I have always been very careful in respect to feeding and exercise. If they get brekky in the morning they don't go out for at least and hour and a half or 2 hours, or they don't get any food till the same time after if they have been running around a lot.

So why is it that after they get their evening meal they run a round and go silly? Even if the gate to the run is closed they still bounce around the house? Go figure!
You try and do the right thing and the hounds just throw it back in your face

Does anyone elses dogs get friskier after dinner?

Ben's the same, if I feed him in the morning he'll get frisky. Also he always goes to his food bowl as soon as he gets back in the house after exercise so I have to make sure that its empty or out of his reach as there's usually some biscuits in it. In the evening I've taken to feeding him late, just before bed time to be safe.

Incidently I thought that no food for 1 hour before and after exercise was quite adequate.

I can relate to all of that....

We've got two Deerhounds, with both we've always been careful, never exercising an hour and a half before or after a meal, raised feeding etc..One almost always runs around immediatly after his meal, jumps up and nudges the light in the lounge! Tried to stop him but to no avail, if he doesn't do a "wall of death" in the garden, he'll do it in the hall or lounge.......

The other never runs round after, just curls up and goes to sleep....guess which one got bloat? Yep, you've guessed it ! (He's okay luckily, but was very poorly and it's VERY scary).

I suppose you have to just keep trying to minimise the risk as best you can.....

Bloat, how shall I start………….
It is a thought that I would say anyone who owns a large breed is thinking quite often about.
In 25 years we have never had a single dog that died of bloat. We might just have been very lucky. And actually we also say that we shouldn’t talk about it because we might have a case tomorrow…………………..
We had one male that had bloat at the age of seven; he was operated and lived another four happy years. We got him as a rescue. The previous owner had no time any more for him and a twelve year old Sloughi, so we took the pair. The Deerhound looked fat, but he wasn’t, he had just tons of old coat. It took me a fortnight to get all the old coat out, because I didn’t want to shave him. Ten buckets of old coat. The last “grooming session” (he loved every second) I thought I will give him a nice bath afterwards. It was a very mild day in early May more than ten years ago. After the bath he just run and run and he had a smile in his face. Three hours later we fed the dogs and he ate. Two hours later he had torsion.

From my point of view he had stress, positive stress.
And any version of stress is bad. Positive or negative.
When I spent my time at Miss Noble’s place Ardkinglas (mid 80th) I asked her once what her thoughts were about bloat and she replied thoughtful that in her (at that time) almost sixty years in Deerhound had not a single case of bloat. But dogs she had sold, there had been the odd case. And she could only blame her daily routine. Again, a live for the dog with a minimum of stress. And I absolutely agree; we have done the same for and with our dogs.
They know when they get their walk, they know when we feed them, they know what we expect from them when it comes to toenail clipping, brushing, worming, dog show, lure coursing etc. I think there is a lot of truth in it. Our dogs trust us.
If your dog wants to play after feeding let him, but do not change your daily routine!
They are more happy when every day is the same rather having to worry what on earth are they going to do tomorrow………………………………

There is a Deerhound, along the road from me and it has just had bloat, his owners said he had not been fed and was just playing around in there garden, the next thing the dog came over to them and whined and they said they could see him get bigger and bigger before there eyes, they rushed him to the vet and the had to let the gasses out, he now has to wait for a month for his next operation when they stitch his stomack to his side...
so we will have to wait and see..

I think it might be hereditary, I have been called out to bloat cases. The first case was a german sheppard bitch, the owner did not know about bloat. Luckily she got the bitch to us very quickly as it is normally the shock which they die from besides other complications.(Hence the operation to mend the stomach later in the previous message). We advised her to change the dogs diet, raise her feeding and water bowls and do not execise at least 1 hour before and after food. About 1 month later the owner had another bloat this time the daughter of the GSD we had operated on. Yes the owner had changed everything we had advised and this time she new what the signs were so again she got her bitch to us quickly and both survived and lived nomal lives. Going onto DHs playing the wall of death after feeding mine do as well.

maybe but i know both parents and touch wood they have never had it. But do you think that it could be that the dog goes up and down stairs, mine do but it is only 5 steps, or is it just bad luck which i think in the end it is.. The reason i am asking this is just i have heard that deerhound and other big dogs should not

Fiddle: I think your theory is very interesting. My neighbour have three German Shepperd and one of them got the bloat three times, but it goes back by itselves. After the last time she have an operation just in case. Everytime when she got it she have played with one dog (same dog every time) she hasn't got any food nearly before or after. And with your stress theory it seems more understandable why she got it.

