Raw Feeders Experiences Of Bloat?
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editor in
Question & Answer on
Dec 30th, 2009 |
12 responses
I’ve not been raw feeding my dog long, but have been told that it can help prevent bloat.
Is this true in your experience?
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No one knows exactly what causes bloat. ALL dog breeds/mixes can bloat, raw fed dogs can (and have bloated), kibble fed dogs can (and have bloated). There are many theories as to what causes bloat but no actual proof on any..the only one thing known for certain is that stress can play a big part and so can genetics.
The better quality the kibble the less expansion, Canidae,Wellness,Chicken Soup have very little to no expansion at all,
I’ve been feeding raw for over 30 yrs & thankfully never experienced bloat.
When you see the size that complete food swells up to when wet I’m not surprised that so many dogs go down with it.
Having said that, I know bloat has been around a lot longer than complete foods, so it’s not the only culprit. There are many different reasons why some breeds are more susceptible than others to bloat – conformation, rearing, exercise even inherited but anything that may minimise the risk is worth trying.
I’m not a vet.. nor a vet tech like Draft Dog- if she saws she’s seen raw fed dogs with bloat I believe her.
However, *I* personally have a fear of kibble expanding with water in the stomach. I also know that kibble takes longer to digest.
I have not personally heard of any raw fed dogs with bloat.
bloat comes from dry food expanding when wet, and since raw isn’t dry, it just wont cause that. The most I can think is they eat too much raw.
I am actually aware of several raw feeders that have had bloat.
1 Newf
2 Danes
1 GSD
3 R.Collies
and 2 Berners
**There are several breed clubs that are looking at the occurance of bloat in raw feeders. Of course the swelling of kibble is not the only cause of bloat, and genetics STILL plays a role. In the Collies, they were ALL from the same breeding…just two different litters. There are still so many issues at play it is hard to know what to do!!!!!!! (I can also tell you that two of the Collies, 1 Dane, and the GSD all were also elevated feeders.)
I have only been feeding the raw model for a year so luckily, I have not experienced that. But I can see the reasoning, the more natural and holistic the food we give them, the less likely the body will reject it. But of course follow common sense prudence like small feedings, no exercise before or after, etc. But so far, the other benefits of RAW have been great, less stool, shinier coat, better breath and overrall more energy.
I have never heard of any raw feeders experiencing bloat (which is generally experienced with extruded type kibble which enlarges when exposed to liquid). If you’re concerned, yahoo groups has a rawfed group that is excellent. There are thousands of members many with a lifetime of feeding raw to large groups of dogs which was helpful to me. I’ve been feeding raw for three years now but don’t have a breed prone to bloat.
I have no idea of the occurence of bloat in raw fed dogs… I’m responding to the kibble expanding comments… I water down one of my dogs food before she eats and let it soak for at least 20 mins before she gets fed, sometimes more. I have also watered puppy food down and let it soak up to make puppy mush. The biggest difference is the puppy food took up twice as much room in it’s container than my dogs food. If I filled the bucket halfway w the puppy food, it would be full by the end of 20 mins with not a drop of loose water. My dogs food pretty much stays the same, If I fill up her bowl halfway it might rise a fraction of an inch but does not fill up the bowl. The difference in the quality of foods…. well puppy food was science diet (what our rescue gets at a discount and feeds), my food is a super premium food. I’m guessing it has to do with fillers and production.
I would love to see a real study done on the instances of bloat with different quality foods, crap, quality kibble and raw… I’m betting it would be VERY interesting.
I have been raw feeding for over 5 years and haven’t had any problem. I belong to a raw feeding group and have seen posts about dogs with bloat but don’t know too much about it, sorry.
My dogs aren’t breeds that are prone to bloat, but we do raw feed. I would think that it would help prevent bloat as it takes the dogs longer to chew and swallow (less air gulped) and the food doesn’t expand in the GI tract. Just me guessing, though.
Yes, the reason is that dog food has too many fillers and their system processes gas. They actually need more quality protein in their diet. Go to the following link and if you are interested, I can send you some samples.
http://www.vetbalance.com
I have a raw fed standard poodle that just had bloat/gastric torsion. I don’t think they really know what causes it.