Generally speaking, elevated or raised dog bowls are better than conventional types of feeding accessories. This has something to do with the maintenance of a dog’s posture while it is feeding. Let us try to take a closer look at the anatomical position of a feeding dog.
Normally dogs eat standing on all fours, although it is not uncommon to see certain pooches that sit while eating. Some also lie down to eat. As for those pooches that stand on all fours while feeding the linearity of the digestive tract is somewhat angled acutely at the base of the neck. You have to understand that the digestive tract of mammals and other living organisms is actually one continuous tube that starts with the mouth and terminates in the anus. If we had x-ray vision, the alignment of this digestive tract when a pooch is standing up is that it has a straighter alignment, typically parallel to the ground.
Now, when a dog eats on conventional dog bowls, this linearity of the canine digestive tract is changed somewhat. You still have a fairly parallel tract along the back of your pooch. However, the segment of the digestive tract that begins with the mouth and extends all the way to the base of the neck is acutely angled. This means that the food will have to be propelled upwards at an incline. This requires sufficient work from the musculature of the esophagus of the dog. The more acute the angle the greater is the force needed to move chewed food up the esophagus and into the canine stomach.
Increasing the height of the food bowl simply means bringing the food nearer to the mouth providing for a near-straighter alignment of the digestive tract. Additionally, this eases the work of the smooth muscles of the esophagus making it a lot easier for the chewed food to be moved towards the stomach. Since the food is facilitated towards the stomach, there is a lesser chance that bloating and gas will form. Moreover, since the chyme (partially digested bolus of food from the mouth) is transmitted more efficiently to the stomach, this helps minimize indigestion or stomach upsets.
But there really is another reason why elevated dog bowls are preferred over conventional doggie vessels and we’re pretty sure you can somehow relate to this. If you’ve ever found yourself experiencing stiff neck after prolonged bending of your neck, then you can somehow imagine how uncomfortable it is for your dog to be standing up, bending its neck just to reach its food. If you have a pooch that is already quite old and that has joint problems, this can only exacerbate its condition.
Elevated dog bowls are not just a style. It has a purpose and this is to provide a more anatomically efficient manner of eating for pooches.
You may also like: Best Dog Joint Supplements