Without knowing the exact cause of bloat, it’s difficult to prevent it. There are some things that have been shown to correlate with occurrences of bloat, but unfortunately, there is still no answer as to exactly why it happens.
The old advice of raising your dog’s food off the floor has proven ineffective. Keeping your dogs dish on the floor is equally unsuccessful at preventing bloat. You will see arguments for and against both, but the truth is, there is no definitive answer either way.
There may be some correlation between a fast-eating dog and a dog that develops bloat. This is especially true of dogs that are fed in a stressful group situation where they feel they are competing for food. Aggressive or fearful dogs are also more likely to develop bloat.
Dogs that eat one large meal a day are more likely to develop bloat as are dogs that exercise vigorously immediately after eating. Studies have shown that dogs that eat a diet that has fat among the first four ingredients have a higher incidence of bloat.
