# Raised bowls



## jweisman54 (May 22, 2010)

Is anyone using the raised bowls for feeding?


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## C's Mom (Dec 7, 2009)

Good question. I've always wondered if I should raise Cocasse's bowl or not.


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## Charlie06 (Feb 10, 2007)

I don't use them. Long time ago they were said to help prevent bloat. Now new studies say they can be a contributing factor to bloat??????? Same ole same ole....eat veggies, they're good for, but the pesticides can kill you LOL


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## Mac'sdad (Dec 5, 2009)

Hi..Yes I do..I have used them for my past goldens as well ...I was told a log time ago that it was a better position to eat from....but who knows !!!
Mac'sdad


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## jweisman54 (May 22, 2010)

I read a Purdue study which states that it causes bloat but there is NO proof.


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## C's Mom (Dec 7, 2009)

I've heard good and bad too. I guess it doesn't matter for my boy because he will lay down when eating. I've never seen a grown dog do that before.


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## Sally's Mom (Sep 20, 2010)

What I know(from the literature) is that it seems to be contributory to bloat, not prevent it. Mine all eat on the floor, except the one who eats on the couch!


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## GoldensGirl (Aug 2, 2010)

For my dogs with arthritis and/or balance problems, a raised bowl means they will eat. Otherwise, it is just too painful and awkward for them. That settles the issue for me.


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## Pointgold (Jun 6, 2007)

Always have, always will. Food AND water. Never had a dog bloat because of it. But hey, I'm sure somebody will add it to the list of my abusive, neglectful dog practices.:


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## Debles (Sep 6, 2007)

We have used raised bowls since 1999 when we had a dog with mega esophagus.


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## jweisman54 (May 22, 2010)

I had a friend who had a very large 3 year old Golden who died of bloat. She fed him in a regular bowl and he just died in his sleep at night. So, you just never know. I fed my previous dog, a black lab, raised, and she was fine. It protected her spine when she got older and developed arthritis.


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## Sally's Mom (Sep 20, 2010)

Mega esophagus dogs DO need to eat from a raised bowl as they need gravity to get food where it needs to go.


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## iansgran (May 29, 2010)

I just today got raised bowls for Jaro. Subiaco had raised bowls and was always fine. The ones I got Jaro are lower than the ones I used to have, but then Jaro is lots shorter than Subiaco was. Years ago when I first got them it was partly because I had heard it was better for them and partly just to get them off the floor. I think they look more comfortable eating from raised bowls. Had never heard it could be bad for them.


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## lgnutah (Feb 26, 2007)

I fed Brooks on the floor his first year or so, until I read it might contribute to bloat, so I moved his bowl up (nothing fancy here, just set his bowl on top of and empty 30 lb cat litter cannister). 
Then, when Brooks got overeating related bloat, I read up again on bloat and this time saw have the bowls elevated might contribute to bloat.... so I moved his bowl back down.
I feel like a yo yo


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## jweisman54 (May 22, 2010)

Ian'sgran said:


> I just today got raised bowls for Jaro. Subiaco had raised bowls and was always fine. The ones I got Jaro are lower than the ones I used to have, but then Jaro is lots shorter than Subiaco was. Years ago when I first got them it was partly because I had heard it was better for them and partly just to get them off the floor. I think they look more comfortable eating from raised bowls. Had never heard it could be bad for them.


Where did you get the raised bowls?


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## goldencontriever3 (Nov 7, 2008)

Mickey eats from a raised bowl. He had IBD and his vet recommended the raised bowl. My others eat from bowls on the floor. Their water bowls are raised.


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## Rainheart (Nov 28, 2010)

My vet has said that to prevent bloat the bowls should be on the ground and that raised bowls can contribute to bloat.


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## Sally's Mom (Sep 20, 2010)

i agree with Rainheart.


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## jweisman54 (May 22, 2010)

I think maybe I will give my vet a call in the morning.


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## Sally's Mom (Sep 20, 2010)

I am a "vet"... and all people who feed from raised bowls should do some searching to read about the pros and cons of raised feeding.


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

Our Toby is such a fast eater we finally elected to put most of his kibble in kongs to slow him down. He usually eats them on the floor rug, so I guess that's good for preventing bloat.


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## BayBeams (Jan 3, 2010)

One of my goldens eats from an elevated bowl because she has cervical spine issues. Having the bowl on the floor seemed to aggravate her neck problems especially since she is fairly tall at 24 inches.
I sure would hate to be causing one problem (bloat) while attempting to solve another one.


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## Sally's Mom (Sep 20, 2010)

When my first golden got sick, it seemed that elevating her bowls helped her to eat. Her breeder freaked out when I told her what I was doing. That was back in 2002. Obviously if dogs have mechanical/skeletal issues, you have to adjust.


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## Karlysmom (Sep 4, 2009)

We have done both. We started using raised bowls when we heard it was better for them. When Jake was sick he needed special food so he and Sandy were fed separately from the floor. After he died Sandy would no longer eat from the raised bowls. We are not sure why but she flat out refused to eat or drink unless it was from the floor. Since then they eat and drink with their bowls on the floor. I will leave them there since now it seems that may be the the safer way to go for them.


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## jweisman54 (May 22, 2010)

Sally's Mom said:


> I am a "vet"... and all people who feed from raised bowls should do some searching to read about the pros and cons of raised feeding.


Does the benefit outweigh the risk though. I have been doing a lot of research on it and it seems to be about 50/50.

What are your reasons for not raising a bowl? I am not talking about 10 inches off the ground but just a small amount.


