Is an Elevated Dog Bowl Right For Your Pet?

Once you have a puppy, you get familiar with the routine of daily feeding. Raised dog feeders make life easier for your pet as well as for you.  While most people use a classic bowl placed on the ground, they don’t realize that eating from the floor isn’t ideal for any dog that is more than six inches high.

There are a lot of medical problems that are associated with eating at such a low height, and the mess is greater as well.

Stomach Bloat
Even though stomach bloat is a uncommon condition, it is usually caused from an improper height in your dog’s bowls. If you have ever watched a dog eat from a food bowl on the floor, you will be astonished at how fast they can make the meal disappear.

Dogs are fast eaters by nature. It is a form of protection against anyone or anything taking their food. What the majority of people do not know is that it is very dangerous for their health to eat from the bowls on the ground.

By guzzling their food at such an angle, most dogs ingest a great deal of air.  When air is ingested by your dog, it can cause your dog’s stomach to twist.  If your dog has a twisted stomach, it is a very critical emergency.

The majority of dogs that get this painful condition, rarely make it. Those who do make it have a better chance at getting it again.  On a less serious note, there is also the gas to deal with, and that is uncomfortable for you as well as your pet.  Lifting the food takes away the possibility.

Joints and Muscles
Elderly dogs have a bit more trouble bending down to eat their food and is very hurtful on joints and muscles.  The concluding pressure on elbows and wrists as they bend over causes them to eat fast or poorly.

Think about trying to eat while bent at the waist from a surface at arms length.  That is what dogs do every time they eat from a dish on the floor.  The position is bad for their posture and makes eating hard.  Raising the bowls helps reduce pressure on those sensitive joints.

Less Mess
If you purchase a sturdy elevated dog bowl, you don’t have to worry about any messes to clean up. There is no longer a excuse to quickly throw the food back to the throat, and they don’t have to eat so frantically. 

With less pressure on their joints, dogs relax a bit and enjoy their food more.  If you have a dog that really bolts their food no matter what, consider adding a bolt preventing bowl to an elevated feeder.  It will make your pet to calm down.

Elevated dog feeders are easily found either at your local pet store or on the internet.  To match the height to your dog, measure your dog at the withers.  The withers are the front shoulder joint.  Minus six inches and you have the appriopriate height for your dog’s feeder. 

Find a bowl that can accommodate that height and give it a try.  Both you and your dog will be happier about feeding time and as a bonus, you won’t have to bend quite as far to put the food in the bowl.