RAW DIET & BLOAT? - Page 1

YES, I know of many dogs fed raw who bloated. Feeding raw does not prevent bloat or gastric torsion or whatever you want to call it.

Yes, it still happens, but I guess is less likely to happen in some dogs that are fed raw. 

If any of your dogs, that you own, have bloated or gastric torsion, please tell us about it and what style of raw feeding you are or were doing.

I would really like to know.

Michele

 Depending on your definition of bloat, I have seen dogs and puppies bloat and suffer from a temporary obstruction from eating chucks of meat with no bone content.From what I have seen,it is more common with dogs that gulp down these chunks of meat without chewing.I have seen it more often in a litter of young puppies fed together and trying to [pig] the food.I have not seen a death occur from this, but would think it very possible.It's just my opinion but I think the meat becomes to densely packed in the intestines for proper digestion.I think raw is best consumed in the natural state with the bone left ,forcing the dog to tear and chew the meat from the bone.

My bitch ate a 13 lb turkey--the whole damn thing. She was huge...and gassy...but no torsion. Didn't feed her for 4 days. 

I agree with Michael49. Best way to feed raw is the way it was intended to be eaten.

Anything can become an obstruction. I do believe the nature of raw food (prey model) makes it less likely to cause bloat, but I think bloat has many factors, not the least of which is genetics and structure. Anecdotally, the instances of bloat I see most of occur in deeper chested, longer dogs. Not always, of course, but more often than not. I have seen the least cases in short-coupled, well-muscled working line dogs fed raw.

I talked to a breeder who has been breeding for shorter coupled dogs for the better part of 40 years. They have not heard of one instance of bloat in their lines. They are not saying it's never happened, but just that if it has, no one has ever told them about it. They credit better muscle tone, a more moderate chest depth, and shorter coupling.  Just found that interesting. I view bloat much like HD. If we knew all we needed to know, it wouldn't still be happening.

Jenni78, good post, I think your breeder friend is on to something.Just my opinion but I think the shorter coupled dogs have a shorter intestinal track and decreases the possibility of twisting.My opinion about densely packed food in the gut is based on belief that the longer it takes to digest the food the greater the chance for torsion or twisting of the gut. I also believe that strenuous activity such as running and jumping shortly after a full meal might also increase the chance of torsion especially in a long bodied dog.     

Michael, also, possibly the denser the muscle tone surrounding, the less likely the whole stomach is to flip. Who knows??? It also would be interesting to compare incidences in Am. showlines vs. Ger. working lines, just to name 2 totally different body stuctures. I wonder if the longer dogs w/looser ligaments, deeper chests, etc. have it happen more? I really don't know...knock on wood, I haven't ever had a case of bloat. Thank God.