Are elevated dog bowls bad? What the bloat research found

For a big, deep chested dog, keep the bowl on the floor. Raised bowls were once sold as a way to prevent bloat, but the only large study to measure it found more bloat in dogs fed from a raised bowl, and nobody has found one that lowers the risk. The PDSA now says it plainly: "Feed them from the floor." A raised bowl can still be the right call for a dog with neck pain or arthritis, and some medical conditions need upright feeding, but that is a decision to make with your vet.

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Which height for your dog

Most dogs do best with the bowl on the floor. The exceptions are medical.

What the bloat research found

Bloat, or gastric dilatation and volvulus (GDV), is when the stomach fills with gas and can twist. It is an emergency, and it mostly affects big, deep chested dogs. Only two studies have looked at bowl height, and they do not agree.

• The study that found a link. Purdue University followed 1,637 dogs of 11 large and giant breeds for about five years. "Factors significantly associated with an increased risk of GDV were increasing age, having a first-degree relative with a history of GDV, having a faster speed of eating, and having a raised feeding bowl." The team's own summary puts it at a 110% increase in risk, roughly double, and the paper's abstract says "Approximately 20 and 52% of cases of GDV among the large breed and giant breed dogs, respectively, were attributed to having a raised feed bowl."
• Its limits. Owners were asked about the bowl once, when their dog joined the study. A 2017 review of the evidence notes that "the authors cannot be certain that the dogs were being fed from a height at the time at which it developed a GDV (up to 58 months later)." It also found an odd pattern: large breeds were at risk with bowls a foot high or lower, giant breeds with bowls over a foot, and the review says the small groups "could mean that these findings are simply chance findings."
• The study that found no link. An internet survey of 2,551 dogs, published in 2012, reported in its discussion that a raised bowl was not significantly linked to bloat, with no figures given. It included dogs of every size.
• What nobody has found. The 2017 review: "No studies found that feeding from a raised feeder reduced the risk of GDV relative to feeding from the floor." Its conclusion: "the safest option in the absence of further evidence is to advise that owners of 'at risk' dogs feed from a feeder on the floor." The newest large study, from the Dog Aging Project in 2026, did not look at bowls at all.

The Purdue team's verdict on the popular advice was that "Most of the popular methods currently recommended to prevent GDV did not appear to be effective, and one of these, raising the feed bowl, may actually be detrimental in the breeds studied."

67 large and giant breeds in Puplr's records mention bloat, gastric dilatation or torsion in their health notes:

And 55 more in the breed guides.

For these breeds, two things matter more than the bowl. Learn the signs: the American College of Veterinary Surgeons lists "an anxious look or looking at the abdomen", "standing and stretching", "drooling", "distending abdomen" and "retching without producing anything", and VCA says "Immediate veterinary attention (within minutes to a few hours) is required to save the dog's life." And ask your vet about a gastropexy, which VCA calls "the most effective means of prevention". A decision model put the lifetime risk of bloat at 36.7% for the Great Dane.

What to look for

• A bowl that sits on the floor. For a deep chested dog, that is the whole brief.
• Non slip. The Royal Kennel Club: "You will need separate (non-slip) bowls for food and water." The AKC notes steel bowls are "generally lightweight, so an active dog may knock their bowl over and make messes". A rubber base or a mat stops the bowl travelling, which is the mess raised stands promise to fix.
• Food safe steel. Today's Veterinary Nurse says to look for "grade 304 or 18/8 stainless steel".
• The right shape for the face. The AKC suggests "a more narrow-mouthed bowl" for long eared dogs such as hounds and spaniels, and for a dog with a large face, "a bowl with a wide opening so that they can eat comfortably". For flat faced breeds, a wide, shallow bowl.
• A slow feeder, if your dog gulps. Fast eating was also linked to bloat in the Purdue study. Do slow feeder bowls work? covers which kind, and why it still belongs on the floor.
• If your vet advises height, the right height. Today's Veterinary Nurse: "dogs should be measured while standing, and ideal bowl height is slightly below the level of the withers." Canine Arthritis Resources and Education says "typically at about the dog's shoulders".

Claims that do not hold up

"A raised bowl prevents bloat." No study shows it. Today's Veterinary Nurse: "recent research shows that there is no evidence that using elevated feeders reduces the risk of GDV." The only cohort that measured it found the opposite.

"A raised bowl stops a dog swallowing air." This was the original reason for the advice. The Weimaraner Club of Great Britain explains: "it was believed the dog swallowed less air, a possible causal factor in bloat." No study has measured air swallowing at different bowl heights. A study of Irish Setters did link air swallowing with bloat, but did not look at bowls.

"Raised bowls are proven to cause bloat." That goes further than the evidence. One cohort found the link, asked about the bowl only once, and a second survey found none. The fair summary is the 2017 review's: floor feeding "may not reduce the risk of GDV, but there is no evidence to suggest that it will increase the risk."

"Floor bowls cause more bloat." An AKC article by a vet says "I have seen studies that show that food bowls on the floor cause more cases of bloat, but a few years later this was debunked". We found no study showing floor feeding raises the risk, and the 2017 review says "neither study identified feeding dogs from the floor as a risk factor for GDV."

