Soak Eukanuba In Warm Water?

[GABBA]

I have just gotten a mastiff breed (8 weeks), and as you may be aware, these dogs are susceptible to bloat. I have heard a way of avoiding this, is to soak any dry food in warm water (for approx. 20 minutes). I am wondering, is it necessary to soak the (large) puppy dry mix formula in warm water, or is it safe to serve normal (not soaked)?

Thanks in advance.

[Kody's_Mum]

I am not sure if there is a definite answer on this, as far as I am aware the causes of bloat are not clear.

My parents feed their puppy Eukanuba and I feed Kody Eagle Pack. We have always soaked the dry food in hot water letting it cool completely before feeding, as we had been told the same by our breeders and didn't want to take the risk.

We never feed the dogs straight after exercise, when it is or they are really hot or let them exercise and run about after feeding, as I have heard that this can also contribute to bloat.

Perhaps someone here with more knowledge on bloat will be able to provide some advice.

OT - Congratulations on your puppy, do you have a photo?

[nabs]

I find my 8 week old puppies don't like their Euk soaked and have big enough teeth to cope with chewing the food. I dislike soaked food, not only does it cause plaque on the teeth but I was told by a US dog nutritionist that hot water actually kills off any of the goodness in the food.

[oakeydoak1]

Maybe ring the breeder you got the puppy off? If the puppy is used to it being dry maybe changing would not be beneficial. Photo please? Love puppy photos

[Miranda]

Bloat Study

This is a very interesting study on bloat conducted in the U.S.A.

[Guest Ams]

WOW that is an interesting article.

[GABBA]

I am under the impression that the breeder fed him dry puppy mix, not soaked. I tried to feed him some soaked Eukanuba, but he doesnt seem to eat much of it....It doesnt look like he has really had a good meal, should i start getting concerned?

He seems to take a couple of bites, and then hes had enough.

Here is a pic of the boy anyway, a nice DBD.

[Dogsfevr]

I am under the impression that the breeder fed him dry puppy mix,

They should have given you a detailed diet sheet of what exactly they have been feeding or what they recommend.

If you not then ask the breeder

I have large breeds predisposed to bloat i have never soaked.

I also feed on raised stands which there is 50/50 opinions,

I have never losta dog to bloat & happy with my method of common sense

[newfsie]

I have had Newfs since the eighties, Giants by most standards. We always fed dry food soaked if we feed dry. But not with warm/hot water. We take longer and use cold water. Hot water especially can break-down the food. And we feed twice a day equal meals. If dry is used it has to be the best quality and made especially for the Giant breed, because the protein levels and Calcium levels are different. They used to feed the Giants extra calcium, but that has been out moded. We feed at floor level and also have been lucky enough never to have had bloat.

We have now gone to RAW....The dogs develop slower and are leaner and hopefully this will be better for them in the long run.

Eagle pack has a holistic giant puppy food, which seems very high in standard (and sorry $$$$'s)

Edited February 6, 2010 by newfsie

[GABBA]

I just came inside from, what i think is Caesar's first decent attempt at eating. Since he got here, he hasn't really been interested in eating, but now he just down'd a fair bit of 'soaked' dry food, normal dry food and 2 chicken necks.

One thing i'd like to find out though, does soaking the Eukanuba take away its nutritional value - if so, i certainly dont want to do that.

......

I just found this post on another forum:

"160% increased risk with dry dog food that contains fat among first 4 ingredients

200% increased risk with dry dog food that contains citric acid

53% decreased risk with foods that contain a rendered meat meal with bone product among first 4 ingredients

It states moistening dog food does not increase the risk - UNLESS the food contains citric acid, in which case the risk increases 300%!

"These findings can be used by owners to select dry dog foods that may reduce the risk of GDV."

For interest sake, here are a few dry foods that contain citric acid, I am sure there are many more:

Kibbles n Bits

Iams

Eukanuba

Owen and Mandeville

Fromm

Eagle Pack (incl Holistic Select)

Just a couple I checked that have citric acid, in addition to having fat in top 4 ingredients

**Nutrience

**Nature's Recipe Lamb

**Natural Balance - several versions have citric acid, and their Oven Baked Dog Food and their Potato and Duck formula have citric acid and fat in top 4 ingredients"

https://leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/...r/9454/page/114

So Im not sure......i might just feed it dry!

Edited February 6, 2010 by GABBA

[Bullbreedlover]

Dogs produce saliva when eating their meals to help with the digestive process and also to help their food slide down their oesophagus.

Bulldogs in particular can produce excess saliva causing them to choke up while eating. Gulping their food down doesnt help as well.

With dry feeding, dogs produce more saliva than if wet fed.

We now always soak our dog biscuits in hot water and they are left to cool.

Bullmastiffs and the Bulldogs get their food soaked.

They have plenty of chewbies to help with their teeth.

This is after I saved one of our Bulldogs who got dry biscuits caught in her throat and I managed to get my hand down her throat to scoop out the biscuits.

Dogs can choke up on any food. I know of a Bullmastiff who choked on a brisket and sadly died.

always supervise with meal time

[nabs]

I am surprised your breeder has not given you a detailed diet sheet and puppy information pack when you purchased. I would be contacting them and asking them for the same.

[Guest belgian.blue]

I was under the impression that bloat was only really caused from eating too much food in one hit and then adding exercise too shortly after or before eating?

Same as humans, but we just get a stitch ..

I've owned two deep chested breeds over the last 1O years and never once had trouble with bloat.

off the read the article on bloat

[stormie]

No one knows why some bloat. You could feed two dogs the same foods and one could bloat and the other may not. If the ingredients in food was the cause, why aren't more dogs bloating at a younger age, when first fed that food? Generally they seem to bloat as adults, rarely as young dogs. I've also seen dogs that bloated many hours after their last meal and also seen one bloat directly after feeding, in its crate.

