was surhsed back to hospital, cure" only to have it happen again in a few hours.  she was so bad off he ower was thinking about sending her to the bridge.  but a 3rd trip to thevet and she has been find since her reease from hospitalo.

I only mention this because all pecausions need to be taken as far as food goes, but also, put your dog under as seldom as possible.  Get teeth cleaned and cyst reoved at same time, get spay ad teeth cleaned, etc. all to void a 2ed "putting under" of your beloved dog.

Here are two really good links I've found on bloat:

http://www.globalspan.net/bloat.htm

http://www.critterchatter.com/past_issues/july-aug05/bloat.html

I have an article that I got off the Interent a few years ago. It was writtin by a woman that had a dog that bloated a lot...I believe it was a Great Dane. But she suggested having Phayzme on hand and giving 10 caps even in case you even think your dog MIGHT be in bloat. Also can have liquid simethicone on hand...which is what I have. She also suggests Rescue Remedy on hand JUST IN CASE to help keep the dog from going into shock. 

Back to the original question about food. The lady in this article said that when she switched her dog to a meat based kibble from the grain based kibble he was on....the dog never bloated again.    

I always added meat as a topping for our Danes kibble....hoping to help her not bloat.  Also its very important to me to use a probiotic supplement and I even "up" it when he is under stress.

 If your really concerned about bloat here is an aricle about accupressure and your dog,,,used for bloat. I printed this out and hope that if I ever need it I can find it in a hurry and not panic.

 http://www.iwane.org/A_P.htm

I think there's alot of behavior things that might be more important than the type of food.  Not letting them gouge on food or water before or after exercise, resting about an hour after eating, slowing down a gulper, etc.  I lost my airedale to bloat and he had nothing on his stomach at all.  He was 10 and had been increasingly affected badly by stress.  A bad incident while being boarded sent him into a tailspin and he hadn't eaten in approx. 48 hours before he bloated once, the vet was able to resolve it and then he twisted a second time about 24 hours later and we made the painful decision to let him go because we doubted seriously he would survive the surgery.  I was told that as these dogs who are prone to the disease age, the abdominal muscles that help support the stomach and hold it in place begin to weaken as their general condition does with age and it can be more likely to happen.

I feed homemade that is moist and contains alot of water, so swelling is less of an issue.  I'm still careful, though.  I feed them twice a day (all in one meal is not supposed to be good for volume reasons), crate them at mealtime so there's no stressful gulping or anxiety, and keep them quiet or crated for an hour after meals.  I don't feed within an hour of exercising, sometimes longer if they've been at the dog park and have really been crazy and active.  Gulping water has never been a problem but if I noticed it, I'd limit how much water they had access to at one time.

It's a scary and sad thing.  I hate it and live in fear of it.  I try to do everything I can to avoid it.  I've read such conflicting things on the use of elevated food bowls and my airedale was fed and watered with one, but now I'm feeding both on floor level.  Kind of hard to elevate a food bowl in a crate. 

BCMixs

I I lost my airedale to bloat and he had nothing on his stomach at all.  He was 10 and had been increasingly affected badly by stress. . 

Curious....what did your airdale eat normally?

I believe you hit the nail on the head....stress.  With all I read ( and I do read everything I can about bloat ) stress plays a very very large factor on it.   I am concerned about the exercise before and after eating......but more than that I am concerned about stress around eating time.

I know of a Dane a year ago was taken to grooming which always was upsetting to him. Sure enough he started getting sick and they called the owner. Long story short....the dog died because of bloat.

He had stomach issues most of his life and had many episodes of near fatal HGE.  The only food he could tolerate was Science Diet for Sensitive Stomach.  I didn't know about homecooking back then, probably would have helped.  

For him, it was a catastrophic combo of bad events.  The stupid kennel I had him at while on vacation told me that he'd fallen into a splits during the night and was stuck that way all night and then couldn't stand properly on the concrete run without falling.  They never called me or my vet though they had numbers for both.  I'd have had him transferred to my vet immediately had I known.  So when I got him back a few days later, he was extremely stressed and I imagine due to the falling, splits, etc. all his abdominal muscles were probably fatigued and possibly damaged.  Despite our efforts to just rest him (I took him immediately to the vet for a check when I picked him up) and trying to let him recuperate, I think it was all too much.  This was the dog that nearly died from HGE when I introduced a new dog to the household, so I'm really surprised he didn't die at the kennel, he was that susceptible to stress in his old age.  

