Find one that offers a few different heights or is customizable. Adjustability is going to be a huge selling point on many elevated dog bowls, especially if you’ve got a dog who isn’t fully grown.Luckily, in this day and age, taking care of your pup and meeting your ideal design aesthetic are not mutually exclusive. Don’t choose an elevated bowl willy-nilly! Do some research to find the best bowl for your dog’s unique needs. With great variety comes great responsibility. Talk to your vet to find out whether your dog is at risk for one or the other. Many vets argue the pros of utilizing an elevated bowl to ease daily distress far outweigh the cons of a dog potentially developing GDV. Especially in ill or elderly canines, staying hydrated and nourished is of the utmost importance! If an elevated bowl helps, by all means, go for it. Changing the position of a dog as he eats may allow for gravity to coax the food down smoothly. Megaesophagus makes it nearly impossible for animals to eat properly (because their esophagus refuses to allow food down). Placing a bowl at elbow height, rather than on the floor, for a dog with OA makes eating much easier.Įlevated bowls can also streamline swallowing for dogs with megaesophagus, a condition in which the esophagus is enlarged. While Great Danes and German shepherds are certainly predisposed to develop OA, small and young pups can also experience joint pain and inflammation. Osteoarthritis (OA), according to Robert Downing, DVM, affects all dogs, not just large breeds or old animals.
In these cases, an elevated bowl can make meal time less stressful, painful and discouraging. Pups suffering from joint problems like arthritis or Lyme disease may have trouble eating out of bowls low to the ground. It’s not unlikely that GDV develops differently depending on breed or individual characteristics. While it’s possible eating too quickly or large chest cavities or elevated bowls could cause bloat, we aren’t 100 percent certain.
On the flip side, this Harper Adams University exploration reveals conflicting findings between the Purdue study and other studies on GDV. Much more research into this theory needs to happen before we can count on the findings, but it’s good to keep in mind, especially if considering working with a breeder when adopting a puppy. The researchers also alluded to a potential genetic predisposition if a dog had a first-degree relative who had experienced GDV, he was more likely to develop it himself. In addition, fast eaters, anxious pups, elderly dogs and elevated bowl users all showed higher incidences of bloat than other dogs participating in the study. According to one study from Purdue University of Veterinary Medicine, large dog breeds had a much higher risk for developing bloat due to the depth and width of their chest cavities. Veterinary professionals aren’t sure what causes GDV. The only way to fix it is usually with surgery unfortunately, many dogs don’t survive the ordeal. This internal expansion and rotation can cause difficulty breathing, cut off blood flow to the heart, and wreak havoc within a matter of hours (aka very bad news).
What they do know is that bloat, or gastric dilatation volvulus (GDV), occurs when a dog’s stomach fills with too much gas and twists around itself, sometimes taking the spleen with it. Bloat is a very unfun topic since not only can it be lethal to canines if left untreated, but veterinarians don’t totally understand the condition. Elevated bowls have been linked to some cases of bloat.
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