A dog bowl is one of the necessities prepared for your dog, but I believe most people will directly use their own bowl or a randomly purchased dog bowl to feed dogs to save money. If you have been raising a dog for many years, you will find that the dog bowl in the market is getting higher and higher and the elevated bowls are becoming more and more common. In this article we will analyze together are elevated bowls good for dogs？ and how high should a dog bowl be？
Are elevated bowls good for dogs？
Some people think elevated dog bowls have a protective effect on the cervical vertebrae of dogs, and other people believe that although elevated dog bowls protect the cervical spine, they have an impact on the dog’s digestive system.
Prevent flatulence？
Many elevated dog bowls still use the slogans like “prevent flatulence”. Although some people really believe it can prevent stomach flatulence, there has been no research on how elevated dog bowls can prevent dog flatulence so far.
The research on elevated dog bowls by Professor Glickman, which is widely rumored, has no scientific significance as it lacks a large amount of data support and various types of evidence. This so-called study only concluded that elevated dog bowls can alleviate cervical vertebra pressure in dogs, and speculate that elevated dog bowls can also prevent flatulence in dogs.
On the contrary, in an internal journal of the American Veterinary Association, researchers have found that elevated dog bowls can lead to a series of other problems such as stomach dilation. Because after using an elevated dog bowl, dogs will eat faster, and it’s difficult for dogs to feel full. The more they eat, the easier their stomach to flatulence and gain weight.
Advantages of elevated dog bowls
- Ensure food clean
Due to its height, the elevated dog bowl is not easy for dust on the ground to drift in, and ants and other small insects are also not easy to crawl in, so the food inside will be cleaner. On the other hand, food and water are also less likely to fall to the ground.
- Relieve dogs’ neck muscle pressure
In fact, elevated dog bowls are more suitable for older dogs with joint diseases. It can reduce joint pressure on large dogs and also aid in postoperative recovery or is suitable for use by disabled dogs. You can understand elevated dog bowls as a functional product that is only useful for specific dog groups.
How high should a dog bowl be？
The height of dog bowls is related to the food and the physical condition of the dog itself. For strong and bone-eating dogs, a high bowl is not necessary, as most dogs will take the bones out of the bowl and slowly nibble on them.
Dogs do not raise their heads to eat in their natural state. You can observe the picture below. The dog’s trachea and esophagus are very close, with the trachea located lower and the esophagus above the trachea.
If you feed your dog water at a higher position, you will find that it is easy to choke, just like when a person is lying down and drinking water, it is easy to choke. So, never let your dog drink water at or above the level of its head.
How to measure the height of the dog bowl that a dog needs? At present, the most common internationally recognized measurement method is to measure vertically downwards from the height of the dog’s scapula.
You can also choose the height of the dog bowl according to the table below.
