Elevated Food Bowls...

[Guest TheModernMutt]

Are elevated food/water bowls a necessity?

[3greytjoys]

Many people prefer them for retired Greyhounds, myself included. Greyhounds legs are so long, it can be uncomfortable for hounds to bend down to floor level to eat. There are items around the house that can be used in lieu of an expensive dog feeder stand. Plant baskets work fine (bowl sits inside the upper rim of the basket). Some people use plant stands, but some are a bit too high.

 

Side note: We use a tall stainless steel bucket for water and place the bucket inside a decorative basket. Filling the bucket 1/2 way with water helps keep drippage to a minimum. (Plastic is not desired for pet bowls. Chemicals can leach into water.)

[macoduck]

We use the Neater Feeder and have a much cleaner, drier floor now.

[cleptogrey]

i have read both - you need to use an elevated feeder, it doesn't matter. i have 2 plant stands, they work. if the water is on the floor- they drink w/o any problems. when i travel i use a chair, coffee table or park bench seat, it's what your dogs get used to. i will say the BEST thing i have purchased for myself is the messy mutz water bowl. many greys tend to spit water out the sides of their mouth when they drink and cause a wet mess. this bowl solved the problem and makes life easier for ME! http://www.messymutz.com/

Edited February 24, 2013 by cleptogrey

[Guest Gemma]

I don't think you have to use one but it's so sad watching tall greyhounds Bambi out their legs trying to reach the floor! So we have always used a raised feeder for Peyton. Some of our fosters have not required them, either because they were so petite or because they ate lying down in their crate.

[OwnedBySummer]

I used raised bowls. And mainly for the same reason as some other have already said -- for my dog's comfort. If she eats off the floor, she has to splay her legs and they tremble. Surely it can't be comfortable. At a raised bowl, she stands easily and normally. Based on that, it's raised bowls here.

 

I don't worry about bloat and the question of raised vs not raised. Summer is not a gobbler and I don't feed or water her (other than a few sips) for an hour before or after exercise.

 

At home, she has a wrought iron bowl stand which holds her two ceramic bowls. This is very similar from Petsmart. We also have one of these, bought for traveling, but I don't like it for that. It's too big and clunky and awkward. So we use it for camping instead and just keep it in our trailer. For traveling/hotels, we now have this one, which is fabulous for this purpose.

[ShebasMom]

Having first had Great Danes, I always used a raised feeder, one that my father made for me out of an old wooden TV tray stand with cut-out holes for the bowls. Graduating to greys, I now have a lower-height wooden feeder that my brother made for me (like father, like son, rest their souls). I just think it's easier for the dogs. I travel with the bulky wooden feeder but plan on getting one that is collapsible so it doesn't take up so much space in the back seat of my Nissan Cube.

[vjgrey]

For traveling/hotels, we now have this one, which is fabulous for this purpose.

 

Ooh! Good to know. We do a long trip with our dogs once a year, and I've been thinking about picking up some of these.

[a_daerr]

I've heard they're necessary to prevent bloat, but I've also heard the opposite argument. So whether or not that's a real consideration remains to be seen. I use elevated feeders, as others have said, for my dogs' comfort. But I've fed my fosters in their crate with no elevated feeder, and they've been just fine. I think it's just a personal preference.

[TheFullHouse]

I've never used raised feeders and have never had an issue with bloat or anything else. I think for a dog who may have neck issues or back issues I would get one but for the average, healthy greyhound I just set them on the floor.

[dante2zoe]

I use a raised water bowl since that prevents tipping. I took an old Rubbermaid step stool and had a circle cut out of the middle and the bowl drops right in. The cats drink from the same bowl and this gives them a perch to sit on while they drink. Side benefit - I can dump the entire thing in the sink for easier cleaning. The grooves tend to collect dirt.

[45MPHK9]

Ooh! Good to know. We do a long trip with our dogs once a year, and I've been thinking about picking up some of these.

We've been using those travel bowls for years. We love them.

[Walliered]

I use only Neater Feeder raised bowls. No more water sloshed around! It all stays in the Neater Feeder!

[greysmom]

I believe the current research and thinking are that raised feeders do NOT help prevent bloat. The two main factors are heredity and body type. It also makes no difference whether or not you wet/soak kibble (though it does help with regurgitating their food right after eating if you have a gobbler).

 

Using a raised feeder is up to you. We used raised feeders because it makes it more comfortable for the dogs to eat and keeps some of the mess off the floor.

[Guest TheModernMutt]

It also makes no difference whether or not you wet/soak kibble (though it does help with regurgitating their food right after eating if you have a gobbler).

That's news. We've always soaked kibble before giving it to any of our dogs. I thought it was preventative.

[greytpups]

We don't use raised feeders. I would if they had issues eating out of bowls on the floor.

 

We soak kibble because the pups prefer it that way.

[Hubcitypam]

The whole raised feeder/bloat thing is he says/she says even with studies - same with moistening. Raised is not required.

 

Back when I free fed I tried a raised feeder but had to leave a bowl on the floor for Poodle. The greys, of their own choice, all used the bowl on the floor. After a few weeks I ditched the raised feeder. I had one grey that preferred to eat from the bowl on the floor while laying down (and another that would only eat in the dark when no one was watching) but that is another story....

[Guest TheModernMutt]

I had one grey that preferred to eat from the bowl on the floor while laying down (and another that would only eat in the dark when no one was watching) but that is another story....

Haha! Seriously?? That's funny!

[beledi]

I use only Neater Feeder raised bowls. No more water sloshed around! It all stays in the Neater Feeder!

What size? Did you use large or large with extensions?

[Guest k9soul]

Rudy is a fast gobbler. He hacks and coughs food back up easily, but he seems to do better eating from a raised dish and with the food moistened.

[Guest DragonflyDM]

I've heard they're necessary to prevent bloat, but I've also heard the opposite argument. So whether or not that's a real consideration remains to be seen. I use elevated feeders, as others have said, for my dogs' comfort. But I've fed my fosters in their crate with no elevated feeder, and they've been just fine. I think it's just a personal preference.

 

I have heard borth arguments as well--- but Boomer takes his food and pulls it to the floor regardless of how high or low the bowl is... so I keep a towel now for his food.

[greymatters]

What size? Did you use large or large with extensions?

 

Re Neater Feeder - we use large, with extension legs. Even with the legs it's not as tall as our regular raised feeder, but it really does minimize the mess!