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## jweisman54 (May 22, 2010)

Right now Izzy has her water bowl and I either feed her kibble from her kibble ball in which she has to work at to get the food out or just spread it out on the floor for her to eat. When she was younger, she would scarf down her food in seconds, so it was suggested to spread it out all over the floor, so she is very used to eating that way.


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## Goldenz (Mar 16, 2010)

I use raised bowls for everyone. I started after my heart and my soul dog bloated. In addition to my Goldens, I also have a Weimaraner which is another dog prone to bloat. I will never go back to feeding off the floor.


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## Maxs Mom (Mar 22, 2008)

Belle my HUGE black lab had an FCE, she had balance issues amongst other things for a while. I started raising her bowl. I was told not to, as they take in more air as they eat when they are raised and can increase the risk of bloat. Since labs are bloat prone in general, I put it back on the ground. She is doing fine. 

I did get slow eater bowls for three of my 4 dogs to slow their eating practices down. 

My water is in a horse bucket. Too many dogs to do something smaller. They do drink out of "their" toilet too. That's raised.


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## Adriennelane (Feb 13, 2008)

C's Mom said:


> I've heard good and bad too. I guess it doesn't matter for my boy because he will lay down when eating. I've never seen a grown dog do that before.



Dory does it, almost every meal is eaten with her lying down.


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## jweisman54 (May 22, 2010)

I guess this is a real controversy. I just called my vet and he says to use raised bowls and he has Goldens. This is quite the conundrum!


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## Retrieverlover (Feb 8, 2010)

The dal eats from a raised bowl. All 3 dogs get water with their kibble and they all go to their kennel after meal time.


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## sifuyono (May 8, 2008)

Pointgold said:


> Always have, always will. Food AND water. Never had a dog bloat because of it. But hey, *I'm sure somebody will add it to the list of my abusive, neglectful dog practices*.:


:--big_grin::--big_grin::--big_grin::--big_grin:

btw, i do raise the bowl and advocate it, never had any problem.....

and my dog feed the "evil" pro plan dogfood either, never had any problem except the sky high price....


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## tatonka3a2 (May 25, 2009)

I only raise the cat food.... so the dog wont get to it. LOL. 

I see a very large majority of people having problems with their dogs eating to quick. That seems so crazy to me because this is the 2nd dog that we have owned that eats whenever he wants. The food is there and waiting for him. He never overeats. In fact some times we have to tap our foot on the bowl to remind him to eat.


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## RachelsGoldens (Jan 23, 2011)

Mine all eat with raised bowls. Three of them chow down, so I got some of the slow eat dishes. That lasted about a day as it seemed like they were taking more air in trying to get the food out. I had a friend with a golden that died of bloat from eating off the floor. Can't win on this one I guess. Zoe is 8 and has been eating from a raised dish since about a year old. The fist year I feed her from one of those food balls that she had to work to get the food out of to keep her busy. One thing that might be a factor is that my dogs eat one cup three times a day. I think this cuts down on the chances of bloat too, from what I understand of bloat it is the amount of air they also intake when they eat that contributes to it. I may be wrong as I haven't read on this for a while, but I think the smaller meal portions could help.


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## PotA'Gold (May 14, 2009)

I always feed them up so they have to reach a little bit along with water. I think that it also strenghtens there* pasterns.*


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## Neeko13 (Jul 10, 2010)

I used the raised bowls for both Nitey & Nash, have for almost ten years, never had a problem til just this month....Nitro is having problems, vet thinks it's linked to his eating too fast....but I will keep the bowl raised.. I've changed him over to Bil Jac, a more easily digested and softer, and smaller kibble. I'm hoping this works, and I have to give him a Gas X with his meal.....My opinion, dont think it could hurt them, but not sure....my vet recommended it...


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## ebenjamin85 (Apr 13, 2008)

I wish I found this thread before we blew $50 on raised dog bowls for Christmas! After having read that it was better, knowing friends that had their vet say that it was better, and after our vet saying that was better we finally got raised bowls. Now I'm re-thinking it. Hmmmmm... I'm confused now!


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## Lexis Dad (Jan 26, 2011)

Been using since 99 never a problem for Lexis 05/08/1998 to 01/22/2011, I will also be Using for "Fenway" 12/18/2010 of course as soon as he can reach it.


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## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

There is no convincing evidence IMO either way. I use raised bowls mostly because I like the look--I admit it. And mine has storage area which I like.

Remember, correlation does not equal causation!


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## Piper (Jul 18, 2010)

Piper eats/drinks from raised bowls. She stands on 3 legs, so I figured reaching down to the floor would be awkward for her. Hmm...even when we camp, I put her dish on a rock so it's up a bit for her to help her center of gravity.

Off to do some research on this topic....


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## elly (Nov 21, 2010)

Have been using a raised bowl since my dog started making strange noises after eating, almost like coughing, hes a real chewer when out in the park and forest, any bits of wood etc no matter how we try to stop him and the vet suggested he may just be getting a bit of an inflamed flappy bit at the back of his throat which when he eats then gets irritated and causes him to make this strange cought type noise. If this was the case, the raised bowl would stop it as his neck would not be bending and therefore the throat would not be flattening and shutting this flap down (or something like that!)..and my goodness hes right! Magic, never had the problem since yet he still chews! And he was a windy dog before...and that has reduced too..:crossfing


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## em6984 (Dec 1, 2010)

My Henry was suffering after eating his food and was often sick several times; after getting the raised bowl we've had no sickness for over four weeks. 

I think they are awesome!!!


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