# What do YOU do to prevent bloat?



## cassadee7 (Nov 26, 2009)

I am curious about what people on this board do to try and prevent bloat in your GSDs. There's a lot of advice out there, but what do YOU do? Anything?

Feed a certain way? Bowls raised/not raised? Moistened food? Slow eating bowl?
Limit water times/amounts? Limit ice?
Limit activity at certain times?
Give certain foods/supplements, or avoid certain foods?
Keep anything on hand in case you notice certain symptoms?
Had their stomach tacked preventatively?
Anything else you do?
Or do you just not worry about it?


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## Samba (Apr 23, 2001)

How do we know we are preventing it? I try to avoid things that could cause abnormal gastric contractions or stress digestion


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## Jgk2383 (Aug 5, 2009)

well Like samba said how do we really know we are preventing? I do things to make me feel like I am doing SOMETHING to at least decrease the chances. My dogs are Raw fed and when they are fed ground meats its in a brakefast bowl. I limit water before and after anything strenuous. They are crated when they eat and let out one hour-1.5 hours after eating. Does it help? Who knows but like I said it makes me feel better.

*edit* I also keep GAS X on hand and have pro plan pet insurance in case god forbid anything happened.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

I"m not convinced we can prevent it. I don't let her drink a ton of water while exercising (she'll empty a bucket if you let her). Don't feed her for about an hour after exercising. Feed her RAW. Keep Gas X on hand.

But, unfortunately, I think it's just up to fate. We can take preventative measures but we still have to be in the right place, at the right time.


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

I do have a raised bowl but it's not very high up. 

I feed a total of 4 cups a day and feed him twice a day, 5am and 5pm. 

No exercise one hour prior to eating and no exercise for one hour after eating. I usually have him stay in his crate during this time. 

Sometimes I give him a piece of chicken or a piece of steak other than that he only gets kibble.


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## JeanKBBMMMAAN (May 11, 2005)

*And please, if citing studies, post them. *

I do quiet time before and after they eat. I watch stressy dogs more closely, and if a dog has EPI, watch them more. Also older dogs. 

I have GasX with me. 

I don't like to feed and leave if at all possible. 

I've had a dog bloat - he was old (15) and maybe that was the main reason. Silver lining - bloat surgery found a liver tumor that was ready to pop that was removed - he was tacked and lived almost 13 full months more. 

I think important to know are signs and symptoms of bloat and to realize it can present oddly.


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## cassadee7 (Nov 26, 2009)

Oh, I am sure there is no 100% way to PREVENT bloat from happening. We can do all the right things and it still happens.

What I meant was, do you do anything to try and lessen the likelihood of bloat in your GSD?


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

JeanKBBMMMAAN said:


> *And please, if citing studies, post them. *
> 
> I do quiet time before and after they eat. I watch stressy dogs more closely, and if a dog has EPI, watch them more. Also older dogs.
> 
> ...


Me neither! I think this is very important, you only have a small time frame to catch your GSD bloating and get him to a Vet ASAP, so I NEVER leave after my dog eats. I wait at least an hour before leaving him home alone.


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## Jgk2383 (Aug 5, 2009)

The problem is that so many dogs ahve bloated and you hear so many stories... the problem is they are all different. Raw fed dogs have bloated.... dogs who ate a small meal 12 hours ago bloated.... dogs who drank alot of water bloated..... dogs who didnt drink water bloated...... dogs who were home all day lazing around bloated..... dogs who trialed bloated...... dogs who are kenneled bloated. It varies too much and thats what scares the **** out of me. Im pretty convinced though its a genetic issue or at least genetics play some kind of part.


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## hunterisgreat (Jan 30, 2011)

LaRen616 said:


> Me neither! I think this is very important, you only have a small time frame to catch your GSD bloating and get him to a Vet ASAP, so I NEVER leave after my dog eats. I wait at least an hour before leaving him home alone.


My dog bloated at like 5am, 12 hours after eating, and without exercising. He was asleep. I'm convinced its just a reality of having a large dog. WHatever a dog's anatomical predisposition is, coupled with enviromental influences, leads to some risk factor (1%? 10%?, who knows)... after that, I think its just a dice roll. There is no instance of bloating my dog's lines that I could find. I personally blame a raised bowl, and how lean I was keeping him (two established contributing factors) for raising our risk, and then good old murphy for the rest


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## JustMeLeslie (Sep 15, 2010)

cassadee7 said:


> Oh, I am sure there is no 100% way to PREVENT bloat from happening. We can do all the right things and it still happens.
> 
> What I meant was, do you do anything to try and lessen the likelihood of bloat in your GSD?


