Bloat

[lilginger]

Has anyone had any problems with this? How do you really know if your dog has this?

[Squeaky2004]

I have never had this problem, but here is some information for you on Bloat I hope this helps. I found this on google for you.



Symptoms
Typical symptoms often include some (but not necessarily all) of the following. Unfortunately, from the onset of the first symptoms you have very little time (sometimes minutes, sometimes hours) to get immediate medical attention for your dog. Know your dog and know when it's not acting right.

Attempts to vomit (usually unsuccessful); may occur every 5-20 minutes
This seems to be one of the most common symptoms & has been referred to as the "hallmark symptom"
Doesn't act like usual self
Perhaps the earliest warning sign & may be the only sign that almost always occurs
Significant anxiety and restlessness
One of the earliest warning signs and seems fairly typical
"Hunched up" or "roached up" appearance
This seems to occur fairly frequently
Bloated abdomen that may feel tight (like a drum)
Despite the term "bloat," many times this symptom never occurs or is not apparent
Pale or off-color gums
Dark red in early stages, white or blue in later stages
Lack of normal gurgling and digestive sounds in the tummy
Many dog owners report this after putting their ear to their dog's tummy
Coughing
Unproductive gagging
Heavy salivating or drooling
Foamy mucous around the lips, or vomiting foamy mucous
Unproductive attempts to defecate
Whining
Pacing
Licking the air
Seeking a hiding place
Looking at their side or other evidence of abdominal pain or discomfort
May refuse to lie down or even sit down
May attempt to eat small stones and twigs
Drinking excessively
Heavy or rapid panting
Shallow breathing
Cold mouth membranes
Apparent weakness; unable to stand or has a spread-legged stance
Especially in advanced stage
Accelerated heartbeat
Heart rate increases as bloating progresses
Weak pulse
Collapse

[Dante's Dad]

There are so many signs. My wife is a vet tech and they see bloat quite often at her clinic. It is so terrible.

What we do is soak Dante's food in water for about 10 minutes before he gets it. That way all the gas will be released from the food. We also make sure that he does not do significant excercise right after eating his food.

[mmgy]

If you suspect your dog has bloat, RUN to the nearest vet clinic, regardless of the time of day.

If you want to see methods that many of us use here to reduce the likelihood of bloat, search the Vets Corner forum. There are no methods proven *absolutely* to prevent bloat, but there are things that help.

My favorite is putting everyone down for a nap right after they eat. Another is feeding less grain (less gas).

[babybluetx23]

I lost my 10 year old Female black lab in Feb. due to Bloat. We had no idea what it was. Right before we went to bed she seemed like she was just a little bit tired like she just went on a good run, So I thought nothing of it. When my husband woke the next morning she was gone. I agree with MMGY - The MOMENT you suspect ANY sign of bloat RUN to the Nearest vet. I miss my lab dearly and I wish I would have known and I wish I would have taken her to the vet, but She is at the bridge now and I just know she is carefree playing and is in no pain at all from her HD.

[k9mam]

I'm not sure I can post this link here, but there was a very in depth discussion re: bloat on a GSD forum I belong to. Many shared their experiences and causes as well as preventative measures were discussed: The link is removed.

A few believed that Gas-X (or anything with Simethicone as the active ingredient) can stop bloat if you give it at the first sign of distress, or that it can be used as a preventative given with meals. I now have a supply on hand to hopefully bide time if the need ever arises.

As experiences were posted trends began to surface. Most of the incidents occurred under the same environmental conditions (a sudden change in barometric pressure) or during periods of high stress/anxiety.

If the link is removed, I can PM anyone interested.

[Muckdogs]

I lost a six year old Rott to bloat. He was down and quite bloated when we came home so I rushed him to teh vet. They had him opened up and were surgically trying undo the bloat within 30 minutes. However, he never camoe out of the anesthesia for very long. Very tragic. AS far as gasx goes, from a physiological standpoint, how would it arrive into the gut if the torsioin has already occurred. It is my understanding of bloat, in crude terms, that the stomach actually flips and both ends are effectively sealed off from allowing gas and contents to escape. Gas builds and the dog goes down. I can't see how any type of anti-gas agent could be effective.

One thing I strongly urge you to consider, on top of proper preventative measures, is to consult with your vets about "first responder" type of first aid when you encounter bloat. Whether or not it will actually work I can't say, but when I worked in a vet clinic, I learned a procedure whereby you can insert a long syringe into the abdomen, remove the tube and at least alleviate some of the pressure. Liken it to putting an inflation needle into a basketball, but without a pump attached, so they said. Like I said, I can't testify to the efficacy, but when you discover your dog with bloat, it is worth a shot as time is critical. I now carry a long, large gauge syringe in my k9 first aid kit just in case. I look at it this way, the odds of making things worse are pretty small in comparison to the possible benefit. But, again, you must consult with your own vet and learn how and where to pierce the abdominal cavity.

