To an average person, a feeder may not be of significant importance, depending on its variation. But the importance of the kinds of feeders that are raised is of a high degree. Raised feeders are very beneficial for dogs that have grown old, for the fact that they reduce a considerable amount of stress on the different joints of a dog’s body like the hips, shoulders, and neck.
Also, they reduce work for the owners by minimizing food spillage due to them pushing the bowl around if it is situated at a lower level, closer to the floor.
A very important benefit of raised feeders is that they significantly reduce the risk involved in a case of bloat, or this question may even be at the edge, falling on either side of the argument, as there are also reports that claim otherwise.
Although, there isn’t well-backed evidence to claim elevated feeders can decrease the risk of bloat. However, some studies claim that elevated feeders surprisingly increase the risk, especially in dogs on the larger side.
A veterinarian would call bloat a Gastric dilation volvulus or GDV.
The following conditions define a case of GDV.
The formation of gas in the stomach of your dog
The twist in the stomach of your dog
You may also note; bloat can also be caused as a result of an intake of carbohydrates.
It isn’t difficult to derive from this fact is that keeping your dog’s food low on carb can decrease the risk of bloat. Bloat isn’t a condition that you should easily let go of. In severe cases, it can prove to be fatal just after a few hours of its onset. The exact reason for the bloat hasn’t been completely clear, but we have enough information to back the fact that the bloat is prone to increase with growing age along with size.
For this reason, most veterinaries recommend that you keep large dog raised food bowls feeders for your dogs if they’re large and of a giant breed. Much study has been put into the cause to determine the exact effects of raised feeders and their relation to risks of GDV. One of these studies claims that elevated feeders can significantly increase the risk of GDV in dogs.
The study also led to the revelation of elevated feeders’ effects on the dogs’ eating speed. These elevated feeders lead to a dog eating faster, which leads to an increase in the risk of a GDV.
Eating from not so raised platforms causes a slower eating rate, which seems like a better option when feeding your dogs.
The conclusion for this would be there are no apt studies to support the claim on either of the claims, but it is always better to stay on the safe side until a better research study comes along.
