Diet after GDV Surgery

[twinmom2]

Hi:

My 6.5 year old spayed female rotti had emergency surgery for GDV last Wednesday (4/16). She was at death's door and we were only waiting for my husband to come home. In the hour and a half it took us to get there, she managed to wretch herself from the clutches of the grim reaper. Greta came home late Friday.

Since coming home, Greta has been taking in plenty of water and urinating normally. She also had two bowel movements yesterday (well formed and black which is to be expected). She has developed some edema in one of her back legs, so we've been taking her on short slow walks to see if that would help.

All the above are good signs, but my big worry is that she is not eating anything. The vet sent us home with a canned liver diet but she doesn't want that. She doesn't even want stuff that previously she would have loved. The interest is there but she only licks at it. Does anyone out there in rotti land have experience with their dog post GDV surgery? I am going to stop by the vet's office this morning and see what they say too.

Thanks,
Tanya
Greta's mom

[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.

[twinmom2]

Thanks for the words of wisdom. I stopped by the vet's office this morning and he had me get Greta some baby food. She ate it happily. I am feeding her a couple of ozs every two hours like a baby. I guess she just doesn't feel up to anything solid or semi-solid yet, and that's fine. We'll work up to eating that nasty smelling Hill's l/d canned food that the vet wants her to eat. We are going for very short, slow walks (more like a shamble!). I think she has a shot at recovering.

The best thing of all that happened today is that she wagged her nub at me which she hasn't done since last week before her surgery. Greta is normally a happy, goofy dog so that was the best sign that she could give me that she is feeling better.