Giant breeds and bloat?

It shouldn`t be a problem.

One other important thing to monitor is how fast your dog eats this as well can cause bloat.

I had a FCR that could kill a bowl of food in seconds, it scared me to death.

I finally got to the point of holding his bowl while he ate so I could regulate how fast he ate.

Good Luck and God Bless

Elevated feeding bowls increase the risk of bloat NOT the other way around. The people still selling should be shot as numerous studies have shown this.

Instead of raw bone with a bit of meat, try for raw meat with a bit of bone instead. The emphasis should be on the meaty part rather than the bone. Complicated meals like whole or half chickens are a good way to slow down the eating a bit. Some people even try freezing the meal.

These are the findings of a six year study

http://www.nwandalusian.com/Bloat%20(GDV)%20Study....

The things you can do to prevent bloat are:

1)Do not raise the feeding dish

2)SLOW the dog's speed of eating.

Things that DO make a difference

1)Raising the food dish more than doubled the risk for bloat

2)Speed of eating -Dogs rated by their owners as very fast eaters had a 38% increased risk of bloat

3)Age: The study found that risk increased by 20% with each year of age. Owners should be more alert to early signs of bloat as their dogs grow older.

4)Family History: Having a first-degree relative (parent, sibling or offspring) that had bloated increased a dog's risk by 63%.

Things that DON"T...

These measures, long been thought to reduce the risk of bloat, were found to have no effect:

Restricting exercise before or after eating

Restricting water intake before and/or after meals

Feeding two or more meals per day

Moistening dry kibble before feeding

The volume of food is also thought to make a difference - feeding better quality food, and therefore feeding less (or even better raw) may also decrease the risks.

It sounds like you're on the right track. Keep in mind that once the stomach twists, even if stapled, is much more likely to bloat.

Also, research now is saying that elevated bowls are NOT good. The jury is still out on it, but where they thought it was important before vets and researchers are now saying that the elevated bowls may not be good for them.

Also the big problem with bloat is dry food. It expands in their stomachs when they eat the dry food and chug water (and play increases it as you know). A raw diet should not cause problems, nor should a bone as you figured.

with raw bones dogs don't tend to eat those standing up so you shouldn't have a problem there. No exercise right before or after eating elevated food bowls, large breed food so they have to chew, place large squeaky toys in their food dish so they have to eat around them.(nothing small enough to swallow) If you live in a cold climate you may have to lower the food dish back to the floor during winter because with the raised water dish the dogs insist on sticking their chin in the bowl and then go outside and get a chapped chin.

bloat can be caused by numerous things. eating off the ground, eating out of an elevated bowl, eating too fast, eating too much, eating and then playing, unknown causes, etc.

if your dog had a gastropexy done, then the risk of bloat hhas been decreased for you. if it were my dog, i would feed small frequent meals and just monitor her.

Why are you giving your dogs bones anyway? You do realize that bones splinter very easily without you knowing it and if ingested by the dog they splinters can get stuck in their intestines/stomach areas and cause serious problems. Bones are a high hazard for a dog to be eating, NOT a good idea for any dog.