Personally, I think if you have a breed that is very prone to bloat, you should consider having a gastropexy done when they are desexed. It won't stop them bloating, but it can stop them torsioning, which is what often causes the complications leading to death. It's done routinely over in the USA and I'd like to see it done more often here too.

Edited February 6, 2010 by stormie

[Bullbreedlover]

One of our Bulldogs bloated from age about 2 I think. We only punctured his stomach. Did not operate. He survived.

One 5 month old puppy bloated. Was fed, exercise restricted but the blood vessel to his stomach died(autopsy) and he bloated and passed away at the vets.

Many dogs who can not belch I think are susceptable to bloat.

Cows can get bloat from eating grass which has a heavy frost on it or too much clover. Different animals I know but one of the treatments apart from puncturing their stomach(you have to cut in the right place) is bloat mixture which makes them belch.

Off topic i know. Sorry.

Interesting read on the article. Many of the items raised we knew of years ago

[SwaY]

I feed Euk i don't soak the food, i do add some water to the dry food and mince.

If we knew what caused bloat 100% im sure we would have far less cases in every breed.

I stick to a routine and don't change it.

[Nekhbet]

I wouldnt bother soaking, your dog needs to chew not eat slop

if you are worried feed smaller meals twice a day, less to none on stinking hot days and dont let the dog run around like a loony straight after a meal

[Dogsfevr]

Personally, I think if you have a breed that is very prone to bloat, you should consider having a gastropexy done when they are desexed. It won't stop them bloating, but it can stop them torsioning, which is what often causes the complications leading to death. It's done routinely over in the USA and I'd like to see it done more often here too.

Many now disagree with this being done so its a dilemma either way,i wouldnt get it done on my guys just in case

[newfsie]

One of our Bulldogs bloated from age about 2 I think. We only punctured his stomach. Did not operate. He survived.

One 5 month old puppy bloated. Was fed, exercise restricted but the blood vessel to his stomach died(autopsy) and he bloated and passed away at the vets.

Many dogs who can not belch I think are susceptable to bloat.

Cows can get bloat from eating grass which has a heavy frost on it or too much clover. Different animals I know but one of the treatments apart from puncturing their stomach(you have to cut in the right place) is bloat mixture which makes them belch.

Off topic i know. Sorry.

Interesting read on the article. Many of the items raised we knew of years ago

Cows are ruminates and their digestive system is totally different to dogs, they have several stomachs and regurgitate. Their bloating is caused by gases made by their food.....When they bloat it is due to a different reason and it does not cause torsion. And it can be relieved by a puncture with a trocar. And boy does it smell rotten.

This should never be attempted to a dog. you can in the early period some times pass a naso gastric tube and be lucky enough to get some of the gas pre torsion out of the stomach. If you live in a Rural are away from vets, it is good to have a bloat kit, like we do and to know the first aid. But it has to be caught early

Dog bloat is closer in relationship to horse colic.........And it can happen due to many different reasons. Stress and anxiety being a large part. The reason a lot of people soak food is because some dogs gorge their food and do not realise when they have had enough. If this is dry, it will soak-up fluids in the stomach and enlarge to a much larger volume and that in some dogs can cause bloat. Some large dog lines never get it, others get it. So many studies have ben done and so much has been done to prevent it. you can only do your best. I have seen dogs who have had their stomach tacked re-bloat

Here is a link to a bloat chart........... http://www.gdca.org/Bloat%20Chart.pdf

Edited February 6, 2010 by newfsie

[Bullbreedlover]

One of our Bulldogs bloated from age about 2 I think. We only punctured his stomach. Did not operate. He survived.

One 5 month old puppy bloated. Was fed, exercise restricted but the blood vessel to his stomach died(autopsy) and he bloated and passed away at the vets.

Many dogs who can not belch I think are susceptable to bloat.

Cows can get bloat from eating grass which has a heavy frost on it or too much clover. Different animals I know but one of the treatments apart from puncturing their stomach(you have to cut in the right place) is bloat mixture which makes them belch.

Off topic i know. Sorry.

Interesting read on the article. Many of the items raised we knew of years ago

Cows are ruminates and their digestive system is totally different to dogs, they have several stomachs and regurgitate. Their bloating is caused by gases made by their food.....When they bloat it is due to a different reason and it does not cause torsion. And it can be relieved by a puncture with a trocar. And boy does it smell rotten.

This should never be attempted to a dog. you can in the early period some times pass a naso gastric tube and be lucky enough to get some of the gas pre torsion out of the stomach. If you live in a Rural are away from vets, it is good to have a bloat kit, like we do and to know the first aid. But it has to be caught early

Dog bloat is closer in relationship to horse colic.........And it can happen due to many different reasons. Stress and anxiety being a large part. The reason a lot of people soak food is because some dogs gorge their food and do not realise when they have had enough. If this is dry, it will soak-up fluids in the stomach and enlarge to a much larger volume and that in some dogs can cause bloat. Some large dog lines never get it, others get it. So many studies have ben done and so much has been done to prevent it. you can only do your best. I have seen dogs who have had their stomach tacked re-bloat

Here is a link to a bloat chart........... http://www.gdca.org/Bloat%20Chart.pdf

gee gosh I know cows are ruminants.

I was giving another example of bloat.

And the collection of gases in dogs and them not being able to expell them can be a cause of bloat

puncturing a dogs stomach with a needle CAN and DOES work thanks alot.

Must tell my vet at the time never to attempt that again