Bloat. Has Your Dog Bloated?

[labsrule]

My lab boyThomas who will be 14 tomorrow and who I adopted 4 years ago, bloated whilst he was a sniffer dog in the Police Force and he had a gastropexy and was saved and he was retired after this. Obviously, I don't have any history on him, but he has an issue with drinking copious amounts of water and I have to monitor and limit his water intake and I had my vet refer me to a Vet specialist as I was concerned about his drinking habit. He conducted numerous tests on Thomas to rule out any medical conditions and concluded that it was psychological rather than medical, as he had seen this in working dogs before.

What I would like to know from the owners whose dogs have suffered bloat and had a gastropexy, do you feed bones of any description, as I was told from the outset no bones of any description for Thomas.

[Miranda]

What breed?

Gordon Setter x 2

How old was the dog?

1. 13 2. 12 1/2

Was there a familial component?

No in both cases

What was the dog being fed? Need some detail of what exactly - if dry food, which one, if raw, what it was

Pal Meaty Bites Working Dog Formula and raw beef mince in both cases

How often was he fed? Once daily or more?

Once a day in both cases

Was his bowl elevated, or on the ground?

On the ground in both cases

What was he doing when he bloated? (ie, at a show, at home, playing, at home alone)

1. I'd been out and when I got home he was asleep on the bed. He got up to greet me and a couple of minutes later started trying to vomit.

2. I was overseas and dog was being minded by a friend at her house. She got up in the morning and he wouldn't come out of his crate.

Has he bloated more than once?

No in both cases

Has he had a gastrowhatsit? LOL (too lazy to look it up, but you'll know )

No in both cases

Did he ever bloat after that?

Both dogs died

Did the dog also suffer GDV

Yes in both cases

Did it have surgery?

1. No, he was 13 and in a lot of pain. I chose euthanasia over surgery.

2. Yes, my friend rushed him to the vet, he died during the night following the surgery, probably from a blood clot.

What was done to relieve the bloat?

As above

Edited March 28, 2010 by Miranda

[RottnBullies]

What breed? Dobermann

How old was the dog? 11yrs Female

Was there a familial component? Don't Know

What was the dog being fed? Need some detail of what exactly - if dry food, which one, if raw, what it was Dry Eukanuba

How often was he fed? Once daily or more? Twice Daily

Was his bowl elevated, or on the ground? No, not elavated at the time

What was he doing when he bloated? (ie, at a show, at home, playing, at home alone) In the backyard no doubt chasing lizards, It was a habitual pastime with her

Has he bloated more than once? No

Has he had a gastrowhatsit? No

Did he ever bloat after that? No

Did the dog also suffer GDV No

Did it have surgery? No

What was done to relieve the bloat? Tubed

[BJean]

My lab boyThomas who will be 14 tomorrow and who I adopted 4 years ago, bloated whilst he was a sniffer dog in the Police Force and he had a gastropexy and was saved and he was retired after this. Obviously, I don't have any history on him, but he has an issue with drinking copious amounts of water and I have to monitor and limit his water intake and I had my vet refer me to a Vet specialist as I was concerned about his drinking habit. He conducted numerous tests on Thomas to rule out any medical conditions and concluded that it was psychological rather than medical, as he had seen this in working dogs before.

What I would like to know from the owners whose dogs have suffered bloat and had a gastropexy, do you feed bones of any description, as I was told from the outset no bones of any description for Thomas.

As an observation, dog's water intake is a lot higher on dry food or commercial food

than it is with raw meaty bones.

What do you feed Thomas?

[BJean]

I think like a lot of other people with large, deep chested breeds that this is one of my worst fears.

Many thanks to those people who have shared information, even though they have lost their dogs. I cannot help to think that by sharing you must be reliving the pain.

From the respondants so far, bloat doesn' t seem to be confined to large, deep chested breeds.

Although perhaps large, deep chested breeds are more predisposed to the problems with dry / commercial feed than smaller breeds?

I have two puppy buyers waiting for Anatolian pups, both have previously had danes, one has lost two danes to bloat and another has lost one dane to bloat. I can pretty much guarantee - that given a raw meaty bone diet - their Anatolian wont die of bloat before other more high risk factors.

