# Wondering



## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

Had a bit of a scare with the "Old Man", our elderly golden, he began "choking" on his kibble :frown: This has been happening more often, last night was the only really frightening time, we think its because of the size of the kibble. So I was wondering, it seems that the majority of kibble is small pieces, has kibble size shrunken over the years? My memory may be faulty but it does seem to me that when I was younger that the kibble was fairly largish. Ah well, just wondering


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## Maxy24 (Mar 5, 2011)

Is he gulping it really fast? I know my cat was doing that back when I fed kibble and he choked all the time. So I started either feeding him on a plate so that he couldn't get mouthfuls, or feeding from a treat dispensing ball. So you might try some sort of toy you can fill with his food so that he only gets a few kibble at a time and can't choke from it, plus it'll get his mind working too.

I don't know if kibble size has gotten smaller. I assume it has to be kind of small so that small breed dogs can eat the same foods as large dogs. So unless the brand has specific formulas for different sized dogs, they can't make the kibble too big.


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## harrkim120 (Feb 2, 2010)

What brand is the kibble?


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## luvMyBRT (Mar 8, 2010)

I've never used one before, but have heard of them. 

I wonder if a no gulp, slow feed dog bowl would be helpful for your Golden?

Slow Feed Dog Bowls


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## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

He's not really a "gulper" when he eats larger kibble pieces he doesn't "choke". It's just when he eats the smaller kind. I change the brand pretty much every day. The smallest kibble has to be the organix. We're probably going to mix can in with the little kibbles see if that'll help.


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## Savage Destiny (Mar 16, 2011)

You could try soaking his food for a half an hour before he eats. It'll swell up the kibbles so he can't choke, and it has the added bonus of making it easier on his whole system with the added moisture.


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## doggiedad (Jan 23, 2011)

i don't know if kibble in general has become
smaller. there is different size kibble available.


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## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

Savage Destiny---He won't eat "soggy" food, he barely tolerates ground can. He always gives this "why me" sigh before he starts eating. I guess he likes the crunch and chewiness :0)

doggiedad---Kibbles do come in different sizes but it appears to me that the "better" quality kibbles are generally fairly small. I haven't seen any that come in "chunks".


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## Sapphire-Light (Aug 8, 2010)

Celt said:


> Savage Destiny---He won't eat "soggy" food, he barely tolerates ground can. He always gives this "why me" sigh before he starts eating. I guess he likes the crunch and chewiness :0)
> 
> doggiedad---Kibbles do come in different sizes but it appears to me that the "better" quality kibbles are generally fairly small. I haven't seen any that come in "chunks".


I have the oposite problem.

The only decent food I can find here is kirkland but they only have the adult and the puppy formula (nothing of the small breed one)

Both are large for my dog, I feed him the puppy one soaked in water and he can chew it better.


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## GermanSheperdlover (Nov 15, 2009)

Savage Destiny said:


> You could try soaking his food for a half an hour before he eats. It'll swell up the kibbles so he can't choke, and it has the added bonus of making it easier on his whole system with the added moisture.


*This is one of the worst things you can do for a large breed dog. Bloat is nasty nasty....Scroll down to the bottom to see Causes....*.Bloat in Dogs


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## Savage Destiny (Mar 16, 2011)

GermanSheperdlover said:


> *This is one of the worst things you can do for a large breed dog. Bloat is nasty nasty....Scroll down to the bottom to see Causes....*.Bloat in Dogs


As long as the food is not standing in water (i.e. all the water is either soaked up by the kibble or drained off), its actually one of the BEST things you can do to prevent bloat. Bloat often happens in gulpers or dogs who don't chew- the kibbles swell up and release gas in the stomach, combined with the air the dog gulps in. Now, you don't EVER want to have kibble standing in water, as that IS a bloat risk. But soaked food is actually safer. Your link actually only says moistening food (and note they didn't say soaking) is bad if the food contains citric acid. 

Soaking food has other benefits, like making the dry matter easier on the kidneys and urinary tract system. Dogs are not designed to consume a lot of dry matter, they're meant to eat foods that are high in moisture content (like raw meat). It is hard on their bodies to not only eat food with no moisture, but to have to route moisture into the digestive process as well. 

Celt, its too bad your boy won't eat "soggy" food. Off the top of my head, I know Innova makes a large breed kibble with bigger pieces, although I'd be wary of them with the P&G buyout. You might try Wellness too- they use pyramid shaped kibbles as opposed to small round pellets.


