Bloat In The German Shepherd

[Staranais]

That's it isn't it Crisovar - no definitive reason for bloat.

My view is that if a dog is going to bloat then it is going to bloat regardless of what measures you have (or have not) put into place.

I agree. There are so many things that have been suggested as risk factors, but the risk factors that we're most sure about are things that owners have no control over (short of choosing not to buy certain breeds, or certain lines).

[Danois]

Exactly.

If you take 2 supposed factors - feeding dry and from a raised bowl. How is it that you can feed a dog this way for say 6 years without any issues but 1 day the dog bloats. You can't say it was dry food from a raised bowl as statistically it does not stack up.

I think there is a strong genetic component and have seen some lines feature with bloat cases.

[Chitchat]

Thank-you all again, very helpful information given.

She is happy within herself but is very fussy when it comes to food, I know that fresh meat alone is far from the best diet but at this stage I just want her to eat something. I guess it's small steps & one day at a time

[sas]

A line of thought I agree with 'Conformational Disease':

In addition to breed predilection, there appears to be a genetic link to this disease. The incidence is closely correlated to the depth and width of the dog's chest. Several different genes from the parents determine these traits. If both parents have particularly deep and narrow chests, then it is highly likely that their offspring will have deep and narrow chests and the resulting problems that may go with it. This is why in particular breeds we see a higher incidence in certain lines, most likely because of that line's particular chest conformation.

Some Bloat Associations many people tend to agree on or have been seen in clinical studies:

Male dogs are twice as likely to develop gastric dilatation and volvulus as females. Neutering does not appear to have an effect on the risk of bloat.

Dogs fed once a day are twice as likely to develop GDV as those fed twice a day. It appears that dogs who eat rapidly or exercise soon after a meal may also be at increased risk.

Dogs that tend to be more nervous, anxious, or fearful appear to be at an increased risk of developing bloat.

Dogs over 7 years of age are more than twice as likely to develop gastric dilatation and volvulus as those who are 2-4 years of age.

There are pattern studies such as http://www.netpets.org/dogs/healthspa/gendis.html that show that their data support the hypothesis that dogs with a deeper chest relative to width are at greater risk of developing bloat than dogs of the same breed with smaller chest depth/width ratios.

[Steve]

A while back we had a GSD breeder who used to visit this forum - Holly- and she had some great stuff on feeding from a bowl .

The theory was dogs were never meant to eat from bowls and especially if the bowl was the wrong shape which is more likely in big breeds which need bigger bowls that they have to take in more air when they eat than they do if they eat it off the ground.

So the suggestion was that you place the food on the ground so the dog could eat as it had evolved.

[sas]

A while back we had a GSD breeder who used to visit this forum - Holly- and she had some great stuff on feeding from a bowl .

The theory was dogs were never meant to eat from bowls and especially if the bowl was the wrong shape which is more likely in big breeds which need bigger bowls that they have to take in more air when they eat than they do if they eat it off the ground.

So the suggestion was that you place the food on the ground so the dog could eat as it had evolved.

You could also say that slows the dog down and that's why it works.

[Weigirl]

My girl sadly lost her litter sister last September and she did not have any of the usual characteristics you would associate with a dog susceptible to bloat. One of the things we have done is started using these bowls for feeding to slow them down. Only wish we had a definitive answer

My link

[Aziah]

A while back we had a GSD breeder who used to visit this forum - Holly- and she had some great stuff on feeding from a bowl .

The theory was dogs were never meant to eat from bowls and especially if the bowl was the wrong shape which is more likely in big breeds which need bigger bowls that they have to take in more air when they eat than they do if they eat it off the ground.

So the suggestion was that you place the food on the ground so the dog could eat as it had evolved.

I knew a GSD breeder (who also had Beagles and Corgis) years ago who only ever fed off the ground (served in bowls and tipped on the ground for each dog).