If commercial dry food causes more gas, more end product; is metabolised faster,

then to me all that dense 'protein, essential amino-acid nutrient enriched food', is asking too much of the dogs metabolic system, and in some dogs this is what is giving out.

Sorry Jed am brainstorming in your thread, will shutup now

Edited March 28, 2010 by lilli

[toughgirl27]

This is a really interesting thread. I've seen a few at work, but couldnt give a lot of details about their history unfortunately. I've seen a bloated OES, BC x, Min Poodle and a few mini Dachshunds.

Must say too, after reading the results so far, I'm glad I had a prophylactic pexy done when Porp was desexed

Hey Stormie,

I've seen a few dogs bloat at work also. Breeds involved were- Irish Wolfound old (died overnight), Dalmation old (died overnight),

German Shepherd old (got her to the vet, she had an operation and recovered )

Great Dane (got her to vet in time, had op and recovered ) Overweight Dacshund old (got him to the vet, had op, and survived )

Germah Shepherd x Malamute (got him to vet in time, had op and recovered, also had stomach stitched to intestinal wall to prevent future occurance of bloat)

Neopolitan Mastiff old (died overnight), Boxer old (died overnight)

In all of these instances the dogs ate mainly dry food some was our food, some had own dry food supplied.

All the dogs had constant access to drinking water. And all staff made sure they didn't exercise 30mins b4 or 30mins after meals.

Due to their different feeding requirements some dogs had 1,2,or 3 meals a day.

Any dog we suspected of having bloat - gagging without vomiting, stomach looking like a large barrel, stomach tight when you touched it,

dog unable to stand or walk, visibly in pain. We would rush off to the vet without hestitation.

But despite our best efforts some dogs didn't survive. Mainly if they had bloated overnight.

Bloat is definately a shocking, heart breaking thing to see and for any dog to have to go through.

To all on this forum who have lost their dog due to bloat I really feel for you and can empathize

with you. I'm so sorry for your loss.

Especially as bloat seems to have no one apparent cause.

XXToughgirlXxxxx

[Bullbreedlover]

I would like to find out more about bloat. Read the scientific papers, read the theories, now am looking for some hands on. If your dog has bloated, I would be very grateful if you could answer some questions about it.

If I get a few replies,I'll post the results here. And maybe we'll all learn a little

What breed?

British Bulldog

How old was the dog?

5 months old

Was there a familial component?

No

What was the dog being fed? Need some detail of what exactly - if dry food, which one, if raw, what it was

Soaked dry puppy food, sorry I cant remember which brand, I think it may of been Eukanuba

How often was he fed? Once daily or more?

Twice daily

Was his bowl elevated, or on the ground?

On the ground(only a 5 month old baby)

What was he doing when he bloated? (ie, at a show, at home, playing, at home alone)

We had just given the dogs water

(They were fed an hour before hand with no exercise after food)

Has he bloated more than once?

1st time.

He did not survive

Died at the vets

Has he had a gastrowhatsit? LOL (too lazy to look it up, but you'll know )

No

Did he ever bloat after that?

No

Did the dog also suffer GDV

No

Did it have surgery?

No

What was done to relieve the bloat?

Unsure, sorry havent been much help, very stressfull time.

Autopsy was done. Blood vessel to his intestine had died. Immense swelling

I might think of more questions later, but this about covers what I would like to know.

[fifi]

Labsrule, we fed no bones to the dogs of ours who had suffered bloat or GDV, and they were put on small & frequent meals for some time.

futuredogtrainer, you are very right, it's one thing to type the event notes, it's another to remember the shock, and tragic losses :-((( I had tears in my eye's just trying to keep my post clinical.

fifi

[toughgirl27]

Also I don't think Bloat is confined to just large, deep chested breeds of dog. I once heard of a maltese that bloated!

[labsrule]

My lab boyThomas who will be 14 tomorrow and who I adopted 4 years ago, bloated whilst he was a sniffer dog in the Police Force and he had a gastropexy and was saved and he was retired after this. Obviously, I don't have any history on him, but he has an issue with drinking copious amounts of water and I have to monitor and limit his water intake and I had my vet refer me to a Vet specialist as I was concerned about his drinking habit. He conducted numerous tests on Thomas to rule out any medical conditions and concluded that it was psychological rather than medical, as he had seen this in working dogs before.

