Bloat

Question
I am a professional pet sitter. One of my clients is a 6 month old Golden Retriever that I walk daily. Everyday, by the time I get to her, she is ravenous, so I feed her first and then walk her. She tends to drink alot of water -- but I take it away from her after a few seconds -- and gulp her food. I am terrified of her getting Bloat, but I don't know how to control her gulping. I keep her walk "low-impact" and I withhold her water until a few minutes AFTER we return from her walk. How can I keep her from gulping and is there anything else I can do to prevent Bloat? Please help. I worry about this daily.

Answer
Hi, Brityln,

Thanks for the question. Sorry it took so long to get back to you but I've been sick for the past few days.

Bloat is a serious, life-threatening problem, that's usually found in dogs who have a deep and narrow chest compared to other dogs of the same breed. I'm not sure it's that common in golden retrievers, unless the dog fits this category. It sound to me like you're already doing some of the right things to prevent bloat. The best thing, in my view, is to let her drink BEFORE you walk her, and feed her AFTERWARDS, but let her settle down a little bit (5-10 mins.) before feeding. Control her intake so that she eats slowly. You can do this by hand feeding her a little at a time. If you're really worried about the bloat (meaning she has the deep and narrow chest described above) another strategy would be not to let her drink for at least two hours after each meal.

Keep up the good work,

LCK