Gdv-bloat

[melree]

Our 6 month old little Aussie girl had surgery for bloat 10 days ago.

I cant believe it happened!

She was fine all day, had her dinner and seemed fine.

We had friends up for the weekend and sat outside to have dinner and a few drinks. At about 10 we went inside as it was getting chilly. About 11.30 I went to get in her in for the night and couldnt find her. Thought the little bugger had gone under the house after the cats again. I stood at the hole they come out of and still no sign of her. I moved around a bit further and spotted her under the steps to the deck. It was really strange that shse hadnt come when I called. I pulled her out and she just went straight back under. I dragged her out and took her inside, I checked her over and she wa shunched up. I checked her gums and was horrified. Thay were white!. The vet I work for share after hours with another clinic and, wouldnt you know it, it wasnt our week. We took of into town, half an hour away!. By the time we got there she was worse. The vet took one look at her and got her straight on a drip. He couldnt get a femoral pulse and her heart rate was 220!!! We took an xray and saw gassy loops of intestine. He sent for his own nurse and took her straight into theatre. As he suspected, she had twisted loops of dead bowel. About 2 feet was removed. We have been extremely lucky. She has bounced back so quickly. She is eating well and her motions are almost normal now. If I had not found her when I did, she would probably have died within hours. As it was she kept trying to hide while I was on the phone to the vet. I swear she was "going off to die"

We still have her on restricted diet but are almost back to normal now. We are so lucky and so grateful to the vet on call that night. We almost lost Tay that night.

This is the same pup that had colitis at 12 weeks. I wonder if there is any conection!

Has any one else had the misfortune to go through this?

[Pheebs]

Melree, glad to hear your little girl's ok - what an ordeal you must have all gone through...

Bloat is something i'm absolutely 100% paranoid about.

So much so, that it seems a lot of Weim owners/breeders overseas (not sure about here) are recommending preventative surgery in the form of stapling of some sort I believe...

[Pheebs]

http://www.kifka.com/Elektrik/BloatFirstAid.htm ;) :D DYI kit!

[Jesami]

This is my worst nightmare. I'm as paranoid about Bloat as Pheeble is. You are so lucky Tay pulled through and is recovering so well. Thank God you found her when you did but what a terrible night for you.

Do you mind if I ask what you fed her that night? Yet another person has told me I should have my dog (big and deep chested) on an all dry food diet and that I'm wasting time and effort on cooking meat and vegetables.

My instincts tell me that dry food and lots of water could bring on bloat so I'm very interest to know what you feed and also, how long had it been since she'd been excercised?

[Lablover]

Melree,

How terrible for you. Lucky you were up and about socialising so late at night.

I am so glad your Aussie is over the worst.

Hope to catch up with you soon.

Damm loved dogs are such a worry.

[melree]

I have always been paranoid about bloat too, but tended to worry more about my GSD than the others.

Tay has always been a slow eater. You basically had to remind her to keep eating, except on chicken carcass night lol. That night, she had had dry soaked in water. We live on a property with a house yard of about an acre. She had not been out in the paddocks for a run that day, just her usual mad romps with the other dogs around the garden. After dinner they tend to just settle down and we were outside so would have noticed if they had been playing after dinner.

I find it interesting that she was always such a poor eater before. She was actually not even 12 weeks when the bout of colitis hit. Since the surgery, she is the greediest pup, even stealing food off the bench!! I will always wonder if there was someting underlying from word go.

I advise people to get to know what is normal gum colour in your dog. That was my biggest giveaway that something was seriously wrong. Also check your dogs a few hours after eating. If I hadnt, we wouldnt have Tay today

[JD19]

So much so, that it seems a lot of Weim owners/breeders overseas (not sure about here) are recommending preventative surgery in the form of stapling of some sort I believe...

Tacking the stomach is becoming more common in the US. Especially after a dog has bloated. It is believed that once a dog bloats it is more prone to bloat again.

This site has some good info on bloat. Bloat

[Romanysky]

poor sweetie, glad she is ok

[dogdayz]

So sorry Melree.

Living with a weim, bloat is a constant worry, especially as i hae a weim with digestive problems. He was also rushed to a vet a couple of weeks ago with suspected bloat fortunately a false alarm.

Hope tay is fully recoverered very soon.

Dogdayz

[Guest magnum]

I know just how you feel, our GSD got bloat at 10 months of age lucky she only had to be tubed. We have put it down to the brand of dry food that she was on, we have now changed to Pedigree Advanced & she has never been better.

It took our girl a good 8 months to fully come back but we still keep a very close eye on her in hot weather.

Good luck

[FHRP]

You are the third person this week I have heard who's dog has recently bloated. I am glad you found her early and she survived. I lost my Spinone bitch nearly two years ago now when she bloated over night. It's a terrbile thing for a dog to go through and you can take all the advised precautions, but somethimes it will still happen ;)

[Rozzie]

Mel that's terrible. I am another paranoid GSD owner whe it comes to bloat.

I'm glad she's almost fully recovered.

[Bundyburger]

What is bloat? :D

[Pheebs]

In relation to weims (or ny other deep-chested breed, really - though no bree I feel is 100% safe):

Sourced from Dr. J.D. Jedwab January 2003

BVMS., BSc. Hons (Phys.)

B L O A T

A MAJOR PROBLEM IN THE WEIMARANER

Bloat or Gastric Dilatation and Volvulus is a common problem in the middle aged or older Weimaraner and has been more frequently seen in those that are nervous or highly strung .

