Question: How long do you wait before/after feeding to walk your dog?

[Brooke&Ryan]

Okay, Ryan & I have been having a "discussion" about this for awhile now. I decided to post on the boards & get your opinions & we would go from there. I wasn't quite sure where to put this thread... I was debating putting it in Nutrition...maybe in Vets Corner...so I put it in General.

I have always wanted to prevent bloat as much as humanly possible. Ryan thinks I'm a bit anal about it...but hey, if it's preventable in some shape or form...I wanna prevent it!

I do not like to feed Julius after we have walked. Typically our walks are about 25 minutes or so. We're not jogging during these walks...but we're keeping a pretty steady pace. Usually Ryan is walking with us...& keeping up with him is a chore.

Sooooo....when we get home, I usually give Julius at least a half hour to cool down before feeding. Sometimes even more. Julius doesn't have a fixed feeding schedule & so I feed him whenever.

After dinner we typically aren't doing anything active so I don't worry about exercise then. We're just lounging around the house.

So, my question to you guys is, what type of exercise to you think requires a "rest period" before feeding & for what duration of that exercise before you should make the dog rest before feeding? Also, how long do you personally wait AFTER the dog eats to exercise? I know that this has been talked about before on the forums quite a bit...but Ryan said I should start a new thread...so I am.

My thought is that if I can prevent bloat in any way, shape or form, I'm going to do it. Ryan thinks I'm a bit neurotic about it...but I tell him, we don't have the money to pay for a surgery like that. Yes, god forbid, if it happened, we'll be prepared, BUT, if it can be prevented to some extent...I'm all for it.

Okay, I'm going on & on. Hopefully this will end our "discussion...."

Thanks for your input!

Brooke

[natesmom14]

Thank you for posting this! I've actually been wondering this very thing myself and look forward to hearing from the more experienced (than I am) Rottie owners.

Actually, I generally follow much the same guidelines you do- I walk them in the a.m. and wait around 30 minutes to feed. My husband works retail and likes to play tag and other more energetic activities w/ the dogs when he gets home around 8:45PM and I feel that's plenty of time after they eat at 5:30-6 to rough house a bit.

I tend to agree with you- it may be a small issue to some, but if one little thing like the timing of their feedings can reduce their risk of bloat, I'm all for it!

[lblax]

there are many things that may or may not affect bloat or cause it non of them are proven for the most part bloat ios sometimes asscociated with large quanities of food or water and strenuas excersize i certainly would not hesitate to walk a dog immediatly before or after eating a regular meal just like you if you eat it feels good to go walk it off but it doesnt feel good to eat then go running. just use common sense

[Rottlva]

Brooke, in the am dogs go out for a pee, come inside get breakfast, then I exercise them 2+ hours afterwards. So, no exercise before breakfast ( we are all sleeping then). Then prior to dinner dogs are thoroughly cooled down (.5-1hr after exercise they get dinner, and no exercise after dinner, just late night potties).

[Anne]

I don't exercise my dogs for at least 1 hour after a feed. I also don't feed their breakfast for at least 1 hour after their morning run.

[Cash]

Brooke,
I understand that deep-chested dogs are more commonly affected and that
exercise immediately before or after eating can be a contributing factor.
I have read it's not a great idea to allow your dog to eat his entire meal and then make a beeline and gulp down the contents of his water bowl.
Unfortunately its one of those cases that is not black and white, so I just defer to caution.
For the most part Cash does his business first thing in the morning & then gets fed. If we hike that day I'll wait 2 hours before going out. It's pretty hilly where I am so if we go for long walks after dinner I allow at least 45 or so before heading out.

I don't know if any of this helps prevent it or not, perhaps it is only making ME feel comfortable....

[Brooke&Ryan]

Thanks for all of the replies, guys.

I guess it does just make me feel better. We don't restrict Julius' movement after he has eaten by putting him in a crate or anything...but he's not encouraged to race around the yard/house either. I figure if it can possibly be prevented, I want to do everything I can to prevent it..... Ryan thinks I'm being a bit anal...& maybe I am but better safe than sorry.

