Hi.

We have a 5 month old Golden Retriever puppy who bolts her food very quickly,she is fed 3times  day on a high quality dried food which I moisten slightly before feeding.

My question is should we feed her from a raised food bowl? We have read so much about bloat and I wondered if this was recomended for puppies of this age?

I have 3 large breed dogs who all are fed from food stands from young - to slow your dog down you could try doing some training for each piece of kibble or putting a ball/brick in the food bowl so the food is harder to gulp down, or a treatball but it wouldnt be so easy if they are soaked.  You could also feed from kongs.  I know someone who throws the food on the garden so they have to pick up the kibble one by one.

Hi and welcome

What does her breeder say? 

I have a different gundog breed and followed advice from my breeder about raised feeding.  We started with a home made raised feeder (bowl in the top of a small bucket) and gradually 'grew' to a taller one.

Speed can be a worry with a fast eater can't it.  Mine would sometime inhale his food then chuck it back up again.  Wetter food seemed to help (and reduced my anxiety) but I also added food slowly to his bowl to reduce the speed.  He grew out of it soon enough but for a while it was like feeding a piranha!!  Some people add large non edible items to the bowl so their dogs have to eat round them - a friend of mine used an unopened aluminium food can with the label removed.

I feed my old boy with a raised bowl on a stand. Our youngest bolts his food and was told to put a tennis ball in the bowl to slow him down, a bit messy as I feed raw and he would throw it around :) It was reccomended that I buy a Brake Fast bowl, it has plastic prongs in it that stop the dog getting the whole of their muzzle in, it has certainly helped. The bowl also slides around the floor that makes them "work" at getting the food, it drives me mad but it does slow him down a bit.

I've heard mixed reports about raised bowls and would not personally use them.

When you think about it dogs would never have eaten from a raised bowl, this is something humans have put onto them.

I have fed from bowls on the floor or, as I feed raw then food is often on the floor for the dog to pick up, for over 25 years and never had an incident with bloat - we own giant, large and small breeds.

Speak to your breeder and see what they advise, for me...if it isn't broke then don't try to fix it.

I've had Goldies and Dobermanns for over 20 years and have always fed from a raised bowl. Whether it helps with bloat I don't know, but they look so much more comfortable and I've not yet had, hopefully never will, a dog bloat. Mine also eat at warp speed, mainly raw with kibble added as a topper. Even my Sussex Spaniel has a raised bowl!

>When you think about it dogs would never have eaten from a raised bowl, this is something humans have put onto them.

Mmmm but kibble too (with all its inherent problems with swelling) is a human idea so I'm not entirely convinced of the merits of that as an argument.

The question of raised feeding often divides dog owners, just another area where some of us might agree to disagree.  On the subject or raw feeding though, both of mine will choose to lie down whilst they eat meaty bones...

To the OP, you may find that the more you read the more difficult it can be to make a decision.  I'd suggest talking to your breeder and soliciting specific breed advice.  Additionally you might make a decision based on the way that your dog eats.  One of mine certainly takes in more air, and chokes, whilst eating off the floor and I'd never feed him kibble in this position.  If I've forgotten a raised feeder when travelling I use a step or hold the bowl myself.  My older dog can cope in most positions! :)

I don't feed kibble so again just feed natural things in a natural way to my dogs.  Mine also lay down and chew on bones etc.

Hi,

I've come across a food bowl which has got some "obsticles" built in so that the dog can't just wolf the food down. It has to slow down with eating as it needs to juggle around these "obsticles" I saw it on Petplanet.co.uk  they are called Dogit anti gulping bowls or Animal Instinct slow feeding bowl. Maybe this might be an alternative.

I feed my boxer from a raised bowl but the reason is that he looks more comfortable eating this way.  He gets bones and lays down outside with those.  I have fed him like this since he was about 6 months old.

There is also a bowl with knobbly bits fixed in it called "Brakefast." I have used this to demonstrate how to slow greedy eaters at my puppy class and it seems to work. Some pets shops sell them. I always feed my Goldens from raised bowl stands, the height being about level to their mouths when standing, or slightly lower, not so high that they need to stretch. I would advise against putting anything in with the food that might break a tooth (the old-fashioned advice was a brick!) The Brakefast does not come in a very large size but should hold enough for a young Golden. Important to teach her not to gulp her food.

I got a Dog It bowl from a garden centre was @ £12 for 2 litter mates that were fed at ground level. It worked fine for the boy but his sister (clearly brainier) up-ended the bowl & ate just as quick off the floor.
I've always fed my adults from raised stands.

I have a dog, aged 8, who has always ate as though it's her last meal! A few weeks ago, I had some leftover grated carrot and gave it to the dogs along with their meal. WOW - slowed her down no end!! She now gets it at every meal :)

Hi.

Thanks for all your advise. We have ordered a Animal Instinct slow feeding bowl and are now raising her bowl, Hopefully the arrival of this new bowl will slow her down!! Until then we are putting 2 Kongs into her food bowl so its not as easy to gulp it!!

Hi,

how are you getting on with the feeding bowl? Is it working?

Hi,

Well after getting the bowl (large size) then it being so small she couldn't even get her nose in!!, I ordered a jumbo size which came today!! I have just used it for her lunch and what a difference,it slowed her down completely,I had to pop it on a box to raise it as it wont fit on her stand ,but that is no problem.

It is a great bowl and I would recommend it to anyone who has a greedy dog!!

Thank you for the advice.