BLOAT or Twisted Stomach

[Nancy - Opal, Meadow & Tariki]

This is a VERY SERIOUS threat to deep chested dogs - the bigger the ratio from waist to chest the bigger the threat. Read all you can so that you may recognize the symptoms or mitigate the danger to your dog. I know of Aus Labradoodles, German Shepherds, Great Danes not to mention the dogs mentioned in this site who have had the unfortunate expereince but were LUCKY to live.

Please check out this web site for more information http://www.globalspan.net/bloat.htm . There is a lot of information available online and so while this may not necessarily be the definitive site, it has a lot of good links.

[AndySharon BoomerShaynaMariner]

A quick note BLOAT IS AN EMERGENCY

[Nancy - Opal, Meadow & Tariki]

Maybe I should reword the discussion to make it sound a little more like an emeregncy? Any recommendations?

[Nancy - Opal, Meadow & Tariki]

Now that was a GREAT thing to add.... I personally only know one dog who has survived it so far.... I'm sure lots have I haven't heard of many though.

[Kyoko]

My 13 year old Chow Chow had this. It was about a year and a half ago.
I woke up in a middle of the night with him whinning. I thought he may have to go to the bathroom for some reason, so I took him outside. He peed a little, we go back in a house, and I go back to bed. We did this may be three times, and he still looks at discomfort. When I started to pet him, I noticed that his stomach was bloated and rock hard!! I did not know what it was, but rushed him to the emergency vet. When I was told that he had "Flipped his stomach", I was totally puzzled. "Flipped his stomach?! How did that happened?!" Vet said that it needed to be taken care of immidiately, otherwise, the twisted stomach will cut off blood flow, air supply to the organs, and he will die in matter of few hours, he will not last until the morning. Well, he went under the surgery, and a year and half later, he is still doing fine and kicking at 13 years old. But this ended up costing me $2,500.

[Nancy - Opal, Meadow & Tariki]

WOW how lucky for Butter that you reacted so quickly. I am so happy to hear another success story. Did the vet recommend you change anything to prevent it in the future or did they staple the stomach back to prevent it from happening again? That must have been very frightening.

[Kyoko]

They stitched up his stomach and attached it to the wall (?) so it will not flip agian...They told me to keep him from jumping on and off the couch soon after eating, and smaller, more frequent feeding....
Some of the people I knew thought that this was a waste of money, since he was already 11 years old then. But, it happened in the middle of the night, and I was not going to tell my kids Butter died last night while they were asleep. He is truly a part of our family, and medical needs were to be met to save our family member. Now we have Charlie, this bloat is my biggest fear. I bought a pet insurance for her....

[Nancy - Opal, Meadow & Tariki]

Well again Butter is really lucky to have you! My breeder encouraged me to feed raw diet and so I have for the last 2 years...she also encouraged me to feed them seperate and leave them that way for at least 1 hour. Which I have done. There is always quiet time after eating. You don't hear about this unless you bring it up around other people... so it amazes me when you start talking about it how many people have been touched my this. I am happy to hear the vet took measures to ensure it wouldn't happen again. I always feel like I am over reacting when I see a difference in my dogs and am grateful I have the breeder just down the road to call and ask questions. I can not imagine with knowing what I know now... seeing the symptoms in one of my girls.

Good for you Kyoko... ya' done good!!!!

[Kyoko]

Thank you!
I read it somewhere to consider getting dog's stomach attached to the wall as a preventative measure when female dogs are getting spayed, since they are already under, and is getting operated on. I asked about this to my vet when I took Charlie - she is a girl -. The vet said that with the better quality dog food now a these days, flipping the stomach does not happen as often as used.( He told me the Butter just got so lucky ) So keeping the good quality diet is important and it does not make sence to make the dogs go thought the process as a preventative measure.

[Nancy - Opal, Meadow & Tariki]

Great vet!

[AndySharon BoomerShaynaMariner]

I took the liberty of copying HANNAHnHONEY's comment from the comment page and also placing them in this discussion. Thank you for an excellent discussion on the subject.

REMEMBER *****BLOAT IS AN EMERGENCY***************




ALL DOGS ARE PRONE TO BLOAT
Signs and Symptoms of Bloat
Most dogs with symptoms of bloat will have abdominal distention that you can both see and feel to the touch. Abnormal salivating and dry heaving will emerge as well as restlessness, lethargy and a rapid heart rate. A very obvious sign of discomfort will show in your dog – some will even look to you for help with confusion and fear in their eyes. These symptoms manifest of a short period of time and it is imperative to take your pet to the veterinarian at once – as no dog survives Bloat without treatment.

Prevention of Bloat
Prevention through the use of prophylactic measures for those that have a predisposition to bloat is the best coarse of action. There have been professionals agree that predispositions to bloat can be inherited. For those dogs and people, extra measure and caution should be taken including prophylactic gastroplexy. Furthermore, smaller feeding schedules i.e. 2 – 3 meals per day should be set. A couple of hours of rest should always follow any meal. Some dogs seem to get a big deal of energy after a meal and should be impeded.

Conclusion
All dogs are prone to bloat no matter the breed. Simple safeguards should be used – even if it is just a simple routine of eating, then lying down. Keep meal portions small and keep an eye out for signs of discomfort. If you do this, you help keep your pet around for a happier, healthier lifetime.

I have always given my dogs two or three meals a day, not because they were pups and you should feed them more times a day, but it does help them to empty out their stomachs, and you wouldn't like eating one meal a day and wolfing it down cause your hungry, it would give you an upset stomach, same with dogs! I will not let them run around for at least one hour after meals, they go on a short walk to relieve themselves and then its rest time. I don't know if anyone else does this, but I also put about a teaspoon of plain yogurt in my dogs food morning and night time, this helps the cultures in their stomachs and seems to keep them from getting upset stomachs, is fantastic for growing pups and helps with bones, their coats, and most picky eaters will eat their dry food with this over it.

[Barb @ Gemstone Labradoodles]

Good to remind us all to rest our dogs after eating. Thanks

[Adrianne Matzkin]

I copied this from the site 'Dog Food Analysis' and thought it should be shared. It was part of review of the food Nature's Variety Instinct Chicken Meal Formula.

"We note that chicken fat is the third ingredient in the food and that research at Purdue University has identified fat in the top four ingredients of dry dogs foods as a factor increasing the risk of bloat in large breed dogs. The presence of citric acid as a preservative means that this food should not be pre-moistened prior to feeding (pre-moistening of foods preserved with citirc acid has also been identified as a factor increasing the risk of bloat)."