Elevated food dish or not?

[wolf_Q]

I'm confused about elevated food dishes. Some say they are better and will help prevent bloat and other problems and some say they can cause bloat and other problems. I've seen some conflicting links....I'm not sure if there's any absolute proof either way...what do you guys think? Do you use an elevated food dish or not?

I don't use one for Nebo. I have one but it's really too big and there's no good place to put it so it's outside and not used. I end up feeding Nebo basically wherever I'm at in the house so his food bowl moves around a lot. He usually lays down with the food bowl between his paws when he eats so it's not like he's bending over anyway.

[PJ's Mom]

Neither of our food dishes are raised.

[Suki Wingy]

Well, we always used one in the unfinished side of the otherwise finished basement, that is, until we went on vacation and left food in it! Ew, mouse poop in his food bowl!:D It was old, from Clark (1999) anyway, we were going to get Niño a new one, but we haven't yet.:o :( Now the whole basement is finnished and his food is in the kitchen where it belongs.;)

[sammy101]

both mine eat out of regular metal bowls,theyre not elevated.I've never liked elevated dishes for some reason,i personally wouldnt buy one.

[RobiLee]

Our is elevated. We bought it because Katie always eats standing up and I always thought she looked uncomfortable that way. I've also read different things about the bloat issue and don't have a clue what is best.

[GoldenRetrLuver]

Elevated food dishes are said to help prevent bloat because when the dog bends over to eat or drink if the dish is on the ground, it causes them to "gulp" their food, thus taking in and swallowing more air. They're also good to use for older dogs that have arthritis or other back/neck/joint problems because it's less stress on the joints and/or other infected areas.

We have one and Molly uses it from time to time. Both of my girls seem to prefer "regular" food dishes, though.

[Tollers-n-Dobes]

We put Winston's bowl on a stool because he's so tall. I've heard it's better to have their food dish raised if they're a fairly large dog.

[LuckiLab03]

We don't use one with Riley.

When we had Brooke she didn't know how to use an elevated dog bowl. We took her to a kennel and they had them, she wouldn't touch it so from then on they had to put it on the ground. She ate standing up, but ONLY drank laying down with her arms around the bowl. She did that with other dogs around too (she didn't go to dog parks or anything) so they couldn't have any. Riley just tips the water bowl over so other dogs can't have any. :p :p :p

[shais_mom]

I don't use an elevated dish BUT I have the bowls on top of a large storage crate that I put Keegan's food in.....

[Giselle]

Elevated. Not really because of bloat considering there are studies on both sides of the argument and, like another poster said, I have no clue what to think about it. I just use elevated because Gissie eats standing up and she's 26" at the shoulders and her neck can only go down so far:p

[K9karen]

Timely...was just considering getting an elevated stand for Klo's bowls, thinking that it'd help to prevent bloat (poor Dale). I use 2 bowls on a mat and we all are constantly kicking the water bowl. :rolleyes: Our kitchen is an OK size but oddly shaped so the bowls have always been near the counter ("excuse me Cody..excuse me Logan, move your butt)I'm going to have to do more research but I imagine a raised bowl may be more comfortable..

[Oggyflute]

We don't use elavated bowls, but to be honest, I've been thinking about building a little wooden bench, for the bowls to be put on.

[cloverfdx]

Not at the moment but i am going to see about getting something made for both Clover and El, Clover is a "gulper" so i would prefer she has her bowls at head height.

[chocolatepuppy]

I use elavated food dishes. Both of my dogs are fairly tall. I didn't get a real tall dish set, but it just looks more comforatable. First they say use them, then they say don't, doesn't sound like they're sure either way.
Just not sure what to do:confused:

[dukedogsmom]

Duke's been using one for years. He's kind of short so we had to cut the legs off a little. I've always heard they were good to use.

[BitsyNaceyDog]

Ours aren't elevated, but mine are little dogs. One of the water bowls is elevated about 2" off the floor because Charlie likes to stand in it and splash the water out. After we elevated it a little he no longer does it. We have another water bowl in the living room, but he's never splashed in that one.

I was just talking about this with a friend the other day. I told her that if I ever have a large dog I will probably use an elevated dish. I just think they seem more comfortable for the dog. Also if there is any possibility of it helping to prevent bloat then I'm for it. I'd do a bit of research before making my final decision, but I think I'd probably use one.

[pitc9]

Raised bowls in my house!

I could never stand watching my pups reaching all the way to the floor to eat. I would never want to have to do that!:D

[anna_66]

Needless to say we use one;)

We have always elevated our food bowls. With Angus he was a tall boy and always looked so uncomfortable trying to eat with it on the floor. Now with Bon he's even taller and I can't imagine him trying to eat off the floor, he'd almost have to lay down!

