Bloat in Dogs

[Wooferhound]

Mine have raised bowls!

Feeding raw is less likely to cause such problems amongst the other many good reasons for feeding such a diet

[lexiesmummy]

Originally Posted by super D

I would like to think i know the symptom , i have been paranoid about it since i got Dalton, and i would even suspected Bloat would call the vet and take him to the surgery at stoopid oclock, even if i was wrong, afterall in that case i would pay the bill and be pleased i was being an over paranoid mum lol.
I think all you can do is your best for your furry kid, hope this never happens, and do all you can if it unfortunately does, add in a good measure of crossing your fingers too
xx

SOOOOOOOOO TRUE!!!! If I thought there was something wrong with one of my kids in the night they would be straight to the hospital and getting checked over whether there was nothing seriously wrong or not, you really cant be too cautious, My eldest has bad asthma (yes I know I have a dog, but truly this doesn't affect him - birds do - so no longer have birds) but we were caught one night last september he went to bed and went off to sleep about 9pm he woke up with a bit of a cough and temperature then by 11:30 he couldn't complete a sentence without taking a breath, phoned NHS direct, they sent an ambulance and rapid response by the time rapid response arrived and he was about 5 minutes Blade could no longer even say a word without stopping for abreath, but all because I put it down to a viral infection starting, so my dogs are treated the same way as my kids, well maybe not quite, my dogs have always been treated a bit better in this respect I think as they cant speak to say what is wrong where as the kids can say what hurts etc

That must sound awful, and maybe I havent written it correctly but I do hope you see what I'm saying without thinking im a bad mummy!!!

[maxandskye]

This terrifies me.

A very intresting read.

My beloved GSD Max died a horrible death from bloat at the age of 8 years 0 months..

He had been in kennels for a few days whilst we were on holiday. We collected him on the Saturday afternoon and he was absolutely fine, running about and playing. he looked in great condition. Half an hour later he started coughing, he had had nothing to eat as he had eaten in the morning.

He went absolutely hysterical, running around the house, scratching the ground. I thought he had swallowed something. He was bringing up white frothy water. I rang the vet and because it was the week-end they told me to take him to the pet hospital. We took him straight there and the nurses had to literally drag him into the surgery whilst he was lying down, he could not stand up.

They xrayed him and told us he had gastric torsion (bloat) and if he did not have an operation he would die.

I was even told the operation would cost more than £1000, I could not believe they were even thinking about money at that stage, I told them I did not care what it was going to cost just do it.

They operated, I was told by the surgeon that everything had gone well, they had sewn his bowel to the stomach lining so it would not happen again but the next few days were critical as he could die of shock. The surgeon told us we had got him there in time and no deterioration of the bowel / stomach had happened, which can happen if left too late so we were grateful that we had done everything possible for him.

Two hours later we were told he had died.

When we went to see Max to organise his cremation, we spoke to the surgeon and he explained that this happens when air gets sucked into the stomach and causes it to twist and it probably had happened because he was so glad to see us he was excited and gulping in great amounts of air. They said it usually happens straight after a feed, but Max had not had a meal before it happened.

The rules are, no exercise before and after a meal and two meals a day so not to overload the stomach but Max was the exception to the rule.

With regards to elevated feeding bowls no-one has the answer everyone has their own opinion of it.

I cannot stop thinking that it could have easily happened a few hours later when we had nipped out to do a bit of shopping after the holidays and he would have died alone in the house or if he had not been in the kennels he would still be alive.

The professionals say it happens most in deep chested breeds, can happen in other types of dogs also, but it is one of the biggest killers.

My last two GSD's both died of cancer at the same age as Max.

What is so very sad, and in our experiences, you buy a GSd, love it and know you have so little time with them so why put yourself through the heartache time and time again.

WHY. because they are the best, loving, faithful breed you can have and the small amount of time you have with them is better than not having them at all.

So, if you se your dog coughing, bringing up white froth do not wait for any other symptoms, get him to a pet hospital make sure you always keep a number and know where the hospital is (ring them before you go and tell them it is suspected bloat, they put him before any other case. )

You can ask your vet on on of your normal health check visits what they would tell you to do in a case like this as they may have surgeons on standby.

This will not stop us getting another GSD, we have had them for the past 27 years and never bred from them as they were our babies and our home would not be the same without one.

[maxandskye]

Originally Posted by sweetthing

My beloved GSD Max died a horrible death from bloat at the age of 8 years 0 months..

He had been in kennels for a few days whilst we were on holiday. We collected him on the Saturday afternoon and he was absolutely fine, running about and playing. he looked in great condition. Half an hour later he started coughing, he had had nothing to eat as he had eaten in the morning.

He went absolutely hysterical, running around the house, scratching the ground. I thought he had swallowed something. He was bringing up white frothy water. I rang the vet and because it was the week-end they told me to take him to the pet hospital. We took him straight there and the nurses had to literally drag him into the surgery whilst he was lying down, he could not stand up.

They xrayed him and told us he had gastric torsion (bloat) and if he did not have an operation he would die.

I was even told the operation would cost more than £1000, I could not believe they were even thinking about money at that stage, I told them I did not care what it was going to cost just do it.

They operated, I was told by the surgeon that everything had gone well, they had sewn his bowel to the stomach lining so it would not happen again but the next few days were critical as he could die of shock. The surgeon told us we had got him there in time and no deterioration of the bowel / stomach had happened, which can happen if left too late so we were grateful that we had done everything possible for him.