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## tem_sat (Jun 20, 2010)

I can compare Acana kibble size to EVO. Acana is HUGE in comparison. It's a bit smaller than a quarter.


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## GermanSheperdlover (Nov 15, 2009)

Savage Destiny said:


> As long as the food is not standing in water (i.e. all the water is either soaked up by the kibble or drained off), its actually one of the BEST things you can do to prevent bloat. Bloat often happens in gulpers or dogs who don't chew- the kibbles swell up and release gas in the stomach, combined with the air the dog gulps in. Now, you don't EVER want to have kibble standing in water, as that IS a bloat risk. But soaked food is actually safer. Your link actually only says moistening food (and note they didn't say soaking) is bad if the food contains citric acid.
> 
> Soaking food has other benefits, like making the dry matter easier on the kidneys and urinary tract system. Dogs are not designed to consume a lot of dry matter, they're meant to eat foods that are high in moisture content (like raw meat). It is hard on their bodies to not only eat food with no moisture, but to have to route moisture into the digestive process as well.
> 
> .


*You are so WRONG,,,, give me JUST ONE LINK to back up your OPINION...And I'll give up 50 stating the opposite. Now we are talking BIG DOGS, not kick me's...Actually most dog food manufactures state right on their bags and on their web sites NOT to add water. QUIT THROWING OUT FALSE INFORMATION.*


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## GermanSheperdlover (Nov 15, 2009)

Celt said:


> Had a bit of a scare with the "Old Man", our elderly golden, he began "choking" on his kibble :frown: This has been happening more often, last night was the only really frightening time, we think its because of the size of the kibble. So I was wondering, it seems that the majority of kibble is small pieces, has kibble size shrunken over the years? My memory may be faulty but it does seem to me that when I was younger that the kibble was fairly largish. Ah well, just wondering


Is your dog not chewing good enough or just eating to fast?? Tony was eating to fast and I got a tip about adding some canned to his food AND IT WORKED. I take a 1/3 of a can of canned dog food (BY-Nature) dilute it down a little, so it mix's easier, then a short zap in the micro then mix it in real good. Tony now eats much slower. I couldn't believe it actually worked.


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## GermanSheperdlover (Nov 15, 2009)

This is a great web site ran by a VERY EDUCATED lady and she talks about food.

The Dog Food Project - Myths about Dog Nutrition


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## Savage Destiny (Mar 16, 2011)

GermanSheperdlover said:


> *You are so WRONG,,,, give me JUST ONE LINK to back up your OPINION...And I'll give up 50 stating the opposite. Now we are talking BIG DOGS, not kick me's...Actually most dog food manufactures state right on their bags and on their web sites NOT to add water. QUIT THROWING OUT FALSE INFORMATION.*


Your link actually did not refute any of the points I made, nor did it say soaking kibble causes bloat. Before you start hitting the caps lock button and having your blood pressure raise, perhaps read your own link. I've been working with dogs since I was sixteen- been around the block a few times, and I've handled dogs with bloat, know the signs, and know the preventatives. The problem is that everyone has different opinions, and absolutely nothing has been proven about what does and does not cause bloat. I do know that dogs we had bloat at the kennel never did so again after we started soaking their food.

But, since you requested it, here is just one link which recommends soaking food- there are many more.
How to Prevent Your Dog From Gastric Dilation Volvulus (GDV) - aka Bloat | eHow.com

As a side note, I'm sure there are small dog owners on this forum who would not appreciate their dogs being called "kick me's".


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## Caty M (Aug 13, 2010)

GSL, your posts are getting more and more ridiculous. You need to calm down. Not every opinion differing from yours is automatically wrong, although I can see you don't agree.

From what I have read (I am researching getting a large breed dog) bloat seems to be a random event with often no trigger.. although stress seems most likely. I doubt soaking food, feeding on a raised platform, not feeding around exercise times (although I wouldn't do this because it sounds uncomfortable for the dog - I can't exercise on a full stomach!) really makes a difference and following these rules probably just serves to ease the owners mind. The best way would just be to get a gastropexy done to bloat prone breeds.


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## Caty M (Aug 13, 2010)

Even reading the link you posted GSL suggests.. there is no true cause of bloat! Apparently everything is a trigger.


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