Bloat, exercise, eating too fast

[Sparkles99]

How do you avoid bloat? I realize shelties aren’t particularly prone to it, but I’d like to follow the protocol just in case.

My sheltie is under the standard & wolfs down her food. It’s incredible how fast she eats. She gets a mix of wet & dry, approximately 50:50, twice a day plus treats in between.

She sometimes burps after meals, which I find concerning. And she’s almost always ready to run.

When she was very small she’d often honk like tiny dogs after eating or drinking. It still happens from time to time after drinking.

Also, for those of you with a set walking routine, would you please share your adult dog’s sleeping/eating/walking schedule?

Thanks so much!

 

[Mizzely]

For Luke (Great Dane mix) I feed him in a slow feeder bowl or a puzzle/toy feeder so he has to slow down his meal some. He gets 2-3 meals a day (we do smaller meals during times of the year we are more active).

He burps after almost all meals which I have never been told is a warning sign. If anything, since bloat is about air getting trapped in the stomach and then flipping, wouldn't burping mean the air has escaped? That's not scientific, just wondering out loud.

 

[April]

I'd definitely get her a puzzle bowl or a Kong were she has to poke at the toy to get the food to come out so it's slow and she can't eat to fast. Even if she doesn't bloat there is the risk of her choking from eating so fast. Kovu used to wolf his food down(found as a starving stray and even though I've had him almost 3 years and he's gotten 2 meals a day plus treat he still thinks he's gonna starve)
But I was able to get him to slow down by adding just enough water in the dry food so it's covered and he has to slowly drink the water to be able to get the food peice by peice. It's made a huge difference since the last straw was when he actually did start choking and thank God I was there and able to scoop the kibble out of his mouth. If the water trick hadn't worked I'd have gotten a puzzle bowl.

 

[Xoetix]

Yup, definitely recommend a slow feeder. And if you can, attach suction cups to the bottom - shelties are smart little boogers and will flip the bowl to get the food faster. If you feed wet food, spread it through the slow feeder or even a lick mat, and pop it in the freezer for a bit.

 

[Shezbug]

My dog used to guts her food and often would bring it back up so we got her a forage bowl which slowed down her eating and since then we have had no issues with bloating, burping or bringing food back up.

 

[Pixiebeak]

Raising the food bowl up helps prevent in addition to the puzzle bowls mentioned.

Possibly increase fiber, like adding puree pumpkin

You can break her meals up and feed 4 times a day .

You can talk to vet to rule out mega esophagus, or narrowing.. not sure after checking... As firs sound more like gulping air when eating to fast.