What are these folks credentials for this article? The "facts" that they are stating as to what increases and what decreases the potential of BLOAT are in major contradiction to Great Dane experts.
This is a study done by Malathi Raghavan, DVM, PhD, Nita W. Glickman, MPH, PhD and Lawrence T. Glickman, VMD, DrPH, at the Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, Purdue University. Unlike the raised dish fiasco, this study seems to present some compelling evidence that food with the above listed properties can be one of the contributors to bloat.
I've never heard a Dane expert promote the feeding of soy/cereal ingredients and high fat contents in dog food. While Linda does have a wonderful store of practical advice, last I checked she was not a PhD in Veterinary Pathobiology.
Here is a summary of the study:
Using dry dog food label information, the hypothesis was tested that the risk of gastric dilatation-volvulus (GDV) increases with an increasing number of soy and cereal ingredients and a decreasing number of animal-protein ingredients among the first four ingredients. A nested case-control study was conducted with 85 GDV cases and 194 controls consuming a single brand and variety of dry food. Neither an increasing number of animal-protein ingredients (P=0.79) nor an increasing number of soy and cereal ingredients (P=0.83) among the first four ingredients significantly influenced GDV risk. An unexpected finding was that dry foods containing an oil or fat ingredient (e.g., sunflower oil, animal fat) among the first four ingredients were associated with a significant (P=0.01), 2.4-fold increased risk of GDV. These findings suggest that the feeding of dry dog foods that list oils or fats among the first four label ingredients predispose a high-risk dog to GDV. The best source of information and prevention on Bloat is Linda Arndt, the Great Dane Lady. Her website is http://www.greatdanelady.com
"The best" is subjective. What makes hers "The best"?
She is the leading expert in Great Dane nutrition and dietary needs and the majority of the Great Dane community, ei: breeders, show exhibitors, etc. rely on what she has publishes.
Linda does promote the Enzymes product line, which is soy based, and I would never give that to my dogs. There is a ton of evidence out there showing soy products are not good for canines if you care to look.
You might want to take some time in going through her site.
In addition to that, do an internet search on Bloat. You will find many articles. Most are pretty close to each other in regards to prevention issues. Not one of them states what this article is stating.
Yes, this is new information, but I don't think it suprises many of us. I switched my Danes over to a raw meat diet almost two years ago, I got tired of fighting the poor health they had due to the grains and other crap in kibble. Linda does not think that puppies under 12 months should be fed a raw diet, but I cannot find any scientific data to back up her claims that it is detrimental to their growth. To the contrary, I have seen danes raised on RAW grow at a slower much more even rate than their kibble fed brothers or sisters.
I personally would go with the majority.
The majority was always the minority at some point.
We all continue to learn more and more about nutrition, bloat and a plethora of other subjects that are critical to the welfare of our beautiful dogs. This does NOT mean that any one of us should follow the herd and never go out to learn new things or base our decisions on our own research.
