The post about the young puppy and bloat got me thinking about all the different things I've read about bloat....some things contradicting others. What do you guys do to help prevent it in your dogs? For instance I wouldn't feed one large meal, but cut it into two or three smaller meals each day. Also I wait a couple of hours after feeding to take my dog out for exercise. I'm especially interested in the feeding aspect of this. Do you think adding water to the kibble helps etc? Any particular ingredient you would avoid? I've read some studies and then read opinions that don't agree with studies. TIA for your input.

I have never followed a protocol with the prevention of bloat in mind but.... Having had a sighthound, I believe that bloat is of genetic origin. I feed my pups under 6 months of age 3 meals a day spaced 6 hours apart. Mature dogs get two meals a day, morning and evening. All dogs are rested at for 20-30 mins. after a meal. I do add water to their kibble, not a lot. To a 2 cups of kibble, I put in about 1/3 cup of water, enough to moisten everything.
I keep my dogs in working condition, both in weight and muscle tone. I have known many Lab breeders and owners over my years with dogs but cannot recall anyone having to deal with bloat. While it can happen, I don't think it is the problem in Labs that it is in other breeds.

Anyone else watch how much exercise their dog gets before and after a meal to prevent bloat?

Absolutely! Never exercise after eating.

We avoid exercise 1 hr before and 1 hr after meals!

A very good resource for bloat are the wonderful people at "The Farmacy" they have a water soluble acidophilus digestive blend that I give all my puppies on several days before I start them on formula, and then I put it on their mush.So far no one gets diarrhea.
For my older dogs I do things way different here as far as a feeding regime, My dogs go out in the morning to play and exercise and then they get fed about noon, they stay in until 1:30p and then are allowed to go out again. This allows them a long period to exercise in the day and long enough to digest their food without risking digestive upset. They stay in when I leave for work(that way no one can say they were outside barking) and when my husband gets home they go out and are brought in for supper about 8 - 8:30p.
We do put water on their food, about 1/2 cup, I have one bitch that will gulp her food and throw it back up if it's dry. This works for us but then again I work second shift and I am home all day.

Be very careful of kibbles that contain citric acid. When any dry fod with citric acid is soaked it increases the chances of bloat 320%,especially with older dogs.

I have heard this about the citric acid before.

Where does this info come from?

I ask because some grain free foods have citric acid yet it is recommended to feed grain free with water because of the hi protein in order to aid in digestion.

Just Breeder...I read this about citric acid too, (probably in the same study as you read it), though I don't think they gave any reason to explain why it would have this affect. Many dog foods seem to contain citric acid. For those of you who wet your dogs food (I'm referring to adult dogs)....why exactly do you wet it? So that that food expands before it gets into your dogs stomach? Because you feel it slows down how quickly they eat the food?

Other than obvious things like not exercising right before or for an hour or two after eating, and not feeding just one big meal a day, do any of you give a lot of thought to the problem of bloat, or is it really as uncommon in Labs as Linda O thinks?

And here is something else that I read somewhere...Most bloats occur in the night and not when they have just been fed or exercised. Any thoughts on that?

If it is mostly a genetic issue (as Linda O's post suggests) maybe it can happen no matter what precautions you take. It seems that it's a puzzling condition.

Labs rank 18th for getting bloat.

Do you know where goldens rank?

"why exactly do you wet it? So that that food expands before it gets into your dogs stomach? Because you feel it slows down how quickly they eat the food?"

I don't do it to expand the food. I add water to make a quick gravy - 10 seconds and feed immediately.

In my case I feed grain free as I said in earlier post and water aids in the digestion.

We have fed our dogs with water added (not soaked) for 35+ years with no problems.

The study on bloat and food consumption was done at Purdue University:
http://www.vet.purdue.edu/epi/dietrisk.htm
Grain free raw diets can be taxing on the kidneys, so that is why many people add water to these kibbles. The NV now contains citric acid.
Interestingly, new studies are showing that bloat is likely not related to exercise.
I think the best tool we have to prevent bloat and torsion is to recognize the symoptoms and act on them immediately

Goldens were #22.

"We have fed our dogs with water added (not soaked) for 35+ years with no problems."

The foods and preservatives used in dog kibble today is very different than what was used in the past. (Ethoxyquin, etc.)

"I ask because some grain free foods have citric acid yet it is recommended to feed grain free with water because of the hi protein in order to aid in digestion."

The grain free kibble with citric acid in it has instructions to add water to the kibble on the bag???

"Interestingly, new studies are showing that bloat is likely not related to exercise". True!

A kibble with a lot of bulk (grains, fillers etc.) will swell significantly. A kibble with a high amount of meat protein (around 30%) will not. Feeding a high volume of food (as in foods with a lot of bulk) is risky in terms of bloat even if you feed more than one meal a day. You can soak a sample of what your feeding overnight to witness the amount of swelling your food does.

"I think the best tool we have to prevent bloat and torsion is to recognize the symptoms and act on them immediately"

I agree that quick action sounds vital to saving a dog with bloat, but some dogs are home alone all day if their owners are working. I'm fortunate in that my dog is with me almost all the time and sleeps in my room at night. The one time I worry a bit is when boarding her (which I don't do often, but occasionally have the necessity to do) When I do board her at kennels I have them divide her food over breakfast, lunch, and dinner...so the meals are quite small. I highly doubt though that many kennels have someone up checking on the dogs through the night, and this is when bloat (I've read) most commonly occurs. I guess the same would apply to those who have their own kennels and whose dogs don't sleep in close proximity to them at night. How would you know your dog was in distress?

Snowco/Patty - Does your dog kibble contain citric acid? My current food does...though I'm planning to change foods for another reason. It seems like a pretty common additive. A 320 percent increase in bloat if you wet/soak?? the kibble sure sounds like a huge increase in odds though! I can't remember exactly what this study said and I'll have to try and find it again. Even if one doesn't wet the kibble most dogs have a drink after eating, so wouldn't this have the same affect on the citric acid aspect. It would be interesting to know exactly what about citric acid causes this increase.

As for Labs ranking 18th for getting bloat I guess that might not be as bad as it sounds. The percentages of "Labs" that get bloat would be a more informative figure. "From what I've read" it also seems to have something to do with age, as "most" dogs that get bloat are not younger dogs.

I lost a dog to bloat this spring. We thought we knew all the symptoms and did everything to avoid bloat - two small meals, no exercise before or after eating, etc. We had taken our dogs out for their late afternoon walk. One of our boys disappeared. We spent about 20 minutes looking for him and found him in the tall grass and he was dead. Our vet did a necropsy and it showed that his stomach and intestines were twisted 270 degrees. His stomach was empty. Our vet said that sometimes the ligaments holding the stomach and intestines in place loose their elasticity. He said when the twist is that bad it can pinch off the main vein from the rear to the heart and they go into cardiac arrest. Again, we thought we'd done everything to avoid bloat and thought we knew the symptoms well enough that we could catch it. Unfortunately, sometimes, in spite of all your precautions, bad things still happen. He was 8 years old and in excellent physical condition.

"It would be interesting to know exactly what about citric acid causes this increase"

The citric acid reacts with the stomach acid and produces gas.

Kay~
Sorry to read about the loss of your dog. So heartbreaking. I hope you have other furry ones around to help ease the loss. ~Maria