Bloat is often seen to begin after a large meal or after a large drink, particularly after exercise. The dog often presents with the following symptoms ... hunched abdomen, drooling, restlessness, pacing, groaning and making attempts to vomit.

Internally the stomach is very distended and may have twisted. This prevents gas and food moving into the small bowel or being vomited back up. Significant changes in blood flow and shock soon set in and without treatment the dog soon dies in distress.

If there is to be a reasonable chance of survival

veterinary attention should be sought immediately.

The exact cause of Bloat is unknown but it is believed that it involves a problem with abnormal stomach motility. With a motility defect, food has a longer than normal stomach retention time leading to distension. Over time, repeated distension of the stomach leads to stretching of the ligaments which normally hold the stomach in place. If the ligaments are no longer able to stabilise the stomach, it is free to rotate when distended and this leads to Gastric Dilatation and Volvulus.

Treatment of the condition is very complicated and consists of several steps. These steps are decompression, shock management, surgical stabilisation and recovery. Treatment of each dog is undertaken on an individual basis and is dependent upon the response to the previous step.

Bloat

Decompression is managed by inserting a large bore hypodermic needle through the abdominal wall and into the stomach to relieve pressure. An intravenous drip is then started and fluids are administered at a rapid rate. Drugs to assist in controlling shock are then administered intravenously along with antibiotics and drugs to

assist with stomach motility. A sedative is given and a tube is passed down the throat and into the stomach to further relieve pressure and remove the stomach contents.

The dog is then assessed and if stable, is prepared for surgery. The decision to perform surgery immediately, has in our practice, led to more successful outcomes, when compared to waiting until the dog may be a little more stable. Surgery involves opening the abdomen and carefully examining the abdominal contents, particularly the position of the stomach and the spleen. The spleen is often very enlarged and its blood supply damaged. It is commonly removed, to facilitate repositioning of the stomach. The stomach wall is very carefully examined for signs of haemorrhage and is then repositioned if twisted.

To avoid future bouts of Bloat the outlet of the stomach is enlarged to allow easy passage of food into the intestine and the stomach is fixed into a normal position by suturing it to a rib. After surgery and for the next 24 to 72 hours the dog is carefully monitored for heart problems. It is common for dogs to die in this period from the effects of shock and cardiac arrhythmias (irregular heart rhythm). When the dog is able to drink and eat small meals, it is discharged.

The Weimaraner is one of the most common breeds to encounter Bloat and we have seen it in dogs as young as 20 months. Bearing in mind the stress and suffering to the dog and the relatively high mortality of the condition, we are now advocating that owners consider preventative surgery rather than waiting for Bloat to strike and then trying to treat it.

B l o a t

GASTROPEXY AS A PREVENTION

Preventative surgery has been extremely successful in eliminating future attacks of Bloat and can be done when the dog requires anaesthesia for other reasons such as neutering.

In the young dog there have been no ill effects reported following a Gastropexy and recovery from surgery has been routine.

The high occurrence of Bloat in the Weimaraner and the serious nature of this disease is causing more owners to take advantage of surgical prevention, rather than running the risk of Bloat in later life.

Dr. J.D. Jedwab January 2003

BVMS., BSc. Hons (Phys.) Copyright Reserved

HOW DO I AVOID BLOAT?

1 Preventative surgery, Gastropexy.

2 Feed at least two or more small meals per day.

3 Pre-soaking dry food before feeding it to your dog.

4 Do not allow your dog to drink large quantities of water immediately before, during or after exercising. Small volumes of water are quite alright, about a cupful or two at a time, or if the weather is very hot provide some ice.

5 Do not exercise immediately after feeding.

Remember 'Bloat' is best avoided,

but if it occurs urgent veterinary treatment is essential

to have a reasonable chance of survival.

[Bundyburger]

Thankyou :D

[Jesami]

Thanks melree - interesting that Tay had had dry food and water prior to the boat but I had heard that soaking the dry in water was supposed to diminish the possibility of a problem.

I guess you can do everything you're supposed to and still have a problem. As you said, the safest thing to do is check on them and at least know as early as possible if bloat happens.

Pheeble - thanks for all that useful information. The more you know, the better prepared you are in an emergency.

Does anyone know what a "hunched abdomen" would look like? Does that mean the dog would be hunched over or sort of curled up?

[pooka37]

i recently read that if you put the food dishes on the floor instead of elevating them it can help to prevent bloat.

[aatainc]

Pooka37 - I think it's the other way round actually.

I am thoroughly convinced that dry food and bloat go hand in hand.

Just think about it - the stomach twists because the ligaments are damaged which is caused by the stomach being weighed down repeatedly and weakened. A dog is not designed to have most of it's water intake in the form of drinking water. It's designed to have it in it's food form. so if we feed dry food - the dog has to drink SO much water to compensate for all that dryness - of course its stomach is going to be weighed down more heavily. If you feed fresh food or tinned food - all that extra water is not needed. Soaking the bisquits still means that the dog will have lots of water in his stomach so I think this would still likely cause bloat.

[Lablover]

I have been reading the recent studies from overseas regarding feeding dogs dry dog food and the pros and cons for elevating their food bowls.

Recent studies suggest not adding water and leaving their bowls on the ground.

http://www.vet.purdue.edu/epi/update2.htm

[Guest cloverfdch]

Oh Melree i am so glad to hear you got to the Vets in time. I am also paranoid about bloat and always keep a close eye on the kids after they have eaten.