questions about bloat

[Adrianne Matzkin]

I didn't want to start this discussion on Kari's about her experience and her loss of Ari.
I read what was written on what not to do. My question is about the raised bowls. Charli is 28" tall at her shoulder. For her to have a bowl on the floor she was to spread her front legs so wide it hurts me to watch her. The other 2 aren't as tall but for them to have their bowls on the floor doesn't make eating easy.
My doodles chew their food, will go over and get a little water and come back to finish their dinner

I appreciate your suggestions.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Not too deep a chest I'd say but, as Karen said, you can't change the chest anyway.

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

This is great information Karen. I would definitely do this and will be preparing an emergency kit very soon. Bloat is one of my fears and the emergency vet is about 15 min away so valuable time would be spent in transit. Thank you.

[Laurie, Wally & Charlotte]

Joanne, I was told a long time ago to avoid strenuous activity for an hour BEFORE eating and drinking, as well as afterwards.  Complicated, right?!

[Jen and Annie]

So, Annie is raw fed for her meals, and I do use Merrick Buffalo and sweet potato kibble for her training treats (kibble is just so much easier than chopping up tiny pieces of chicken or liver).

Based on the information above, it looks like she might be in a pretty good category of:
1. no fat in the first four ingredients (first 5 are Deboned Buffalo, Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Sweet Potato, and Peas)
2. meat meal including bone in the ingredients (raw)
3. Dry food is not moistened before training

I know there is no 100% guarantee, and she does have that weird narrow long chest that others are talking about. Years ago I had a dog who I had to put down because I was an 18 year old kid and didn't have the money for the 'emergency surgery' for what my vet called 'a twisted stomach'... does twisted stomach = bloat?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Yes. The correct name for "bloat" is  "Gastric Dilatation-Volvulus" ("GDV") and  the "volvolus" part refers to the twisting of the stomach that occurs during bloat.

Some info from Purdue: https://www.addl.purdue.edu/newsletters/2005/Summer/canine-acd.htm

[F, Calla & Luca]

And the twisting part is the killer. It constricts the vessels and cuts off the blood supply causing the tissues involved to die.

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

Just checking in and now you have me scared ... FInn has a deep narrow chest too.  Seriously, with longer hair he looks stocky but he's put together with "bird" bones.  Lucky, I guess, that he doesn't eat much at one time.  I have to put that kit together.  Thanks Karen.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Here is the discussion from the Health & Medical Group about bloat. It's a good discussion with some good info, including the stomach tacking surgery you can have done if your dog is really at high-risk; although it's usually done after a dog has survived bloat, to prevent a repeat occurence, there are people who elect to do it before anything has happened.

http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/healthandmedicalissues/forum/topi...

[F, Calla & Luca]

Do you kow what the incidence of bloat really is? It is so scary but I think it is not all that common. I think here on DK I have only read of a few cases, most of which the dog survived. I did know of a bloodhound , who went in for some other surgery, although  I forget what kind, possibly a spaying, and had her stomach stapled as a precaution.

This was what I found:

"Dr. Glickman found the incidence of bloat was high and nearly identical between large and giant breed dogs. Fatality rate of those that developed bloat was 29%. The highest risk breed was the Great Dane with a 42% risk of bloat in their lifetime and the Labrador Retrievers with only a 2% risk of bloat. For large breed dogs the rate of Bloat was 23% and for the giant breed dogs the rate of Bloat was 26%.".

I was shocked by the Great Dane info. The reference is:

http://www.creaturecomfortsinc.com/ThePetZone/Bloat.htm

[F, Calla & Luca]

Here's a different view and Great Danes now have a high, but much lower risk.

"The six dogs with the highest incidence of bloat were: Great Dane (11.6%), Irish Setter (6.4%), Bloodhound (5.5%), Akita (4.5%), Standard Poodle (4.4%) and Weimeraner (4.0%). The average age of dogs in this study was 3.2 years and the average age of those that got GDV was 5.5 years."
 

For what it's worth there is also a way to calculate your dog's risk.

http://poodlesatplay.org/bloat.html

[BG and Gavin]

thanks for he link F - good summary

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Oh, and everyone needs to keep Gas-X in the house. Two Gas-X tablets can buy you enough time to get them to the ER.