Should You Walk Your Dog Before or After They Eat? A Vet Explains

In the human world, I’ve always been a proponent of walking after a large meal. I’ve projected that preference onto the dogs I’ve had throughout my life as well: after they’d eat, I would insist we go for a walk to help them digest their food. Turns out, I may have been wrong.

Dog anatomy operates differently from ours, and walking after eating? It’s not always smart for our furry friends.

Depending on what breed of dog you have, it may be better for your pup to eat after walking, or for you to feed them only a small snack before heading out the door. Here’s what you need to know about whether you should walk your dog before or after you feed them, according to Hannah Donnelly, D.V.M., the lead veterinarian at the Animal Rescue League of Boston.

The vet-recommended order for feeding and walking your dog is to walk them first, then feed them afterward. The reason dogs shouldn’t walk after they eat is that excessive movement after a meal can cause bloating.

“Bloat is what happens when [your dog] eats a big meal, and then the stomach rotates on itself,” Donnelly explains. “A bunch of air gets trapped, and the blood supply gets shut off, and it can be an emergency situation.”

The biggest concern is for big, deep-chested dogs, says Donnelly—like greyhounds, Irish wolfhounds, and dogs that are around 100 pounds or more.

It’s possible to see bloat in smaller breeds like chihuahuas and basset hounds, as well. But the most at-risk are the larger dogs who eat a full meal and then go out to have an active walk or romp in the yard. If you have one of these larger dogs, it’s best for them to eat after a walk.

If you absolutely must feed your large dog before you go outside, Donnelly suggests adding water to their dry kibble. Doing so mitigates at least some of the risk associated with bloat.

In most cases, walking a small or medium dog after they have a meal should be fine, especially “if you're going to have a really restrained walk, like a leashed walk around the block where they're not going to be super active,” Donnelly said.

Although it isn’t best practice, if your pup has never had a problem walking after a meal, they should be fine continuing that pattern. But if they start to act strangely, it might be time to re-strategize your strolls.

“It's just very dependent on your personal dog,” Donnelly said, “what breed you have, and what the risk factors are. You have to know your own dog.”

For example, some dogs won’t allow you to even leave the house if they haven’t eaten, so they’re essentially making the choice for you. Donnelly has seen dogs who go on a walk without being fed first pull as hard as possible to get back to their home and their food, which may make eating after a walk counterproductive.

For her own dog, Donnelly has found that morning walks without breakfast first can make her pup unwell. “I would have to feed him before we went on a walk or he'd be nauseous and eating grass the whole way,” she said. Other signs of nausea to watch for are drooling, excessive swallowing, and lip licking.

If you’re not sure how your dog is going to react during their walk—whether that’s chowing down on some grass or pulling all the way home to their bowl—Donnelly suggests feeding your pup only a small snack or meal before heading out.

Whether your dog has eaten first or not, you’ll want to keep an eye on them during their walk just in case something goes awry. If you have an at-risk dog, bloat symptoms can be severe. Donnelly notes that a dog with bloat may appear physically swollen, with a distended belly. Often, they’ll try to vomit and will retch, but nothing will come up. They could also seem extremely lethargic, refuse to walk, and could even collapse. At that point, it’s an emergency and you should get your dog to the vet right away.