I will for sure thinking of that with Norbert. He is already have routins every day. With foods and outgoings.

For many many years I have a Rottweiler and she also got the bloat, but it also went back of itselves. In the car on the way to the vet. she vomit and after that she was ok. It never happend again thanks god, and I will never have another dog who have it. I will be carefully and as I said I will think about your theory.

Miss Noble did not feed complete foods, the good old copper used to bubble away with sheeps heads , tripes all sorts of road kills how I remember.

Also the hounds as fiddle says were relaxed, I know when I used to collect Miss Noble from Birmingham railway station when the hounds and herself stayed here with me at Mollys cottage they had not been fed at all during the journey

I also think the Ardkinglas hounds temprements were just so laid back, they were gentle, so well mannered I think this helped

I personally try to feed as natural as possible , and I do not restrict there excercise after feeding I think the increase in blood sugar through food makes them go a little potty.

I would never travel a deerhound on a full stomach or subject them to any form of stress eg vet, grooming, travel to dog show, etc etc

This is something that frightens me. I have heard about the dry food theory, they eat dry food alone and tend to drink tonnes of water afterwards. Murphy also used to belt round the garden after his dinner, but he is nearly 4 and is a bit calmer now. I worry about leaving him, what would happen if I was out and he was in pain? It makes me sick to the stomach thinking about it. When my son was taken into hospital with appendicitis, we were at the hospital all day and he was left for about 6 hours, he was ok, but what would have happened, he is never normally left for more than 3 hours and if I know I am not going to be home, nor my husband, my Mum comes round, or if I am at a show the other dog goes to her.
We have raised bowls and I walk them about 3pm at the moment and they don't eat until 6 (or straight after us as Murphy doesn't eat well until he knows no one has left anything!!)

In the summer, we're out 8pm and they don't get fed till 10pm.

It's a bit like cot death, no one knows for sure what causes it and we all follow their advice to make sure it doesn't happen.

Some good points there Betina. I hadn't thought of blood sugar levels rising. We never feed breakfast before a show if we are first in as I don't want them travelling and being stressed on a full stomach.

I think that this article illustrates the fact that we each need to read as much as we can and make the best decision we can.
excerpt from larger article by Christie Keith
There is no question that at least part of the cause is genetic, however, because there's a much greater likelihood of bloat in dogs whose close relatives have bloated.

Other factors found at higher levels in dogs who bloated included personality types described as "nervous" or "anxious" by their owners, aggression towards humans, eating only one meal per day, eating rapidly, eating diets comprised entirely of dry foods, being underweight, and stressful situations such as hospitalization, illness or being boarded. Male dogs and dogs over the age of 7 are also more likely to bloat than females and younger dogs.

One of the most difficult things to accept about GDV is that there is no clear consensus about what can be done to predict or prevent it. A huge and groundbreaking study at Purdue University did uncover a number of factors that are associated with an increased incidence of GDV in dogs, but none of them has been clearly identified as a cause of the condition.

Factors that were associated with a lesser incidence of bloat included wet diets such as homemade meals, table scraps or canned foods; dogs whose owners described them as relaxed, easy going, or happy-go-lucky; eating two or more meals per day; and, if dry food is fed, it has some kind of meat and calcium blend (such as lamb meal, fish meal, etc.) as one of the first four ingredients on the label.

Does this mean you can prevent bloat in your dog by feeding him on the floor, giving two meals a day, and in general avoiding the things correlated with more bloat and embracing those correlated with less?

The truth is, no one really knows the answer to that question, but it's probably not a bad idea. Most breeders of the bloat-prone breeds do recommend those steps be taken, although some are still giving out the old, discredited advice to feed from raised bowls, restrict water, etc.