 
I keep Gas X on hand. I watch water intake during and after exercise and after eating. No heavy eating before or after exercise. No inhaling the food(eating fast), but my dogs don't do that anyway. They don't eat large quantities of kibble at any one time. I put probiotics on my dog's food to aid with digestion. 

There is no surefire way to prevent it so I just pray that it never happens to any of my dogs. Bloat is a scary thing and it seems like you can take precautions all you want and sometimes it will still happen. I am beginning to think that it is genetic.


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

I do all of those things too...plus worry. I talked to my vet about it and she said that most of the cases she's seen have come after some kind of gastric distress, like eating something they're not used to or eating excessively, etc. She recently saw a lab that had construction workers shared their lunches with- something out of the ordinary like that. We talked about the pros and cons of having the preventive stomach tacking done when a dog is in for other surgery like neutering and she says that trend seems to come and go. I guess all we can do is try our best to prevent it and react quickly if it does happen.


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## sable123 (Jul 11, 2010)

Jgk2383 said:


> The problem is that so many dogs ahve bloated and you hear so many stories... the problem is they are all different. Raw fed dogs have bloated.... dogs who ate a small meal 12 hours ago bloated.... dogs who drank alot of water bloated..... dogs who didnt drink water bloated...... dogs who were home all day lazing around bloated..... dogs who trialed bloated...... dogs who are kenneled bloated. It varies too much and thats what scares the **** out of me. Im pretty convinced though its a genetic issue or at least genetics play some kind of part.


It is easier to see the genetic predisposition in hunting dogs. Certain Weimaraner & Gordon Setter lines for example show bloat way back into the pedigree. Because they are not as popular as GSDs, the lines have not crossed nearly as much.

It is true that most dogs bloat in the middle of the night on an empty stomach no matter what breed. Among the breeds most likely, they all share a basic body type, with weight (fatter is better) and nervousness influencing the risk dramatically.

Food ironically does not have much of an impact other than kibble size. Although I have never seen a kibble as large as 1.25 inches except for RC's Giant Breed formula, which are the size of brownies.

I know many people that give apple cider vinegar after all meals. Why?? not sure but they sweat by it.


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

no hard exercise before eating, and atleast an hour after eating. Watch water intake, and pray I never have a dog go thru it


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## hunterisgreat (Jan 30, 2011)

sable123 said:


> It is easier to see the genetic predisposition in hunting dogs. Certain Weimaraner & Gordon Setter lines for example show bloat way back into the pedigree. Because they are not as popular as GSDs, the lines have not crossed nearly as much.
> 
> It is true that most dogs bloat in the middle of the night on an empty stomach no matter what breed. Among the breeds most likely, they all share a basic body type, with weight (fatter is better) and nervousness influencing the risk dramatically.
> 
> ...


I can share that we were on an aggressive diet when it got us. Over a few months we went from the pudgy 97lbs to an exceptionally lean 83lbs. Never measured an orijin, core, or instinct kibble, but thats what we were eating.

I think adding acid might be a bad idea.. I know there is a correlation between foods with citric acid that are moistened before feeding causing some issue and gassing of the food


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## hunterisgreat (Jan 30, 2011)

Alot of the time you have people making the argument "I do X to prevent bloat, I haven't had a dog bloat, therefore X prevents bloat" which is not a sound argument.


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## JPF (Feb 5, 2011)

our vet has mentioned to us that she could do a preventative tacking when our dog comes in to be neutered. Does anyone think this is a good idea?


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

hunterisgreat said:


> I think adding acid might be a bad idea.. I know there is a correlation between foods with citric acid that are moistened before feeding causing some issue and gassing of the food


There was another discussion on bloat a couple months ago where Robin (Huerta) did an experiment on moistened dog food. The results were pretty interesting. You should look that thread up.


