[katdog5911]

Sooooooo I switched from grainfree Wellness to Victor Hi Pro. Then someone mentioned that alfalfa is a legume. However, it generally isn't in the seed form so it should be okay in regards to the FDA warning about legumes and potatoes in food. So I felt a bit better. But then I read that alfalfa can cause bloat!!! Anyone know anything about that!?!?!

 

[eddie1976E]

I guess it would depend on how much of it the food has. I have been thinking about cycling between Dr. Tim's and Victor Hi Pro

 

[car2ner]

I would suspect that the grains Might have a connection with bloat because it swells in the stomach. You could moisten the kibble awhile if you'd like. I also feed with two small meals.

 

[katdog5911]

I would suspect that the grains Might have a connection with bloat because it swells in the stomach. You could moisten the kibble awhile if you'd like. I also feed with two small meals.

I actually feed 3 meals a day. One of those meals is scattered kibble around the room or in a toy that he has to get it out of...keeps my boy busy hunting for his food for a little while. That would be hard to moisten...lol. The other two meals I do generally add water.

I have heard of moistening kibble before but what I read was specific to alfalfa. I contacted Victor about it but have not had a reply yet.

 

[NancyJ]

it is pretty low on the list of ingredients.......I have fed both of my dogs victor both hi pro and hi energy for several years now and have never had any gassiness or any issues with the food. I do like to soak my food for about 30 minutes to an hour before feeding.

 

[katdog5911]

I am really unsure what to do. As I said, both of mine have seemed to adjust well. It's been about 2 weeks now.

However last night and today my 7 yr old was acting oddly.... Kind of having dry heaves...looking really out of it. She pooped ok and has had her normal appetite all along. I did take her to a vet this afternoon to make sure there was no sign of bloat or throat irritation. She got a shot of Cerenia and came home. Well, 4 hours later she did the weird dry heaves again... I didn't feed any kibble since this morning (Victor) but did give her some of the canned Wellness Simple this evening that I was using. She seems ok at this point. But now I am wondering if the new food could be bothering her? Would it come on like this after almost 2 weeks?

I have spent the last few hours looking at foods and did see a comment about the alfalfa possibly causing gastritis in some dogs. Hmmmmm. I wonder if this is what is going on?

As a precaution maybe I will put her on a bland diet for a day or two and see what happens.

I was also looking at Eagle Pack for large/giant breed and it doesn't seem to have any of the questionable foods in it. Wonder if maybe that would be worth a try....

 

[kaydub_u]

Out of curiosity, why do you soak your kibble in water? I do it because my dogs prefer eating together for whatever reason and one of them that we adopted has bad teeth, so I soak the kibble to make it softer. But what are some benefits you have experienced in doing this for your GSDs?

 

[McGloomy]

I also feed Victor, but the Nutra Pro. And I too soak them in water beforehand. I read somewhere we shouldn't soak the dry food in water for more than 30 mins prior to eating.

 

[car2ner]

Out of curiosity, why do you soak your kibble in water? I do it because my dogs prefer eating together for whatever reason and one of them that we adopted has bad teeth, so I soak the kibble to make it softer. But what are some benefits you have experienced in doing this for your GSDs?

The reason some may soak is that the little hard pellets of kibble soak up fluids in the stomach and enlarge. So a cup of dry food will be more than a cup once hydrated. I don't soak mine long. Mostly I do it to give the kibble a variety of textures. If my dogs don't eat the kibble within 15 minutes I pick it up and put it into the fridge.

 

[carmspack]

alfalfa grasses (sprouted greens)

barley grasses (sprouted greens)

wheat grass (sprouted greens)

 

[eddie1976E]

it is pretty low on the list of ingredients.......I have fed both of my dogs victor both hi pro and hi energy for several years now and have never had any gassiness or any issues with the food. I do like to soak my food for about 30 minutes to an hour before feeding.

That is alot of planning...good for you. I don't have the time most of the time to soak it. I know it is good practice and I think a must have for foods that contain corn.

 

[Magwart]

What's the evidence that alfalfa "causes" bloat in dogs? Evidence is a well-designed research study...not a blog post. Let's take a look and see what's there, if you can post a paper that got you thinking about this.

My understanding is the state of actual research on canine bloat is not yet able to determine causation. Any "Internet guru" posting that X is a "cause" of bloat probably either isn't following the research -- or else doesn't understand the difference between causation and statistical correlation. All the actual researchers have right now are some correlations (some of which are quite surprising and the opposite of Internet mythology about bloat that masquerades as certainty). (Anyone who has trouble separating correlation from causation ought to check out a copy of Levitt & Dubner's classic book Freakonomics from your local library (or download the audiobook) -- it's a magnificent, entertaining book for non-math people that is incredibly helpful.)

Moistening food that contains citric acid correlated to a 320% INCREASE in bloat risk. So...I would rethink that strategy, at least until more is known about causation.

I don't remember seeing any correlation with alfalfa as a food ingredient in that. There were some other ingredient concerns though (like fat high up in the ingredient list).

Here is the summary of a few different studies, with links to the studies (as I think it's important to read primary sources yourself, if you're worried about bloat):
https://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/basic-care/742697-bowl-height-bloat.html#post9027697

 

[NancyJ]

My rationale for soaking the food is that I would rather it swell up in the bowl and not in the stomach and I would rather not have digestion pulling water out of my dog's blood to digest food which would naturally be moist if I were feeding meat.

The one study that showed a correlation between citric acid and bloat? I have not seen anything since supporting that assertion or finding a causative link. By now I would think they would have more support for that.

My feeling is, for my dogs, if something ain't broke I am not going to fix it. The vet is impressed with their overall health and also a strong proponent of soaking food because she thinks it puts less stress on the kidneys.

 

[katdog5911]

The alfalfa/bloat comment was mentioned on the FB page for Taurine Deficient DCM by a member of that group. I realize that a member a making a comment is not a scientific study but with all the question about the DCM dietary issues and staying away from certain foods, I didn't want to avoid one issue to cause another...if that makes sense.