What I would like to know from the owners whose dogs have suffered bloat and had a gastropexy, do you feed bones of any description, as I was told from the outset no bones of any description for Thomas.

As an observation, dog's water intake is a lot higher on dry food or commercial food

than it is with raw meaty bones.

What do you feed Thomas?

He is fed a variety of Nutro dry (weight management), combination of finely grated and mashed raw and cooked veges, sardines, raw kangaroo meat, raw human grade mince, raw chopped up chicken breast or other pieces of chicken that I may cut off a whole chicken, minus the bone of course. I also add whole eggs, yoghurt and cottage cheese at various times. I also give him raw Salmon heads as a treat, even though they have bone, it is a very soft bone and he loves these as it gives him a chance to work that jaw of his :D

My other labs normal diets are normally 60-70% RMB and 30-40% dry and I have at times changed them over to 100% dry (weight management) and veges if they need to go on a diet for few weeks and when any of them are on the dry and veges none of them have ever drunk anywhere near the excessive amounts of water that Thomas drinks. As the buckets of water are just outside the family room on the patio I can hear him sipping away and I always monitor his drinking before and after walks and before and after meals. Obviously I cannot monitor his drinking if I am out, but I just make sure the water buckets are full and during the summer make sure one of the clam pools if full as well as I also have a 6mth lab pup who likes to dig in the water buckets Sometimes Thomas would drink continuously if I let him and some of the pees he has seem to go on forever But hey he is 14 tomorrrow and in pretty good condition, so despite his bloat and drinking issue, he is doing remarkably well

[fifi]

Regarding the commercial food component; one of the dogs who bloated was on a raw / prey model diet.

The issue I have with just a raw food diet, I cannot keep enough condition on my dogs without adding some quality kibble. It's also a supply issue, only periodically is there a high enough volume of supply to feed totally raw, so I end up using kibble as a filler for one of their meals to maintain consisitency.

fifi

[Poodle Mum]

What breed? Std Poodle

How old was the dog? 8yrsWas there a familial component? Poss. on sires side

What was the dog being fed? Need some detail of what exactly - if dry food, which one, if raw, what it was Dry....Eukanuba/Science Diet & Raw Bones

How often was he fed? Once daily or more? 1-2 dailyWas his bowl elevated, or on the ground? On ground

What was he doing when he bloated? (ie, at a show, at home, playing, at home alone) At home, the nite before bloat she managed to gorge herself on bones meant for 3 dogs that were marginally past there use by nite. Was also fed the bones 4pm ( usually fed bones bones in the morning)

Has he bloated more than once? No

Has he had a gastrowhatsit? LOL (too lazy to look it up, but you'll know ) Yes, she had a gastopexy

Did he ever bloat after that? No

Did the dog also suffer GDV? Yes

Did it have surgery? YesWhat was done to relieve the bloat? Emergency surgery to decompress the stomach as a tube was unable to be passed!

[BJean]

Regarding the commercial food component; one of the dogs who bloated was on a raw / prey model diet.

The issue I have with just a raw food diet, I cannot keep enough condition on my dogs without adding some quality kibble. It's also a supply issue, only periodically is there a high enough volume of supply to feed totally raw, so I end up using kibble as a filler for one of their meals to maintain consisitency.

fifi

I feel if the dog has raw bones it can eat and doesn't consume them, then its body doesn't need it.

When I want to bulk up one of my dogs, I will add some dry food, and yes it bulks them up. But then I think is that really healthy for the dog?

A dog may get quite thin, but it wont starve only on raw food; one of my girls will only eat what she has to from raw but will eat heaps of dry food (lol like me with vegies and chocolate ))

I know that it takes 5 minutes to eat a dry food + additive mix

and 40 mintues to work their way through shanks, necks and marrow.

One of my girls who spent the summer quite thin by most pet standards, I've noticed has developed a lot more muscle in her rear, and where she was slightly cow hocked, she is now parallel; her weakness only now apparent when she moves away in a straight line.

So the raw food and light body condition did her no detriment; quite the contary.

She had plenty to eat, she just would not eat it. If I fed her dry food + appetising additive

she wouldn't have dropped any weight, but then she'd be eating more than her needs and in excess of what her system required.

