feeding/excercise schedule (bloat)

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

We used to feed Cooper breakfast/dinner then go for a walk straight away, but then I read about another DK members bloat scare. I did some brief research on the internet and have since changed Coopers schedule. We now go for a walk or play, wait an hour, then feed Cooper. Wait another hour before play time again. 

Cooper doesnt like this!

She gets hungry and cries. Then, after food, she doesnt like having to wait another hour to play again and cries.

Cooper is a bit hyper in the morning which is why we walk her first thing. She also eats too fast (mixing raw veggies in with her raw food slows her down). She does use an elevated feeding bowl which I have heard is not good.

Does anyone have any suggestions? What is your daily feeding schedule?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I would take her out for a "potty" only walk first thing in the a.m. Don't allow any playing, keep her leashed and bring her in as soon as she does her business. Then she should get her breakfast, she's probably very hungry if she hasn't eaten since the night before. I wouldn't make her wait an hour for breakfast.
It is recommended to avoid letting them exercise vigorously within an hour after a meal, but a walk doesn't have to be vigorous or involve hard playing. It might be a good time to practice leash walking and other forms of training, rather than letting her run or jump a lot.

[Debbie and Thomas]

Yes, I posted the question about elevated feeding bowls last year and found out that one study (I think it was done at Purdue) found that an elevated feeding bowl increases the risk of bloat by 150%. If you simply google "elevated feeding bowl" you will finds several links to this study. Here is one link:
http://www.globalspan.net/bloat.htm
We walk our doodle when we get home from work and then feed him(he only eats once a day) and then he has a quiet time. Hope this helps.

[Liane Thakur]

We walk first thing in the morning (about 1/2 hour). Then we feed Barney immediately after that. He eats from a raised bowl and never has problems at all. He gets a walk from a dog walker every mid-afternoon for 1-1/2 hours. Then he gets play time or a walk when I get home (about 5:30pm). We feed him in the evening (usually when we eat so around 7:30pm). Dogs get used to routine and will complain when the routine is not followed. Cooper is probably used to what she got before and now doesn't want the change...she'll be fine.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

We take Peri for a quick walk first thing in the morning. Then she gets her breakfast immediately following that walk (6:45am). I usually take her for a second, leisurely walk about 40 minutes after she eats breakfast. She gets a walk during lunch, but no food (maybe a treat or two). For dinner feeding, we take her for a walk when we get home - usually 5-5:30ish. Then she eats immediately after that (she eats pretty early!). She usually follows us around and rests while we start dinner.
This has worked well for us....

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

Thanks everyone, I will persevere with the new schedule. I have reduced the time Cooper has to wait for her food after her walk to about 10 minutes. She still doesnt like having to wait almost an hour til she comes back out of her pen to play, but at 8 months old she is still very bouncy so i dont want to take any chances!! She is actually still tired from her walk, but just wants to be with Mommy and Daddy. I have learnt that I have to give her time out or she will just go on and on and on til she literally drops,.