I have no idea of which is better but I do like them for my big boy.

[IRescue452]

I think some dogs are just more prone to bloat with or without help from the food dish. I wouldn't get a elevated dish and then assume you are safe from any problems, but I would get one for the comfort of bigger dogs. Luckilab03- Brooke didn't know how to use an elevated dish, cute, Autumn (half pig half toller) would smell food and get it no matter where the dish was!

[lv4dogs]

I use elevated food bowls at my house. Never had a problem. They seem to be more comfortable eating that way & seem to prefer the raised bowls over the the ground level ones.

What I did is buy the large plastic planters (for plants), turned them upside down, cut out a circle for their bowls to fit in but left the holes small enough so that the lips (edges) of their bowls would catch the pot & prevent them from falling into the planter.

The elevated stands are ussually well over $25 & these cost me $3-$5!

They look nice left alone or you can decorate them.

Raustyk's is plain, but I decorated Nanooks by cutting up an old vinyl (for easy washing) tablecloth, tucked the upper part in the hole before the bowl goes in & just let the edges drape down to the ground.
You can hot glue it in place if need be but I didn't need to.

I thought about hot glueing plastic flowers to match the decor of my kitchen, but I figure if he ever spills any messy food it would be a pain to clean.

[cloverfdx]

What I did is buy the large plastic planters (for plants), turned them upside down, cut out a circle for their bowls to fit in but left the holes small enough so that the lips (edges) of their bowls would catch the pot & prevent them from falling into the planter.

What a great idea, i am off to get some planters next week :D.

[jennifert9]

Duncan uses an elevated food dish. We just started using it in December when we moved. In my old house there just simply wasn't enough room for it or we would have been using it sooner. When we first switched from bowls on the ground to the elevated bowls, Duncan had some trouble with the water, he used to choke or cough sometimes. Now he's perfectly fine with it and I can't imagine him eating down low again...:D

[shutterbug0303]

Sahara and Skye have raised dished. Sahara is so tall (31.5") that it would be practically impossible for her to be comfortable and eat from the ground. We are starting Skye early so she will grow into her bowls as she gets taller.

Venus and Chloe eat from the ground. Venus actually eats from the floor...literally! She scoops all her food out of her dish all over the floor and then lays down and eats. :rolleyes: I think I'm just going to skip the bowl and dump her food directly on to the floor...save her a step! lol Chloe eats out of a double-dish from the floor...she's the shorty in the house, so its no problem for her. Plus, she's a "runner"...takes a mouthful and "runs"! lol

[ramanth]

Kia's dish is not elevated but I've considered getting one.

Besides the bloat, I heard that it helped ease the straining on their neck and back.

[ParNone]

I don't elevate now, but after reading the thread, I think I'm going to make a lil' trip to Petsmart on the way home for an elevated stand. Oz and Gull mostly lay down to eat. Never thought about it before, but maybe they're doing it because it's uncomfortable to lean over.

Par...

[cali]

lol well they eat their bones laying down, and they take less then a minute to eat breakfast so its kinda pointless. plus 3 of them eat in their crates so it would not work very well anyway lol

[wolfsoul]

Timber doesn't have an elevated dish but I plan to get her one when I co-own her. :) She eats very quickly, and that scares me. The way she gobbles her food down so quickly, I can tell that she is gulping air as well. My catahoula pup will also have raised dishes.

I hope Jynnelle takes a picture of Baby's raised dishes. The stand they are on is very cool. It's like this pretty metal wire stand and the bowls go into these metal holes. It's very artistic-looking. I'll probably just compromise and put the bowls on a small shelf LOL.

Luckilab03, I bet that Brooke thought she would be a bad girl because it was like eating off the table. ;)

[LKPike]

we're not taking any chances, since both our babies have deep chests.. they get elevated food dishes, strict feeding times with main meals, and no food for 30min - 1hour before and after our runs.

[KYS]

I use a raised food dish for my dogs, but from what I have read
Vets just don't know what will prevent a dog
to bloat.

Rocky has 4 of the risk facters of his possibility to bloat.