[Judi W]

If you are going to exercise your dog, feed it after, not before, regardless of the time on the clock. Always wait for the dog to cool down so that the blood supply is available to go to the stomach (which food in the stomach demands) and is not going to those areas needed for cooling. If that means the dog doesn't eat dinner until 10 pm (like on training nights) that is fine. If you do stuff in the am, feed afterwards.

[Cash]

Originally Posted by Brooke&Ryan

Thanks for all of the replies, guys.

I guess it does just make me feel better. We don't restrict Julius' movement after he has eaten by putting him in a crate or anything...but he's not encouraged to race around the yard/house either. I figure if it can possibly be prevented, I want to do everything I can to prevent it..... Ryan thinks I'm being a bit anal...& maybe I am but better safe than sorry.

i'm with you...
anal/cautious
tomato/tomatoe

[moondog]

After having lost a dog (Irish Setter) to bloat, I make no apologies for my caution! Luna did not exercise within 45min to an hour of being fed, and did not exercise (meaning actual exercise or roughhousing, not just walking around) for at least an hour to an hour and a half after eating. She never did the water gulping after eating, but if she had, I would have picked the water bowl up for a while after she ate to prevent it.

All the dog I lost did the night she bloated was eat a casual meal, nothing else, which has left me with the belief that she was destined to bloat. Had she been one to gulp and run or gulp and drink, she likely would have bloated before she did.

My feeling is that the cautions are beneficial to those dogs that are genetically pre-disposed to bloat, and since we don't know which dogs those are (other than the deep-chested, high strung, etc. generalities) there is not a thing anal about exercising a few cautions just to be on the safe side.

[lblax]

while any large breed dog can get bloat rotts really are not prone to it as several of the other breeds her is a list
BREEDS AT MOST RISK



Akita Great Dane Golden Retriever Malamute Saint Bernard
Irish Setter Labrador Retriever Doberman Pinscher German Shepherd Wolfhound

[moondog]

I've known of a few Rottweilers that have bloated, so obviously it can and does occur in the breed. Statistics are nice for playing the odds with, but when it's your dog it happens to, statistics become completely meaningless very quickly.

[MyPuppyLove]

We will feed after excercising and wait at least an hour after strenuous excercise. Walking, she eats before we walk. She normally eats around the time(s) we do, and we like to go for a walk afterwards so she comes with us lol.

[ladycricket]

Originally Posted by moondog

I've known of a few Rottweilers that have bloated, so obviously it can and does occur in the breed. Statistics are nice for playing the odds with, but when it's your dog it happens to, statistics become completely meaningless very quickly.

Absolutely. When its your dog it doesn't matter if it's one out of a million or one out of ten.
We did all the right things for Jake before he bloated. No food for an hour before/after exercise. No water for at least half an hour before/after feeding and we feed twice a day. It still happened, but being a part of a forum like this made me aware of what was happening when it happened. I didn't brush it off and wait and see, I rushed him to the vet immediately. Jake actually had a GDV and an intestinal torsion (which is more common in horses). His chance of GDV again has been greatly reduced by the procedure the vet did, but we still watch for bloating. I take it a step further in caution, I try to limit his treat intake and I test out a treat for awhile to be sure it has no adverse effects before adding new. A day, maybe two, before he bloated I had giving him a eucalyptus teeth cleaning bone that he had never had before, not sure if it caused it but it was the only thing that had been different for him in the week. I think you and Ryan are bonded and connected enough to Julius that if anything out of the ordinary where to happen you would pick up on it immediately. Keep being anal (my husband calls me that too) better safe than sorry I always say.

[Patty1231]

I can only tell you what I do. I wait an hour before and after meals. I've adjusted my schedule around it - that's why I get up at 5:00 am when I don't have to be at work until 8:30. We average a 2.5 mile walk (more or less depending on the weather - and always longer on the weekends and days off). I'm like you - better safe than sorry. The wait also holds for training, since jumps are involved (the thought of jumping on a full stomach makes ME puke!)