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## Kris10 (Aug 26, 2010)

hunterisgreat said:


> My dog bloated at like 5am, 12 hours after eating, and without exercising. He was asleep. I'm convinced its just a reality of having a large dog. WHatever a dog's anatomical predisposition is, coupled with enviromental influences, leads to some risk factor (1%? 10%?, who knows)... after that, I think its just a dice roll. There is no instance of bloating my dog's lines that I could find. I personally blame a raised bowl, and how lean I was keeping him (two established contributing factors) for raising our risk, and then good old murphy for the rest


I agree with the first part of this, but I am not convinced by the raised bowl argument. I think research is limited and riddled with problems (lack of control group, lack of control over variables, etc...). For example large dogs are more likely to bloat---What kind of dogs would you feed from raised bowls? Large dogs. 
Another example. Perhaps those people who think about how their dog eats, its comfort, etc are more likely to pay for a necropsy if something happens. Maybe they are more likely to report what killed their dog to further research. 
I am not saying the above examples are 100% true, just using examples of how studies can be tainted by variables that cannot be controlled.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Here is the thread!

http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/diet-nutrition/149388-wetting-dry-food.html


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## Zisso (Mar 20, 2009)

I do not use raised bowls, feed 2x's a day, make them rest before and after meals, and keep Gas X on hand. I watch then like a hawk for a number of reasons so hopefully if one were to bloat I would be able to catch it early enough to save them.


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## Daisy (Jan 4, 2009)

What everybody else is doing: keep gasx on hand and give if I hear tummy noises or she has gas; feed in a plastic prong bowl to slow scarfing as she eats quick; no water for 1 hr. before or after eating or exercising. Literally, pray that she doesn't bloat.


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

My vet suggested that I get familiar with how Stosh's stomach feels when it's empty and when it's full so I can tell the difference if he's showing other symptoms--that way I'll be able to tell if it's getting distended.


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## sable123 (Jul 11, 2010)

Daisy said:


> What everybody else is doing: keep gasx on hand and give if I hear tummy noises or she has gas; feed in a plastic prong bowl to slow scarfing as she eats quick; no water for 1 hr. before or after eating or exercising. Literally, pray that she doesn't bloat.


Use big kibbles......


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## elisabeth_00117 (May 17, 2009)

I don't think you can really PREVENT bloat from occuring but I do little things to ease my mind..lol.

- *KNOW THE SIGNS OF BLOAT SO I CAN CATCH IT EARLY*

- Feed late at night - Raw fed - (no exercise before or after for several hours) 
*this is only with Stark because he won't eat at any other time or more than once per day.

- keep Gas-X everywhere (house, friends car (use it for traveling to training), purse, training bag, etc.)

- Watch water intake after heavy exercise

- Have an emergency fund incase he needs emergency care


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## arycrest (Feb 28, 2006)

I'm one of the unlucky ones who has had three dogs bloat w/torsion (but was lucky that all three survived emergency surgery). 

All three were "young" seniors - 9 years old. 

All three had different symptoms. 

All three were eating different foods prepared different ways. 

All three ate from bowls on the floor. 

All three had access to water all the time but never "tanked up". 

All three had rest periods before and after meals.

*The differences:
*1. Echo bloated w/torsions IMMEDIATELY after eating ... no time to even digest a single bite of food. He finished his meal, walked into the living room and bloated ... within minutes he looked like he had swallowed a beach ball, pacing, vomiting white foam, etc. The ER vet showed me his x-rays and you could make out clearly the shape of the kibble and that it was still undigested or even partially digested - it was whole just like it went down. He lost his spleen, had his stomach tacked, never had bloat again, and died 5 months later from undiagnosed hemangiosarcoma of the heart.

2. JR bloated w/torsion a few hours after he ate. No obvious signs of bloat, just pacing, vomiting small amounts of white foam, and he started crying in pain on the way to the ER. JR survived the surgery, never again had any type of bloat, and lived another 4 years.

3. Kelly bloated w/torsion on a completely empty stomach. He woke up in the AM with an upset tummy ... it was roaring. I withheld his breakfast (he had eaten dinner the night before). No obvious signs of bloat, no pacing, no vomiting, just roaring stomach noises. About 4 that afternoon, he vomited white foam and started to act agitated (about 23 hours after his last meal). Kel lost 1/3 of his stomach, survived the surgery, never had bloat again, and died 3-1/2 years later.