Part of a bloat article:

Dogs weighing more than 99 pounds have an approximate 20% risk of bloat

Classically also, the dog had eaten a large meal and exercised heavily shortly thereafter. Still, we usually do not know why a given dog bloats on an individual basis. No specific diet or dietary ingredient has been proven to be associated with bloat. Some factors found to increase and decrease the risk of bloat are listed below:

Factors Increasing the Risk of Bloating

Feeding only one meal a day
Having closely related family members with a history of bloat
Eating rapidly
Being thin or underweight
Fearful or anxious temperament
History of aggression towards people or other dogs
Male dogs are more likely to bloat than females
Older dogs (7 - 12 years) were the highest risk group
Factors Decreasing the Risk of Bloat

Inclusion of canned dog food in the diet
Inclusion of table scraps in the diet
Happy or easy-going temperament
Eating 2 or more meals per day
In a study done by the Perdue University Research Group, headed by Dr. Lawrence T. Glickman:

[Cincy'sMom]

I've debated back and forth about getting elevated bowls (we don't currently have them). Cincy is a gulper, and she drinks water fromthe firthest corned or the bowl (dont know if she likes to lick the edge, or if that is where she ahs to bend the least).

Bloat has been something that has scared me since I read Greg Louganis's book a few years ago. ( ibeieve it was himthat lost a dog to bloat)...and then I joined PT and read about Anna's Keisha, and now Dale...

Cincy goes through phases that she gets in upset tummy....and some of the things she goes through sounds like potential warning signs of bloat...licking the air, drooling, pacing. But I think they are also sings of un upset tummy. Needless to say, when she has these bouts and I am up all night (they usually happen late in the evening), watching her like a hawk. Knock on wood, she has not had an episode like this since we changed her food.

I may try elevatingthe bowls, with a box ro soething, and see how they react. If they like it, some new bowls may be in order :D

[MariaM]

I don't actually have an elevated stand...but when Major would come inside for water in the winter (its so warm now! that started about a week ago, so it's still new!) I would always hold the bowl up for him. His water bowls are on a step outside now, they are about a foot off the ground. It helps a bit when he co-operates, but I think he actually likes to bend down and drink better.

He doesn't EAT out of a bowl. I throw the food in a small area in our yard and he goes and finds it. I couldn't ever let him eat out of a bowl. He eats WAY too fast. He just gobbles it all down.

[bckrazy]

Gonzo just has stainless steel bowls on a mat on the ground. . I wanted to get elevated dishes, but I've never seen any I really like, and I don't know where I'd put it. It definitely makes sense though. Gonzo has gagged up his food before, I think it's because he ate it too fast and his head is straight down... n_n

[LauraT7]

My first two goldens lived to be 13 1/2 and 15, were very healthy and never had elevated bowls. they also SHARED a bowl, got fed once a day, and were self- feeders - whenever the bowl was emptied, I filled it ( premium dry food) They never got fat, or had any kind of problems.

then we got Tristan from rescue. Tristan was a 'gulper' and wolfed down his food - then he would often throw it up ( and eat it again - yuch!)

So to slow him down we did a number of things -

- fed him two or 3 smaller meals a day instead of one large meal
- put a bone, kong or toy in his bowl with the food (he had to 'pick out' the food around the toy - it slowed him down - some! ;-) )
-got an elevated bowl ( I used a cast-iron plant stand that his bowl sits in)
- we 'soaked' his dry food ( so that it would swell BEFORE it hit his tummy) and switched to a food that did not swell up as much when it got wet ( BilJack)

Since I have a dog door that the dogs can go in and out at will - I encourage them to drink LOTS of water. I change it often so it's cool and fresh. With Toby and Tara sharing a water bowl - I usually just had a big bucket that I used for their water bowl. It never went dry, and when food and hair got in it, I'd water the garden with it and refill it with fresh. but the height of the bucket made it like a 'raised' bowl. My current water bowl is a big ceramic thing - like a flowerpot - it still holds about 1 1/2 gal of water, but the ceramic makes it stay cool longer.

Tristan is gone now - we lost him to lymphoma in January. but I still use the raised bowl for our new golden, Fizz. she doesn't 'need' it - as she's not a 'gulper' - but it is just high enough to make it difficult ( but not impossible) for the cat to steal her food. she seems to like it.

But I am concerned that there are mixed messages out there about a raised bowl causing/preventing bloat. to me, it makes logical sense that the raised bowl should HELP - not HURT - but I just don't know. Fizz isn't a big girl, and she's very dainty and doesn't gulp. She's not in a high risk category, so for now, I'm keeping the raised bowl until I hear something further. the cast-iron plant stand works well, and looks nice.

laura

[Kfamr]

I've been begging my dad to make the muttlies an elevated food bowl stand for a while. I want to make one for all three. One day we will.

[K9karen]

If Duke has one, then Klo wants one too. If her honey says it's great, then it's a no brainer.