Raised Bowls

I'm right there with you Amy...don't know what the best thing to do really is!

Talus had stomach issues before we raised his bowl...
after we raised it, he was much better...now that he's on "people" food, no stomach issues at all...
6 of one half dozen of the other I guess.....

Ive just been freaking out... I dont know if its me or if I do have reason to worry.  Bailey ate real fast and was running around with Minnie and I made her stop once I saw and then she drank a bunch of water... then came in here and I closed the door.  She started doing this choking thing like gagging but nothing came up she did that a few times so then I started freaking out and brought her outside and she pooped a little poop. 
 
Shes in bed with DH now... Ive been laying in there with her listening to her stomach and breathing and all.  Even after reading I dont know what Im looking for.  Would it be more obvious?  Would she just be sleeping?  Her tummy is rumbling and she burped a few time earlier... but her tummy is usually making some sort of noise so I dont know.
 
Im making myself sick here...[&o] 

Those bloat studies and raised dishes are so controversial. One minute they're saying that raised dishes are linked to bloat, the next minute they're saying that raised dishes prevent bloat. All of my dogs (except Tia, she's too small) have raised dishes. I don't worry about bloat with them anyway eventhough I do have a deep chested breed (Dobe). Everything I've heard/read says that dogs most susceptible to bloat are the fast eaters that take in a lot of air while eating, not sure if thats true or not but I think it is. My dogs are slow eaters. They're a lot more comfortable having a raised dish. I'll always have raised dishes for my dogs. Every dog in my family (past & present) has had a raised dish and so far none of them bloated.

the next minute they're saying that raised dishes prevent bloat.

 
That is one of the reasons I decided on raised bowls. I had read they were a reventative measure for bloat.
But also my dog is in love with her water dish! If i leave her bowl at floor level, my kitchen is constantly flooded.. She'll put both paws in her dish and just go to town, splashing up a storm, until its emptied everywhere. []  Then struts about with quite the satisfied expression!

Amy,
 
If she's comfortable looking, I don't think she's bloating. I watch E-Vets and they had a bloated Doberman on the show... she looked REALLY uncomfortable. Also, you should be able to press on her stomach no problem... at least I would think, since otherwise it would be painful.
 
I'm a worry wort about bloat too. Everytime she starts acting wierd after eating, I go into "bloat alert" []. I take, I think, all the precautions I can. I limit activity for 30min before and after meals, I have a slightly raised dish (about 2.5 inches... it's a Yahtzee box []), I don't let her slurp and slurp and slurp right after a meal and I keep a really close eye on her. I'm lucky in the fact that Maddi is a delicate eater... only a kibble or two per crunch.
 
I also read somewhere... I don't know whether it's true or not, but if you can hear tummy "gurgles" that happen during normal digestion, you're dog's probably not bloating.

Thanks guys!  I just just being in the middle of a conversation about it... then reading about it... then she DOES that stuff!  I was freaking out!  Spent most of last night with my hand on her to feel her breathing and stuff.  I was assuming she would wake up and give me a sign of it but was still worried as all heck because of the dry heaving.
 
Does anyone know if its bad to add a little room temp water to the food?  I think its bad to add hot or drown the food... but not sure about just a little.

First, I'm not a vet and I can only tell you what I've observed as very common signs in almost every case I've witnessed.   Others who have experience in this may have different observations.  And, by the way, these things usually didn't happen around meal-time - it was hours later.
 
The dog starts looking uncomfortable - look at him and his belly, particularly the area just past his ribs.  I've seen the bloat hide up behind the ribs, but usually some part of the stomach is below the rib area and you can see the dog look sort of puffed out/fat.  I've actually seen a bulge on one side if you looked at the dog from the top down.  (ie, stand over him and look straight down and compare one side to the other.)  If there's any question, take a fabric tape measure and measure the circumference around his belly at that spot.  Mark it in some way because you'll go back and measure the same spot in 5/10 minutes - don't want to measure a different spot by accident.  If it's bigger, you've got a concern.  If you tap your finger against that spot of his belly and it sounds like a drum, that can be a sign.
 