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## liljoec (Aug 17, 2010)

Is the stomach tacking procedue less than 100% effective? or do people just find it too invasive or costly?


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Stomach tacking does NOT prevent bloat. It prevents torsion.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

I've never had a dog bloat. I try not to feed more than 2 cups at a time, and not right before or after hard exercise. I also like to hear my dogs belch after a meal, which they always do. That tells me that gas is getting out. In the morning I only feed the dogs a handful, if anything, so they won't bloat while I'm at work.


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## arycrest (Feb 28, 2006)

liljoec said:


> Is the stomach tacking procedue less than 100% effective? or do people just find it too invasive or costly?


I don't know if tacking is 100% effective. Dogs can still bloat, but I honestly don't know the percentage of dogs who were tacked who still had torsion?

My three dogs who bloated w/torsion all had their stomachs tacked as part of the cost of the torsion surgery.

I had Bruiser's stomach tacked when he had a surgical procedure done for another problem. He had been having problems with what I called a partial torsion for lack of a better description. He's the only dog I've ever had tacked as a preventative measure that hadn't had bloat/torsion surgery. Bruiser's double surgery was about 25% of the cost, maybe even a tad less, of the emergerncy bloat/torsion surgery.


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## hunterisgreat (Jan 30, 2011)

Kris10 said:


> I agree with the first part of this, but I am not convinced by the raised bowl argument. I think research is limited and riddled with problems (lack of control group, lack of control over variables, etc...). For example large dogs are more likely to bloat---What kind of dogs would you feed from raised bowls? Large dogs.
> Another example. Perhaps those people who think about how their dog eats, its comfort, etc are more likely to pay for a necropsy if something happens. Maybe they are more likely to report what killed their dog to further research.
> I am not saying the above examples are 100% true, just using examples of how studies can be tainted by variables that cannot be controlled.


There is def some lack of good solid evidence, but we do know there is an increase in bloat in the past 10 years or so... maybe we are better at determining cause of death, or maybe the raised bowl thing contributed, or maybe something else. Current vet advice though, is do not feed from raised bowls. I generally try to replicate nature as closely as possible, so eating from the floor makes more sense to me. Exercise before food is certainly natural (prey generally don't just let themselves be eaten) so I question that. There are studies & drs that agree and ones that disagree. Like I've said before... we really don't know why bloat happens


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## hunterisgreat (Jan 30, 2011)

Stosh said:


> My vet suggested that I get familiar with how Stosh's stomach feels when it's empty and when it's full so I can tell the difference if he's showing other symptoms--that way I'll be able to tell if it's getting distended.


*Trust me*... if your dog bloats and gets distended.. you will know on sight alone. My dogs stomach was about as hard as granite and looked like he swallowed a beach ball. There was never a "is this bloat?" in my mind... just an "OH @#$%!!!"


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## hunterisgreat (Jan 30, 2011)

liljoec said:


> Is the stomach tacking procedue less than 100% effective? or do people just find it too invasive or costly?


It prevents torsion by about 95% or so. Stomach can still tear away. Bloat can still occur just the same, which just needs constriction of the entry/exit of the stomach. Intestines can also bloat, and there is also spleen torsion that can occur


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## liljoec (Aug 17, 2010)

Jax08 said:


> Stomach tacking does NOT prevent bloat. It prevents torsion.


Yep, I know what you mean. i was reading this whole time thinking we were talking about torsion. I have no idea why I perceived it that way. Does bloat lead to torsion?


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## CassandGunnar (Jan 3, 2011)

Thankfully, we've never had a dog bloat. (Knock on wood) We take the same precautions as everyone else does, it sounds like. Bowls on the floor, no exercise for at least an hour after eating, etc.
I'm going out later to pick up more Gas-X. The stuff we have is expired so I don't want to take a chance.
We live about 20 mintues from the E-Vet as well, but I know I can get there in 10, if I have to.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

hunterisgreat said:


> It prevents torsion by about 95% or so. Stomach can still tear away. Bloat can still occur just the same, which just needs constriction of the entry/exit of the stomach. Intestines can also bloat, and there is also spleen torsion that can occur


I wondered about that. A friend had a horse colic. Did the surgery, did the equivalent of tacking for a horse, a year later he coliced again in a different spot. The theory was the abdomen had to much 'space'. They put in a mesh to hold all his parts in place so they couldn't move around as much. I've always wondered if it was something similar in dogs.