Two hours later we were told he had died.

When we went to see Max to organise his cremation, we spoke to the surgeon and he explained that this happens when air gets sucked into the stomach and causes it to twist and it probably had happened because he was so glad to see us he was excited and gulping in great amounts of air. They said it usually happens straight after a feed, but Max had not had a meal before it happened.

The rules are, no exercise before and after a meal and two meals a day so not to overload the stomach but Max was the exception to the rule.

With regards to elevated feeding bowls no-one has the answer everyone has their own opinion of it.

I cannot stop thinking that it could have easily happened a few hours later when we had nipped out to do a bit of shopping after the holidays and he would have died alone in the house or if he had not been in the kennels he would still be alive.

The professionals say it happens most in deep chested breeds, can happen in other types of dogs also, but it is one of the biggest killers.

My last two GSD's both died of cancer at the same age as Max.

What is so very sad, and in our experiences, you buy a GSd, love it and know you have so little time with them so why put yourself through the heartache time and time again.

WHY. because they are the best, loving, faithful breed you can have and the small amount of time you have with them is better than not having them at all.

So, if you se your dog coughing, bringing up white froth do not wait for any other symptoms, get him to a pet hospital make sure you always keep a number and know where the hospital is (ring them before you go and tell them it is suspected bloat, they put him before any other case. )

You can ask your vet on on of your normal health check visits what they would tell you to do in a case like this as they may have surgeons on standby.

This will not stop us getting another GSD, we have had them for the past 27 years and never bred from them as they were our babies and our home would not be the same without one.

I'm so sorry to hear about Max, very sad.

Oh I would just like to welcome you to the forum.

[JuliaGSD]

Just thought I should bump this thread, as it saved the life of our 8yr old GSD, and it could save another much loved pet somewhere.

On Sunday evening our GSD displayed many of the symptoms posted by Ally Cat. and although we were already considering calling on our vet, we may easily have waited until Monday morning, only to find our dog dead.

Fortunately after a frantic search we came upon this thread, and acted immediately, and this undoubtedly save our dogs life.

Our vet performed immediate surgery, going on through the night, telling us that this was a serious case, and he might not make it. He is now at home, making a most rapid recovery.

We have been advised that we face a bill of just over £2,500.00, and kick ourselves for cancelling his insurance aged 7 yrs, as the premiums had sky-rocketed, but nevertheless, would have spent immeasurably more than that to keep him.

The thought has crossed our minds, that we could have faced the same bill, but with a dead dog.

But we must post, and say a massive THANK YOU, this thread forced us into immediate action, and we are very grateful.

Thank heavens for the internet!

[LOVEGSD]

Originally Posted by JuliaGSD

Just thought I should bump this thread, as it saved the life of our 8yr old GSD, and it could save another much loved pet somewhere.

On Sunday evening our GSD displayed many of the symptoms posted by Ally Cat. and although we were already considering calling on our vet, we may easily have waited until Monday morning, only to find our dog dead.

Fortunately after a frantic search we came upon this thread, and acted immediately, and this undoubtedly save our dogs life.

Our vet performed immediate surgery, going on through the night, telling us that this was a serious case, and he might not make it. He is now at home, making a most rapid recovery.

We have been advised that we face a bill of just over £2,500.00, and kick ourselves for cancelling his insurance aged 7 yrs, as the premiums had sky-rocketed, but nevertheless, would have spent immeasurably more than that to keep him.

The thought has crossed our minds, that we could have faced the same bill, but with a dead dog.

But we must post, and say a massive THANK YOU, this thread forced us into immediate action, and we are very grateful.

Thank heavens for the internet!

I am so pleased to read that your beloved boy is recovering, it's great to hear that this thread helped to save his life.

Give him gentle belly rubs from me...oh and post some pics if you can, we'd love to see him...xx

As this thread has been bumped up, and in a great way too,.. nice to know that a thread can save a life

...are we any closer to knowing about the raised bowl issue?,.. is it bad or isnt it?,.. or is it the case that no-one knows

[JuliaGSD]

Hello everyone,

Here are some pics of Harley, the light isn't so good, but you can see how well he is already.









I hope these come out all right, and apologies for the red-eye, haven't had time to sort this out yet!

Again, thanks everybody.

Julia

[joyce]

So glad Harley is doing good xxx


Stuart the raised bowl is as vague as the reasons for torsion, every one who's had the problem all are different circumstances.
Our experience with Buzz who was around 10yrs old when he had his first one

first incident about 6pm trying to be sick just throth coming up going digging the floor then the stomach started to swell, ( He had not been fed since his morning feed) we got him straight to the vets, the op was successful and stomach was stitched to stop further twisting, a he was home the next day at dinnertime and back out in the fields the next day.

Almost a year to the day the second one, same symptoms as before again no food since breakfast, again he recovered he came home that night instead of staying at the vets I lay beside him through the night by the morning he was up and wanting to be out for his walk (again stomach was stitched.

His third one happened same as above he was almost 13 , We had a long talk with Paul our vet who had done both the ops there was obviously damage to the stomach , he was not good on this legs, he'd had a couple of strokes too, so with the advice of our vet we made the decision to give him sleep. One of the worst days of my life