[Judy Chrusch]

I've heard many reasons for a dog to bloat but I do know one thing, I think it's very important not to allow your dog to run around after eating and also excessive water drinking and then running around. I lost my GSD to bloat and unfortunately didn't know the signs waaaay back when it happened but you can betcha I know now. The chances are slimmer if you keep your dog/dogs quiet after they eat, can't hurt that's for sure .

Oh and the controversy about elevated dishes verses on the floor, my boy did NOT have an elevated dish.

Judy

[k9mam]

Originally Posted by Muckdogs

AS far as gasx goes, from a physiological standpoint, how would it arrive into the gut if the torsioin has already occurred. It is my understanding of bloat, in crude terms, that the stomach actually flips and both ends are effectively sealed off from allowing gas and contents to escape. Gas builds and the dog goes down. I can't see how any type of anti-gas agent could be effective.

Bloat is Gastric Dilation - where the stomach distends with gas and fluid. If you catch it at this point, I can definitely see how an anti-gas agent could be effective. It may or may not be followed by torsion.

[Brooke&Ryan]

Originally Posted by Dante's Dad

What we do is soak Dante's food in water for about 10 minutes before he gets it. That way all the gas will be released from the food. We also make sure that he does not do significant excercise right after eating his food.

Originally Posted by MARYDVM

Before adding water to your dog's dry food, check the label. The followup research to the bloat study mentioned above, found that adding water to kibble containing citric acid increased the risk of bloat 320% (fourfold). Feeding a kibble with fat listed among the first 4 ingredients increased the risk of bloat by 170% (close to threefold). Feeding kibble with rendered meat and bone meal within the first 4 ingredients decreased the risk of bloat by 53%. The first bloat study showed elevating food dishes increased the risk of bloat.

Just wanted to add this for any of our new members who haven't read it.

[Judy Chrusch]

Oh wow Brooke that's right I do remember Mary posting that, what a GREAT piece of info, THANKYOU!!!

Judy

[Muckdogs]

Originally Posted by k9mam

Bloat is Gastric Dilation - where the stomach distends with gas and fluid. If you catch it at this point, I can definitely see how an anti-gas agent could be effective. It may or may not be followed by torsion.

So, in essence what you are saying is that bloat is a two stage event. It is a dilation, which I presume means a swelling or enlarging of the gastrointestinal system, whihc may or may not be followed by a torsion? That is interesting, I didn't realize that. I was under the impression, wrongly I guess, that bloat was always the result of a torsion of the stomach, thereby sealing off ingress and egress and then the gas built up without a means to escape. I can tell yo uthat when we found our Rott down, it appearred as if he had swolled a volleyball. I definitely know that he had a torsion event as I was in the operating room when they opened him up. I saw it with my own eyes before they removed the stomach and righted it and then tacked it to short-rib to prevent future torsions.

I guess this raises the question of what then causes the torsion if stage one of bloat is a simple dilation. Again, I was under the impression that bloat was caused, primarily in large breeds, by a flipping of the stomach. The way it was explained to me was that in a large breed, the stomach are like a hammock. When the hammock gets full of food and water and then is rocked violently or suddenly, it can flip over. If you have this picture of the hammock in your mind, it is easy to see how the ingress and egress points get twisted off.

Well, regardless of the actual process of this dreaded situation, all should be aware of how to minimize risks of getting it and know what to be on the lookout for. It's kind of one of those things that you know that something is wrong, but you can't pinpoint it. In retrospect, a lot of the symptoms on the above list were present to us, we were just not aware of what was happening.

[mmgy]

Re Gas-X:

I've posted several times about my friend who *tacks* the stomach of all her bloodhounds so that it can't turn. She has one 4 year old male who is prone to bloat, and any time she suspects it, she administers Gas-X. She has been able to shut down at least two episodes without an emergency vet trip.

[babybluetx23]

I called at LEAST 10 vets in my area and they WILL NOT tack the stomach unless you come in with an emergancy and your dog is in the begining stages of Bloat. I dont know if that is the case with other vets

[frontierrots]

I have lost two brothers to bloat. Both were fine and then within 1 1/2 hour of being fed breakfast in their crate with no exercise before or after, they were bloated quite noticably and retching. Both wanted to drink and drink and drink, though I did not let them. Both were given Tagamet (a vet rec. product) and both were euthanised . One of them had very impaired circulation from the bloat, so much so that it took awhile longer than normal for the euth agent (dosed at twice his weight) to reach his heart/brain

My bosses Greater Swiss just bloated this past Friday night at midnight. Her ONLY sign was a bloating belly , occasional whining and looking like she wanted to poop. She was able to have surgery and is very fine- too fine actually, she won't be calm!. She was hours and hours past a meal or exercise

We've had several dogs bloat here at the kennel. Most had the enlarged belly and retching up mucous symptoms. 1 was simply quiet. 2 were fine til they dropped dead with no symptoms at all until after death when their bellies bloated up rapidly (these 2 torsed before bloating the autopsies said). One we were able to save (who later bloated and died at home, months later) and one we saved and later died of unknown caused internal bleeding about a year later