Oats = concentrated foods = higher possibility of colic = dog food kibble
Excessive heat can cause colic = can it also in dogs?
When a horse starts to colic they seem to have the same symptoms as horses. I spent hours walking a horse up and down a hill for my friend one day to help get the gases moving in her stomach. Is it the same for dogs?


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## smdaigle (Mar 14, 2008)

I've been reading this thread with interest. Ridley wolfs his food down and is also a water gulper. We're using a slow feeder bowl (not raised) which is somewhat effective at slowing him down, not perfect but better than a regular bowl. I've been watching his water intake after eating and try to avoid allowing heavy exercise before and after eating. He burps occassionally . . . is this good (eliminating gas) or bad (a sign)? Also, I keep reading about having GasX but haven't really read when to use it or how much to use. Suggestions?


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## arycrest (Feb 28, 2006)

I give 1 Gas-X if their stomach feels tight or distended or I "think" there's a problem.


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## GSDLoverII (May 12, 2004)

hunterisgreat said:


> *Trust me*... if your dog bloats and gets distended.. you will know on sight alone. My dogs stomach was about as hard as granite and looked like he swallowed a beach ball. There was never a "is this bloat?" in my mind... just an "OH @#$%!!!"


Ditto


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## valreegrl (Nov 11, 2009)

When I was a kid I had a Lab that bloated at about 5 months. It was early in the morning and when I let him out of the crate he stumbled out and I noticed how enlarged he was. We rushed him to the vet who said he bloated. Now I am guessing without torsion as he didn't require surgery only a day in the hospital. 
What I am getting it is then the Vet told me that he was probably born with a weak stomach lining and that I should only feed Iams for the rest of his life from an elevated bowl, which we did. 
He never bloated again, but think about his answer. With what we know now Iams is not the greatest quality food and why is it preventing bloat? Weak stomach lining?

So "preventing" bloat in my opinion is being prepared and praying  
Science changes all the time. My vet actually said he followed a study proving elevated bowls allows a dog to eat faster so he always recommends feeding on the floor. And another member here rescued a 14 yr old female GSD who ate an entire bad or Orijen and was fine. So it's a crap shoot.


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## middleofnowhere (Dec 20, 2000)

I don't know about preventing bloat. I think one would want a more barrel chested breed that was rather laid back if one were looking to prevent bloat. Given a deep-chested, active, alert GSD, what I advise is knowing the distance to the local emergency vet clinics (and knowing the way) and knowing the symptoms of bloat. Having simythicone on hand is a good idea too. You could also have a bloat kit and know how to use it. This may help your dog survive bloat.


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## Melgrj7 (Jul 5, 2009)

We briefly had the dogs on Back to Basics, briefly meaning like 3 meals, lol. Immediately after each meal Nash looked like he had swallowed a balloon. I gave him gas X and everything went to normal thankfully. And we switched foods since that one obviously did not agree with Nash. I don't really do anything special except keep gas X around. They eat from a bowl on the ground, sometimes I put water in, sometimes I don't.


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## Mom2Shaman (Jun 17, 2011)

This is a really good thread. I thought I would post on it and get it back into active topics for all the new GSD owners who want to evaluate. Also, there may be additions to this thread as bloat has reared it's ugly head recently with quite a few members. Any NEW or DIFFERENT advice?


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## kr16 (Apr 30, 2011)

I just want to thank everyone who posted about GasX, so thank you. 

My pup today had his first and last experience with raw food. Gave him a marrow bone which he chewed on for about 1 1/2 hours. Fed him his dinner about 2 hours later and his stomach blew up and he was in pain. 

Glad to say he threw up, let out the loudest burp ever, even for a human. Gave him gasx and 30 minutes later his stomach was flat and he was back to normal.

Scary 30 minutes. my brothers a doctor said he probably took in to much air as he ate. Dog inhales his food. Tomorrow the kibble is going to the food processor, gonna give him kibble crumbs.


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## omccoy (Nov 18, 2013)

I don't know what not to do or do. Ive never had it to happen that I know of, what are symptoms, I try not to let mine play after eating, sometimes the young one loves to play inside with a toy, hubby want listen and continues to play with her. I didn't know water would make it worse, do I moistened the dry food or not. lol.


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