[Carol4dogs]

Glad to hear that your girl came through the GDV surgery and that you were able to get her the emergency care that is so necessary in cases of GDV. She's lucky that you were home when it happened and got her right to the vet. In such cases, time is of the essence and you only have an hour, max. Often a dog will survive the surgery, but succumb later to cardiac arrythmia (sp). For that reason, a dog is usually carefully monitored after the surgery.

I have an 11 year old Weimaraner who's had bloat four times now, starting at age 5. The first time, her stomach twisted (GDV) and her stomach was tacked (gastropexy) during the surgery, pretty much a standard procedure. However, just because a dog's stomach is tacked, don't be fooled into thinking that it can't bloat again! My girl had the second episode of bloat just 8 weeks after the first one. Lucky for her, every time it's happened, I've been home and knew what was happening to her and got her to the emergency vet clinic right away. We're lucky, also, in that our emergency vet clinic is only 6 minutes away, door-to-door.

As for food after GDV, I've found that my girl is absolutely ravenous for food...unlike yours. I would advise that you feed her several small meals a day and try to stay away from any food containing grains. Innova makes EVO which is a grain free food and that is the one I use. It's rather pricey, but well worth it if it works. I soak the food in water in the refrigerator for several hours before I serve it to her, and she also gets a tablespoon of lowfat plain yogurt. In addition, I give her Prozyme and if I'm going to be out after feeding her, I give her a Gas-X or Phazyme tablet which contains simethicone to help prevent the build-up of gas in the stomach. As a meat source, I use canned wild Alaska pink salmon....for humans. Meat digests in the stomach much faster than kibble, and this is an important factor in preventing future episodes of bloat. She loves it and this is a good source of Omega 3 fatty acids. She gets about two tablespoons mixed in with the soaked EVO and other additives. I try to feed her three times a day, and believe me, this dog lets me know when it's time for her meal!

My dogs are also not allowed any kind of activity for at least an hour before and two hours after they're fed. They are either crated or allowed to rest inside the house and not allowed to run in the yard.

In the case of the Weimaraner, it's been found that bloat is a hereditary factor, and in fact one of my dog's littermates succumbed to it. Unfortunately, I didn't know this until after my girl had her first episode of bloat. I also know that stress plays a major factor with my girl in causing her to have repeated bloat episodes, so for that reason I try to minimize her stress level if at all possible. However, with multiple dogs in the household, coupled with the fact that I also take in dogs for boarding, this often presents a major issue. We try...that's all you can do.

Good luck with your girl. It may take a few days for her to get back to normal, but I'm sure that she'll do fine. Oh, one other thing, I also try to make sure that she has access to fresh water, and try not to let her tank up on water. That is thought to be a contributory factor in causing bloat, especially after the dog has eaten.

Dogs with deep chests and especially those with narrow chests (Great Dane, Irish Setter, Weimaraner, Irish Wolfhound, St. Bernard, Rottweiler) are some of the breeds that are considered prone to bloat.