# How long before and after meal should I walk my dog?



## EZYbA

Hi all. The reason I ask this is that I am fearful of the condition called bloat and I don't want to do anything to my dog that could potentially cause a fatal issue. I have a wonderful cockapoo who's head can reach my knee (I am 6ft.) and I know this kind of thing is much more common in larger dogs but I don't want to take the chance. Any advice well appreciated as it is making me worried.He weighs 7 kg and is 16 months old.


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## glitzydebs

EZYbA said:


> Hi all. The reason I ask this is that I am fearful of the condition called bloat and I don't want to do anything to my dog that could potentially cause a fatal issue. I have a wonderful cockapoo who's head can reach my knee (I am 6ft.) and I know this kind of thing is much more common in larger dogs but I don't want to take the chance. Any advice well appreciated as it is making me worried.He weighs 7 kg and is 16 months old.


I've never heard of bloat what is it??
Hope someone can help you


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## tessybear

I have never heard of bloat either but I always walk mine before their food. I started to do this when Dexter went through a naughty stage of not coming to me at the end of a walk so now he knows he is going home for his meal it's something to look forward to. It also means he is more interested in treats on our walks which I give him when I see small children in the park, he gets rewarded for not approaching them.


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## Cat 53

I have read somewhere that there should be a 30 minutes rest either side of eating. Bloat is where the gas the food produces causes the stomach to swell, this sometimes causes torsion ( twisting) of the gut requiring major abdominal surgery. Marley ( the lab in the film) suffered from it at one point.


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## susanb

when we started a puppy agility training course they told us not to eat for 2 hours before the agility session and 2 hours afterwards. But this was for a high energy agility type exercise.


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## MillieDog

I've heard of a twisted intestine which sounds like it may be bloat. 

I've always been told to wait 30 mins after feeding because of this. However I prefer to feed after the morning walk. Evening time she may get fed first if I can't walk till late, only because I don't like the idea of her needing the loo in the night !


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## wellerfeller

Bloat is indeed gas that causes the stomach to twist. I have known of one dog (greyhound) that died of it. It is much more common in large and deep chested breeds. I would just use your own common sense, give a decent amount of time after eating and exercise. I know I wouldn't feel like running around like a mad thing after just eating .
My own dog is fed t 7am and exercised roughly 2 hours later, same in the evening. 
I wouldn't worry too much. As its much rarer in smaller dogs.


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## EZYbA

How can you tell if a dog is deep chested? Would an hour be enough after a meal?


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## Janev1000

To put your mind at rest, my dog Biscuit consumed a very large amount of kibble in one go the other day as it had been left on the side with the lid off (silly me). This could have caused bloat, especially if they consume it very quickly. I immediately rang the vet but she said she would have been more concerned with a large breed and told me just to make sure he didn't exercise and to look out for any signs of discomfort, panting, agitation, unproductive vomiting etc. It would usually take quite a substantial meal to cause enough gas, or swelling of the kibble, to cause twisting of the intestines so I wouldn't be too concerned about taking a walk after a normal meal. I'm sure 30 mins would be adequate.


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## wilfiboy

I've heard of leaving it a while after proper exercise, I'm sure a lead walks not the same but running or fetching a ball. A friend of mines Cockapoo s gut got twisted and needed surgery and the vet said not to feed after exercise x


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## Laura(L)Izzie

Probably would be best to feed after a walk? Just to be on the safe side...
My girls are both grazers anyway, so they never consume large amounts of food and then go on walks because they just nibble throughout the day, it was the only way to get Izzie to eat her food as a puppy.
A man I once met on a dog walk told me that he used to have a standard poodle who died from bloat :/ He said it happened on a walk and that they tried to correct it with surgery and it just happened again (basically what happened on marley and me, they can just twist straight back after correction).
It is said to happen in breeds with deep chests, but poodles do have deep chests so obviously everyone should be aware of that, my Izzie is only a small dog about 14" to her shoulders, but her chest is quite deep.

I'm sure everything will be fine though  Don't worry too much, it's just good to be weary of x


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