Grain-free reduces the risk of bloat?

I've heard of dogs on raw who were given unrestricted access to kibble and bloated, but I wouldn't say that was "caused" by the grain.

There's also some evidence that partially moistened kibble increases risk and that wet food is less risky than dry food.

But I haven't seen any hard evidence at all that says that grains themselves are a contributing factor.

Wait, I was under the impression that adding water to the kibble reduced the chance of bloat, not increased it. Which is it?

I'e heard it both ways. The great dane lady has some valuable info on bloat.http://www.greatdanelady.com/articles/bloat_and_torsion_is_nutrition_a_factor.htm Also, there is an accupressure point to massage if you suspect bloat .... not to be used instead of seeking medical help, but as a help (cure) until you can get there.
http://www.bluefrontiers.us/bloat_accupress.htmlhttp://www.greatdanelady.com/articles/bloat_and_torsion_is_nutrition_a_factor.htm

LifeOfRiley said:

I'd love to hear some opinions on this.

There seems to be somewhat of a consensus out there that feeding a grain-free food is one of the most important things you can do to prevent bloat.
It's one of the main reasons I went grain-free with Riley in the first place, and it's one of things that worries me about going back to a traditional food.

Is there any hard evidence, that you know of, behind this? Or is it one of those anecdotal theories that just happened to catch on?

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I've heard of a lot of potential reasons, but never heard of it being because of gain.

As far as water in the food, it's only a SUSPECTED cause if their is citric acid in the food, and even then nothing has been proven.

According to one fairly well known study, adding water to the kibble increases the chance of bloat if the kibble contains citric acid.
The reason some people believe it might reduce the risk of bloat is that it slows down some of the voracious eaters, but that's never really been proven.

pokey said:

Wait, I was under the impression that adding water to the kibble reduced the chance of bloat, not increased it. Which is it?

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I do feed my dogs primarily grain-free food - not because worry of bloat, but because many of them are lower in carbohydrate percentages due to increased protein and fat percentages.

I have heard the theory that grains, such as rice, do expand as they go through the digestive system and could contribute to bloat. It may be one of several factors, IMO.

I only feed kibble at breakfast and I do add half a cup of warm water to the bowl - believing that it aids the digestive system in breaking down all the protein.

I'd say being careful about the amount of exercise before and after feeding is also an important point.

oops.. here's the accupressure site....http://www.bluefrontiers.us/bloat_accupress.html

I feed kibble. I put water on it. And I elevate my food bowls. None of my own dogs have ever bloated.
Everything that I do is what used to be done to prevent bloat. Now, it's all the cause of bloat. I figure if I just don't tell my dogs that now the way they eat will cause bloat, they won't.

Everytime I am tempted to change my dogs food when I read something new I think of what happened last time (allergic reaction) and I stay with the good food they are doing great on.

I think adding water to kibble= greater chance of bloat makes sense. It expands in the stomach . Or eating and then drinking alot of water. I limit how much the boys can drink when I hear them out there gulping. Especially after eating or exercise. NO water (or very little) or food after exercise!

I also feed from elevated bowls. Like Laura, that supposedly used to prevent bloat and megaesophagus which Max died from.

I've never heard the grains can cause bloat theory. In all honesty almost everything I've heard that causes bloat, I've heard the same thing prevents bloat on another website or from someone else. It's all very confusing. I think the best thing we can do is feed whatever our dogs do best on, keep them from scarfing and inhaling their food too quickly, and keep them from doing any crazy activity right after... and then just hope for the best.

In Daisy's case, food of any kind was never an issue. It was water that caused her to bloat.

The current reasoning NOT to add water to food is that it "dilutes the gastric juices that aid in digestion".

I think this is one of the best sites with real studies done on bloats..

http://www.vet.purdue.edu/epi/bloat.htm

missmarstar said:

I've never heard the grains can cause bloat theory. In all honesty almost everything I've heard that causes bloat, I've heard the same thing prevents bloat on another website or from someone else. It's all very confusing. I think the best thing we can do is feed whatever our dogs do best on, keep them from scarfing and inhaling their food too quickly, and keep them from doing any crazy activity right after... and then just hope for the best.

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Supposedly it's because grain ferments in the stomach and causes too much gas. I don't know... Riley seems to have more gas on grain-free foods than he did on "traditional", so it doesn't make much sense to me.

There's so much conflicting information out there, it's enough to drive ya nuts. And I think that's really what it comes down to -- just using common sense and hoping for the best.

A lot of good links, here. Looks like I have some reading to do.

Pointgold said:

I feed kibble. I put water on it. And I elevate my food bowls. None of my own dogs have ever bloated.
Everything that I do is what used to be done to prevent bloat. Now, it's all the cause of bloat. I figure if I just don't tell my dogs that now the way they eat will cause bloat, they won't.

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I was just reading today in a Golden Retriever magazine about bloat. They should be fed a mixture of dry & canned food from bowls placed on the floor, not elevated.

These kinds of articles are like the SIDS information. It changes from generation to generation. It might makes sense if you're young and new to raising children (or dogs) but if you've been around for awhile (as I have), you see the information change again and again, it makes you question all this new research by experts.

Has anyone here had a raw fed Golden get bloat?

I've never had or even known (outside of the internet) ANY Golden to get bloat, for any reason.

Well when my Beau had bloat he had not eaten all day. His was caused by stress and drinking water. He was fed grain free and a low elevated bowl. My vet says most cases he has seen of bloat are from stress and drinking in water fast inhaling air at the same time as drinking.

I have never had a dog have bloat (knock on wood!!!), and have fed grain based and (currently) grain free diets. I have added water and not to both (only noticing that the grain free does not swell as much). I have read that there is a genetic predisposition--if it happens to a parent it may in puppies, but not always. Sometimes I think these things are "luck of the draw". Regardless of how many good things you do, they might happen. Some dogs get fed just awful diets and never get it.
One of the reasons I changed Casey to Origen (grain free) was gas--he could clear a room at a young age! The Origen fixed that quickly. I know that some dogs react to the type of protein too, so sometimes you have to try different things to see what works. An interesting topic!

I don't worry about food at all, whether water is added or not. I only worry about water.