Large Chested fast eaters

[Shelteez2]

Thanks for clarifying that about the pup you had that bloated.
I get what you mean about letting dogs be dogs. I am somewhat concerned with bloat with Ramone. I add water to his food, but I don't let it soak until it's right soggy. I do wait 30 minutes before or after feeding for exercise... but I don't restrict him from moving about. We don't have a yard for him to rip around in anyways. I do feed him from raised dishes...but not always. I occassionally feed him in his crate so he has to eat off the floor in it.
That's awful about the collie breeders you mentioned. Both the "guess we won't be winning the open blue class" and the ones whose dogs didn't make it past 7. My dobe breeder has quite a few dogs in the double digits age wise and has only had a few bloat cases in over 20 years of breeding. I'm going to ask her what she thinks about there being a genetic factor involved.

[Spiritwind]

Thanks for clarifying that about the pup you had that bloated.
I get what you mean about letting dogs be dogs. I am somewhat concerned with bloat with Ramone. I add water to his food, but I don't let it soak until it's right soggy. I do wait 30 minutes before or after feeding for exercise... but I don't restrict him from moving about. We don't have a yard for him to rip around in anyways. I do feed him from raised dishes...but not always. I occassionally feed him in his crate so he has to eat off the floor in it.
That's awful about the collie breeders you mentioned. Both the "guess we won't be winning the open blue class" and the ones whose dogs didn't make it past 7. My dobe breeder has quite a few dogs in the double digits age wise and has only had a few bloat cases in over 20 years of breeding. I'm going to ask her what she thinks about there being a genetic factor involved.

Well my dogs do get water added to their food... also I add a little canned (like 1/2 can between 5 dogs.. so its not a lot of canned)... but I don't let the food sit and get soggy either.... I mix it all up in one large bucket with a little water and canned.. and scoop it right out to them. Though I don't restrict activity if they want to play they can.. but most often they just chill for a while.... after they eat. They aren't crated or locked up.

I don't think all cases of bloat are genetic... last year a friend of mines 13yr old lab bloated.. they took him in for surgery and found a huge mass in his abdomen.. which they figured caused him to bloat... he was put down tho, they couldn't do anything.... I think dogs who bloat at 8-9-10 yrs old or older... a lot of it could be caused by other underline health issues - cancer, tumors etc.... but when you have a 7 month old, perfectly healthy Collie PUPPY.. that screams out genetic to me!!.... His sire was I think 7yrs old when he died of bloat...

There are dogs behind the sire who bloated at 5-6-7 yrs of age.... 5yrs of age seems to be the key age for a lot of the dogs behind him though... so again, that is weird.... as several of the dogs (but not all) that have bloated in his pedigree, bloated around 5yrs of age....

[Pam]

At first I thought Staci made a thread about me....

LOL! Oh Tonya!

Seriously, though, as the owner of a standard poodle (high on the list for bloat) and having had a previous standard who died of bloat, this is a subject that creates great fear in me. Thankfully Bella is not a fast eater. I have heard of placing the rocks in the bowl but haven't needed to slow her down. I am careful about not exercising her before and after meals, etc. I have read of a genetic component playing a role, and the breeder of one of my former poodles felt strongly that genetics played a large role. Stress also can contribute, i.e., a trip to the groomers or being boarded, both of which I avoid. I do my own grooming and have my dogs watched by a neighbor in my home if I go away. My granddog, Dale, a Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, also died from bloat at age 2. As I said, this whole topic creates great anxiety for me.

[shais_mom]

My granddog, Dale, a Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, also died from bloat at age 2. As I said, this whole topic creates great anxiety for me.

Dale is always the one I think of when it comes to Bloat. No matter what.
He is the reason why I posted this thread b/c I wasn't sure if Robyn knew about this kind of bowl.

[caseysmom]

Dale is always the one I think of when it comes to Bloat. No matter what.
He is the reason why I posted this thread b/c I wasn't sure if Robyn knew about this kind of bowl.

Me too

[cyber-sibes]

Sherman went through a food-bolting stage & someone here suggested I put a large plastic ball in his food bowl. (I asked PT because I remembered Dale, too) It worked well because he would eat around it ... and then take it out of the bowl after he finished with the food. After-dinner game of catch, anyone?

[Spiritwind]

I have read of a genetic component playing a role, and the breeder of one of my former poodles felt strongly that genetics played a large role. Stress also can contribute, i.e., a trip to the groomers or being boarded, both of which I avoid. I do my own grooming and have my dogs watched by a neighbor in my home if I go away. My granddog, Dale, a Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, also died from bloat at age 2. As I said, this whole topic creates great anxiety for me.

Yes.. stress can be a factor... its also thought to typically be seen in underweight dogs, dogs that are easily stressed, dogs that are nervous or nerotic.... and from what I have read, more often seen in males than females... even though the dogs I personally know of who bloated, most of them were females... the two I owned that bloated were both males though... neither of them easily stressed, underweight or nervous dogs...

Again, like I said before.. I refuse to treat my dogs like they are going to break.... groomers, boarding, dog shows... they can all be stressful places.. life in general can be stressful.. you can't avoid all stressful environments...

I can look at some collie pedigrees and say "This dog bloated at 5yrs of age, and then his mother bloated at 6yrs old, and her mother bloated at 5yrs of age....and her father died of all of the sudden, of unknown causes, they found him dead out in the dog yard - suspected bloat" etc..etc..etc.. when you see pedigrees like this, its obvious its got a genetic link..