Food and Water

Question
I know you say not to free feed as it increases the chances of bloat.  I had my Great Dane tacked.  Does this make it OK to free feed?  I have two boxers who live with the dane and they free feed as well.  They do not devour the food when I free feed them and only eat gradually over the course of the day.  I choose to free feed because they were all rescues and majorly malnourished when I got them and couldn't get them to eat enough.

Answer
Having your Great Dane tacked does not eusure that he/she will not bloat. In my opinion it is still not ok to free feed. Bloat really has nothing to do with devouring the food, it moreso has to do with the fact that bloat is brought on by gases when the dogs go out and run ect. If you do not know when the last time the dog ate or the dog has not fully digested the food, any sort of exercise can bring on bloat. This is not only for the Dane but for the Boxers as well. Although the statistics are much higher for a Dane. About 1 in 4 Danes will bloat in their life, whether they have been tacked or not. I hope that helps. Of course this is not only for food but for water as well...

Hope that answers your question.

I apologize in advance for not answering sooner, I am currently out of town for a funeral and have not had the opportunity to look into my email since last Sunday. Have a good one!