Food & NutritionShould I elevate my dog's food bowls to prevent bloat or is it risky?
Generally only dogs with a condition called megaesophagus where the food they eat gets trapped in the dilated esophagus and they vomit frequently after eating, and dogs with neck pain would benefit from elevated bowls. Some studies have shown that eating from raised bowls actually increases the amount of air dogs ingest when eating and increases the risk of bloat. I think the person who told you to raise the bowls was concerned re: bloat in your medium to large breed dogs. My best recommendation is that if your dogs eat very fast/scarf down their food, that definitely does predispose them to developing bloat which can be life threatening, and puzzle feeders available on Amazon for about $10-$15 that are bowls with ridges in them to slow down eating would be more beneficial than raising the bowls. Good luck!
Updated on September 24th, 2025