Hi al My puppy just turned 7 months old and I read as much as possible. I was reading about bloat in dogs. My question is should she be allowed to drink water when eating her dry kibbles. Many articles state to minimize water before and after eating. She always drink a lot of water after her meal. Should I only pour a very minimal amount of water in her water bowl like 3/4 cups only and add more water later. I normally have 4 cups of water in her bowl. She does not drink all 4 cups after she eats but she drinks a lot. Do you restrict water intake? I am not worried about her eating too fast because I feed her in a Kong Wobbler twice a day, which takes her 25 to 30 minutes to eat each time, so she eats slow.
Hi @Madone The kibble is, of course, very dry and the dog needs the water because it does not get any from the food. I let my dog have access to a full water bowl. If you are really worried about bloat then feed the dog smaller "meals" more often during the day, which can be accomplished by using her food allocation for training treats..
Hi Madone, As Michael says, dogs should have free access to as much fresh water as they need. Kibble especially has very little moisture in it. Out of curiosity, I've been doing a lot of research into bloat recently for a new article, and I haven't found any studies which link water consumption around mealtimes to an increased risk of bloat. Would you mind sharing one or two of the articles you've seen so that I can compare them with my research? Thank you.
Hi Michael I am posting 2 links for you, hope they work. I am giving up on searching the internet, drink form an elevated bowl, do not drink from elevated bowl, do this don't do this, what gives so many conflicting information. Found more links while doing my research I only posted 2. https://nasc.cc/pet-university/bloat-dogs/ https://pets.webmd.com/dogs/gastric-volvulus-bloat-dogs
Hi Madone, Sorry, that question was from me, not Michael Thank you for sharing what you've found, it's very interesting. My research has focused on studies in scientific and veterinary journals. As far as I'm aware, a link between water consumption and bloat hasn't been examined. Size and age are huge factors, and the most up to date research explores an interesting idea that there may be a genetic immunological component . That's not to say that there isn't a link to water consumption as well, but we haven't got any really solid, quantitative evidence to understand how much of a factor it is. Clearly though, there's a popular recounted idea that there is a link, which you keep finding. I notice the articles talk about eating and drinking large amounts at once. Since kibble is so dry, dogs will understandably want to drink as they eat. Some dog owners are interested in the idea of only feeding their dog once a day, but a) it's another factor which increases the risk of bloat, and b) it will make them want to drink a lot in one go too. By breaking your Lab's daily ration into smaller meals, they will automatically drink an appropriate amount for the meal they've just eaten. Make sure she's always got a full bowl of fresh water on hand, and she'll only take what she needs. Provided she doesn't eat all of her day's food in one sitting, I think it's unlikely she'll also drink so much that she can make herself ill.
Hi @Madone @sarah@forumHQ asked for the references. I don't think the two references represent an authorative source. As you indicate, information on the internet is really a curate's egg. For example, the second link refers to letting the dog drink no more than a normal amount of water. I have no idea what that means. It will depend on a range of things such as the size of the dog, the diet, and temperature. I sympathsise with you; bloat is a serious problem. But I think you may be worrying too much. Feed your adult dog twice a day, which will allow you to reduce the size of her meals, give her plenty of fresh water, don't have her jumping around after a meal and you should be fine.
Hi Sarah I realized after I pushed sent my error, I apologize. Thank you very much for this information, I really appreciate this. I do feed my puppy twice a day, I also feed her in a kong wobbler to slow down her eating and give her a bit of mental stimulation.
Add water to the dry kibble so all the expansion of the kibble is done before ingestion,I also feed my lab kibble but always add water to the kibble ,one of the keys to preventing bloat is no activity for about 30-45 minutes following eating