"Raised bowls are better for posture and digestion." Some makers say so, without citing a study, and we found none. Even a company that sells raised stands says "there appears to be no scientific data that supports any medical benefits from elevated food bowls", apart from a few medical conditions, and recommends floor level unless your vet says otherwise.

"Tall dogs need a raised bowl." The Royal Kennel Club's equipment list says bowls "should be raised up off the floor for tall dogs", without giving a reason. The tallest dogs are the giant breeds in which the Purdue study found the link, and the AKC's own bloat page says "a solid recommendation can't be made."

The kit

Linked to search results for your country, so you compare current products yourself. Nothing is named, because we have not tested any of it. Raised feeders are left out on purpose: if your dog needs one, your vet will help you choose the height.

How to feed a dog at risk of bloat

1. Bowl on the floor. As the PDSA, Cornell and the AKC's large breed advice all say.
2. Smaller meals. The American College of Veterinary Surgeons recommends "multiple small meals (2-3) per day rather than a single large meal". A study within the Purdue cohort found "Dogs fed a larger volume of food per meal were at a significantly (P<0.05) increased risk of GDV, regardless of the number of meals fed daily."
3. Weigh the food. The feeding calculator works out the day's amount for your puppy, ready to split into meals.
4. Slow a fast eater down. A slow feeder or a food toy, on the floor.
5. Know the signs, and go straight to a vet. Retching with nothing coming up, a swelling belly, drooling and restlessness, as above.
6. Ask about a gastropexy. VCA says some vets do it "at the time the dog is spayed or neutered" in high risk breeds.
7. If your vet suggests a raised bowl for joint or neck pain, ask how it fits with the bloat risk for your breed, and measure your dog standing.

Common questions

Are elevated dog bowls good or bad?

For most dogs, a raised bowl brings no proven benefit, and for large and giant breeds the one cohort that measured it found more bloat. For a dog with neck, back or joint pain, a raised bowl may make eating easier, and VCA suggests raising dishes for dogs with joint disease. It depends on the dog.

Are raised bowls bad for large dogs?

The evidence points that way for deep chested large and giant breeds, though it rests on one study. The PDSA, Cornell and the AKC's large breed advice all say to feed from the floor. The 2017 evidence review calls the floor "the safest option in the absence of further evidence".

Does a raised bowl help a dog with arthritis?

Possibly. VCA's advice for joint disease includes "Raise food and water dishes off the floor", and Canine Arthritis Resources and Education says it "can help with arthritis pain". Neither cites a study. If your dog is also a deep chested breed, decide with your vet.

What height should a raised dog bowl be?

If your vet recommends one, Today's Veterinary Nurse says "slightly below the level of the withers", the top of the shoulders, measured with your dog standing. That is advice from experience; no study has tested an ideal height.

Should a Great Dane eat from a raised bowl?

No, unless your vet says otherwise for a medical reason. Great Danes were one of the breeds in the Purdue study, and a decision model put their lifetime risk of bloat at 36.7%, the highest of the five breeds it looked at. Ask your vet about a gastropexy.

How we worked this out

We did not test any bowls. This guide is built from peer reviewed studies, a structured evidence review, a university research team's own summary, a veterinary specialist college, veterinary hospitals and schools, a veterinary nursing journal, a veterinary manual, a welfare charity, two kennel clubs, a breed club and two makers' pages, all opened and read on 6 October 2026 and quoted word for word where they are quoted. Purdue's summary is no longer on its site, so it is cited from an archived copy. The makers' pages were used only to show what raised bowls are claimed to do. Every source is listed below.

The raised bowl finding rests on one cohort of 11 large and giant breeds; the second study is a survey that gives no figures. Of the other bloat studies we checked, none looked at bowl height. The 2017 review gives different attributable shares for the same study (4% for large breeds and 8% for giant) than the study's own abstract (20% and 52%); we could not read the full paper to settle it, so this guide quotes the abstract. The comfort benefits of a raised bowl for dogs with joint or neck pain are clinical opinion, not measured.

The deep chest list comes from Puplr's 384 breed records: large and giant breeds whose health notes mention bloat, gastric dilatation or torsion. It is the same list behind the deep chest kit on what to buy.

Where the sources disagree, we have said so. The main differences:

• Floor or raised for big dogs. The PDSA, Cornell, the AKC's large breed advice and the 2017 review say the floor. The Royal Kennel Club's equipment list says raised for tall dogs, and an AKC vet article says the results conflict.
• How strong the evidence is. The PDSA says raised bowls have "now been shown" to increase the risk; the 2017 review is more cautious and calls the floor the safest option "in the absence of further evidence".
• Joint disease. VCA's joint disease page suggests raising dishes with no mention of bloat; its bloat page says nothing about bowls.
• The specialist surgeons. The American College of Veterinary Surgeons says only that "It has also been suggested that elevated feeding" may raise the risk.

This guide was drafted with an AI writing tool and checked against every source listed. Read more about how we write buying guides.