Needless to say, I'm UBER cautious about feeding and stomach issues now with Woobie and Indie.  Homecooking is NO problem for me after losing Rush. 

there was a study showing that feeding chunks of meat was highly protective for bloat. I have dogs of a breed prone to bloat and our biggy is never ever feed a bowl of nothing but dry kibble in it. But really, the primary causes of bloat seem to be genetics and stress, with diet only playing a secondary role. If you go around collected stories about bloat a theme that keeps coming up is a major distruption in routine, like moving to a new house, or being kenneled, or owner goes on vacation.

I've looked into bloat since I have GSDs and they are large with deep chests.  I've heard GSD owners who say they fed one meal a day, three meals a day, never fed before/after exercise, did feed before/after exercise, moistened kibble with water, never added water and only used dry kibble....you name it and dogs have bloated.  I personally have never known anyone with a dog that bloated and I only know one person (excluding online acquaintances) that feeds raw or homecooked, everyone I know feeds kibble.  I think raw/homecooked is definitely better overall, but I don't know that there's any proof that kibble - or one kibble over another - actually causes bloat.  If so I'd think there'd be much more of a pattern by now.

mudpuppy

there was a study showing that feeding chunks of meat was highly protective for bloat. I have dogs of a breed prone to bloat and our biggy is never ever feed a bowl of nothing but dry kibble in it.

In my heart of hearts...I believe this.  I never fed Ollie or Bubblegum just plain kibble for that reason.  I always added meat..or at least eggs on top of their kibble. 

Could someone kindly educate me on this..
One of my goldies will bow and stretch after his meal then go down and start scratching his face and lick his legs.. is this a sign or symptom of abdominal pain? I've only noticed this few days ago. He is ok now though.
My other girl will burp after her meal.. so she has gas, and how do i get rid of that?
I'm constantly worried and wonder if I should rush them in. I watch them after that and limit water before and after a meal. But does bloat only happen after a meal? Somewhere said it could happen anytime with water, and when I'm not home, and nobody else is, this is so scary.

They get home cooked food, fed off a bowl on the floor, i *try* slowing them down since they pretty much love to inhale their food...

As a Great Dane owner, I understand worrying about bloat. I personally know 2 people whos dogs bloated and both were German Shepherds, however I am on a few Great Dane forums, an so I hear about it a lot. When ever I hear of a dog bloating I try to ask what they eat and while its true that most dogs large dogs eat kibble, the last Dane that bloated that I read a few weeks back, ate raw. So nothing is full proof, all we can do is try.     I also always ask if their dogs are given probiotics, most  are not. 

I don't think most dogs bloat right after they eat, I think many bloat several hours, in fact I just read that most dogs bloat at night, many overnight.  I also just read that many dogs bloat while being kenneled away from home.  From all that I read ( and I read every thing I can find ) I believe stress plays a very very big role in bloat.   When I worked at the vet clinic someone brought their Great Dane to the groomer next door, which always caused this guy stress, and this last time within 10 minutes of being dropped off the dog got sick and bloated.

For me, I feed a high quality kibble and give Gibby probiotics.  I try to keep him calm before and after feeding for about an hour. I think its very important to NOT feed one time a day, for us, we split his food into three times a day. I add a little water on his kibble and therefore he rarely goes to his water dish immediatly after eating.  I feed from raised bowls ( that is contraversy now ) and I try to feed him enough time before we go out, or enough time before we have company where he is going to be excited or streesed...giving his food a little time to settle.   I do put a little of some kind of toppings on his food such as yogurt, cottage cheese etc.    I do have simethicone in liquid form in the fridge ready to go if I need it, it can not hurt them if you think your dog is bloating. I also have the road mapped out and phone numbers ready for the 2 ER clinics we have, but  unfortunatly both are equal distance away, about 40 minutes from my house.     I hope and pray I never see bloat..but try to be careful and watchful just in case, while still enjoying my dog without too much worry!

Oh by the way, with my other Dane I had talked to Linda Arndt ( better known as the Great Dane Lady on the internet ) and she said if your dog burps up....thats great. That means he is releasing his gas.

 Yup I hope NEVER to see a bloat too. I get so scared because my dogs get very excited when I come to them for meals. And when I ignore them the hour before and after a meal, they are separated as well. They still gobble everything up. I make them lie down after dinner, but make sure they don't go belly up, slow walk is out of the question, they get way too excited and start jumping if we're heading out for a walk. My boy drinks water like he's a fire hose. I lay their food bowls on the floor and do give them probiotics as well as apple cider vinegar.

I know goldens are not as predisposed to bloat as great danes, but after Marley and me... it became pretty real and scary so I keep a close watch when I'm home after their meals especially. My mind goes wild when I know there isn't anyone at home watching them