Then I saw the dog try to vomit - and usually it was water and foamy.  (Again, just what I've observed, it could be different.)  You may see some bits in there, but usually water(y), sometimes yellow bile-looking, and very often foamy.  (To me that foam in the presence of all the other things was an almost def. sign.)  If you offer a SMALL amount of water and they peuk it up w/in 15-20 mins, it's likely coming up because it can't get to the stomach.
 
A classic sign we always watched for was the dog couldn't get comfortable laying down.  Laying down is painful and they just can't stay down.  If all of the above were happening - dog looked lethargic or that "concerned" look in their eyes, they vomited or regurgitated water, their stomach looked distended, and they couldn't lie down for more than 30 seconds - we called the vet to give them a heads up and rushed them in. 
 
It's easier to catch it sooner than later.  But, you know, even with all of the above it could be nothing, it could be an obstruction.  Or (as in the case of the dog who died overnight) you may never see those signs and it still happens. 
 
Sorry, didn't mean to make this about bloat, but did want to offer help.  I really don't know if raised dishes will help deter or encourage the condition.  But knowing what to look for and how to act will help if you think it's happening. 

ORIGINAL: loveukaykay
Does anyone know if its bad to add a little room temp water to the food?  I think its bad to add hot or drown the food... but not sure about just a little.

 
I read somewhere that it's good to add water to the food, because it makes the food expand before the dog eats--which can reduce the risk of bloat. I've also heard that it brings out the flavor of the food more, so it sounds like a good thing to do anyway. []

Hmmm so its better to get it puffed up first with water? 
 
I am worried about bloat so dont be sorry... last night that was something she was doing and then DH starting worrying too and I think we were feeding off of each others worry.  She would lay down for more than 5 seconds in one spot.  She keps moving around... go to the couch lay down, get up come under my chair lay down get up...
 
We brought her to bed and she did that in the bed for a while.  She shoved her head under the covers to get under there like normal and barrelled her way to the foot of the bed and did so many turns and moving around she got all tangled in the covers and fell off. 
 
She finally settled down but that was really bothering us.  What normally would have been funny was making us go crazy with worry!  She likely just had a stomach ache from something.  I just layed there and pet her and cried.  Grabbed Kaylas ashes and layed there with the two of them.  I cant go through this again.  I just have SO much anxiety.  When I leave the house I have to hurry home and make sure shes still alive.  Im going to age myself worrying like this... but Im scared.  No matter what I do I know anything can happen and poof.
 

Amy, I know EXACTLY how you feel!!  It's a sick feeling to worry about this.  But, really, like most things in her life, you just balance out your risks.  If we ran our lives by avoiding risks, we'd all sit in a vacuum and just let our lives expire.  In my group of training friends, we say:
If you worry and it was for nothing, then you suffered for nothing.
If you worry and there is a problem, then you've suffered twice.  SO, worrying is suffering and you should only have to endure that once and for good reason.
Be aware and have a plan, but try not to worry.  []
 
Yes, lukewarm water in her food will actually help expand the food before it expands in her stomach.
 
For my own dog, sometimes I thump on her her ribs as she's laying down or walking by me - as if I'm "burping" a dog.  I have absolutely no idea if that does a darn thing, but it's reassuring to me when she burps and I think at least that gas isn't trapped inside.
 
Bloat can look a lot like obstruction and vice versa, so it's not easy to tell, and sometimes just a sour belly.  That's why for me the foamy excessive vomit COMBINED with all the others was my tell-tale sign of trouble.  Again, this is just my experience with those particular Dobes.  Bailey has made it this far without raised bowls and a deep chest (think the circumference of her chest is twice the circumference of her waist?), then she'll be fine if you balance your risks, take the precautions you think necessary, and have a plan.
 BIG HUGS to you ALL!  Don't worry.  Now you know what to do, and that should be reassuring.  Talk to your vet about it, too, since he/she knows your dog and her medical issues and your environment and all those factors.  Again, more big hugs!