Aye if only I could apply the same ethos to my eating habits

Edited March 28, 2010 by lilli

[~Myschafis~]

What breed?

Siberian Husky

How old was the dog?

Under 12 months (both times)

Was there a familial component?

Not that I am aware of

What was the dog being fed? Need some detail of what exactly - if dry food, which one, if raw, what it was

Dry Food - Supercoat

How often was he fed? Once daily or more?

Twice daily

Was his bowl elevated, or on the ground?

On the Ground

What was he doing when he bloated? (ie, at a show, at home, playing, at home alone)

Home

Has he bloated more than once?

Twice

Has he had a gastrowhatsit? LOL (too lazy to look it up, but you'll know )

No

Did he ever bloat after that?

Did the dog also suffer GDV

No

Did it have surgery?

No

What was done to relieve the bloat?

Stretched her out and consistently rubbed her stomach...

After that point we turned the bowl upside down and fed her in the cracks on the underside of the bowl to prevent her scoffing food.

After 12 months of age she settled and it hasn't happened again

Edited March 28, 2010 by ~Myschafis~

[Poodle Mum]

What breed? Std Poodle

How old was the dog? 9yrs

Was there a familial component? Mother....see above

What was the dog being fed? Need some detail of what exactly - if dry food, which one, if raw, what it was Dry....Eukanuba/Science Diet

How often was he fed? Once daily or more? 1-2 dailyWas his bowl elevated, or on the ground? On ground

What was he doing when he bloated? (ie, at a show, at home, playing, at home alone) We had only been home for 2 days. Prior we had been away for 10days. Whislt away she was attacked by another dog I was minding. She then refused to leave the house for the petsitter in the presence of the other dog. ( Stress played a factor I believe)

Has he bloated more than once? No

Has he had a gastrowhatsit? LOL (too lazy to look it up, but you'll know ) Yes, she had a gastopexy

Did he ever bloat after that? No

Did the dog also suffer GDV? Yes

Did it have surgery? YesWhat was done to relieve the bloat? Surgery to decompress the stomach as a tube was unable to be passed!......even though I had been at the vet surgery for 45mins!!!!!!

Needless to say that word.....Bloat.... is a scary & very expensive word here.

[fifi]

Lilli, no - it wasn't just lack of 'padding', they were getting too thin, and losing muscle tone. We just don't have a reliable enough supply / volume in our tiny town for the sole feeding of raw.

I always freeze & stock up when a local farmer kills some steers or sheep, and they know where to bring all the bits !!!!

fifi

[BJean]

Lilli, no - it wasn't just lack of 'padding', they were getting too thin, and losing muscle tone. We just don't have a reliable enough supply / volume in our tiny town for the sole feeding of raw.

I always freeze & stock up when a local farmer kills some steers or sheep, and they know where to bring all the bits !!!!

fifi

okay

[Danois]

Jed - perfect timing for this thread for me - I was switching between pexy on desexing or not.

There is bloat in his lines - his mother bloated and survived.

Edited March 28, 2010 by Danois

[newfsie]

My worst nightmare............So far I have been lucky. I have dealt with some bloat emergencies in a friend Irish wolfhound. And I made sure i know how to tube, years of practice with poddy calf feeding has come in handy.

I have done a lot of reading too and been to several work-shops and even one conference in the USA. A lot of vets, especially the older generation will tell you that it has become more prevalent, since commercial dog food has taken over. this is not saying no commercial food will mean no bloat, but there is a definite reduction. This was heavily discussed at the Conference.

We can only do our best and remain vigilant. So sad to see so many losses, I am so sorry for those who lost a dog to this dreadful bloat.............

[fifi]

I have done a lot of reading too and been to several work-shops and even one conference in the USA. A lot of vets, especially the older generation will tell you that it has become more prevalent, since commercial dog food has taken over. this is not saying no commercial food will mean no bloat, but there is a definite reduction. This was heavily discussed at the Conference.

We can only do our best and remain vigilant. So sad to see so many losses, I am so sorry for those who lost a dog to this dreadful bloat.............

I have to agree there with you Newfsie, my mum had Great Danes in the 60's & 70's, luckily she had no bloat or GDV, in fact in the 60's she hadn't heard of it. Wasn't until the late 70's that we began to become aware of bloat.

fifi