Ditto re excercising & raised food bowls etc. My deerhound Amy also does the "wall of death" sprint after her meal, yet my deerhound cross Charlie ( who's had the same excercise, food etc as Amy) has a nap. What food do you feed your hounds by the way ? Mine get half a tin of Burns Moist Tinned food between the 2 of them mixed with Burns Complete Dry food for their evening meal & just Burns dry food for breakfast.Incidentally, the "wall of death" only occurs after the evening meal.

I feed Cailean a complete high quality kibble twice daily with various homemade stew concoctions on top. Never more than a heaping cup of kibble.
She will eat raw now only as a hand fed snack except when visiting her half sisters and cousins. The activity level this dog has when in the company of other dogs is astonishing.I don't know if other owners of singletons find the same thing. If we visit for the day or overnight at her breeders she will not stop until the point of exhaustion. It takes her almost a full day to recover.
I think maybe because my dog is a singleton she too comes alive at dusk. We call the wall of death the "Zooms" and are holding our breath sometimes as she careens around madly. I decided to choose the middle road & elevate her dish about 8 inches off the floor. I try always not to feed too late at night. Pre-dinner walks mean 1/2 hr or so rest after before feeding.
Picture of Fernhill hounds after a good run.

What a lovely sight, all those beautiful hounds relaxing

Didn't the Purdue study also show that raised food bowls could actually be worse rather than good? There is so much speculation without actual proof.
I do not use raised food bowls but I have been training Lockie over the last week to lie down to eat his dinner. He has always laid down to eat his kibble but stands for his raw. I think it was so he could wolf it down quicker. So now he lies or he doesn't get fed. I was surprised how quickly he picked it up. Only took a few nights and now he his lying in the back room waiting for his dinner rather than hovering and annoying me in the kitchen. Win win if you ask me.

LOVELY PHOTO THEY ALL LOOK REALLY RELAXED

What a great sight,so many chilled out deerhounds!
I am also very scared of seeing symptons of bloat,and never exercise an hour either side of feeding.From working in greyhound kennels,I know the dogs were never fed dry,which is why they all have bad teeth and gums when they retire.But I follow the theory that if you feed a dry complete,it's going to swell in the stomache,causing discomfort and excess gas build up.I feed mine at floor level,Jess lays down to eat,the other 2 stand.I feed a good complete,but soak for 10 minutes with 2 cups of warm water,so it swells before eating,and top it with either fresh meat,or tinned fish or dog food,just a liitle to add taste.I also add in cooked pasta or veg or brown bread.I havn't had the 'wall of death' syndrome,all they want to do after eating is crash out.I keep their teeth clean with dental chews and sometimes as a treat a roasted knuckle bone each.

They are really chilled out dogs.

mysdeerie wrote:


What a great photo of the Fernhill hounds thankyou for posting it, I love the expression of the one front left looking to the camera ,the eyes pierce through saying I am a deerhound! what handsome hounds they are.

I feed out of raised bowls, another reason I do this is I have had neck problems in the past with some of my hounds, normally caused by tumble injury,s when running

I have been feeding a high quality kibble with no additives ( I just will not feed any foods with E numbers they make children go hyperactive and I believe the same with hounds)

I add roast chicken, broccoli, omega 3 oil capsules, fresh grated garlic, sometimes tinned mackerel/pilchards, cheese, eggs including the shell along with medicinal charcoal.

I am now going back to natural feeding, which will include rice/pasta chicken/ barley vegetables/fish/eggs/cottage cheese I really am concerned about allot of complete foods now and the toxic stuff that may be in it, so its back to the old fashioned way for me and the hounds more work for me, but more natural for them.

Please do check for E numbers people if the food is full of them I am convinced this can make the hound hypo

I also agree that there is a hereditary pre disposition to GDV, sadly its something we all have to keep an eye out for, but like Colic in horses I think its part of being owned by a large running hound. I would never ever feed a complete food dry, just soak it and look at how much it swells, imagine that in a hounds stomach.

I would also like to add some information given to me by the master of one of the bloodhound packs I used to help out on the yard , always have gaviscon in, if you are worried they are windy, give them a childs dose I am never without it.