Could It Be Bloat? Urgent Please.

[OSoSwift]

My dog was fed from an elevated bowl and an non-elevated bowl and got it three times. Once was from eating dry lupins though so that one doesn't count! Sometime you do everything "right" and it still happens please tell your husband not to feel guilty, it sometimes just happens because it does.

It's hard as he blames himself for not doing it and I felt it was my fault as I didn't let him know and I'm the one that usually fed Silas

Honestly it may have had nothing to do with it. I know the what if's get you.

[corvus]

I get the "I want to talk about it" thing. I don't get the "what should I do" thing. E vets cost an arm and a leg, but my dogs cost a great big piece of my heart. Bloat is terrifyingly dangerous to me, as is dogs ingesting things that are known to be very toxic to them. I've had scary moments where I have been very close to rushing one of the boys to the vet. In the end, though, me and OH are the ones in the best position to make that decision. Doesn't mean we don't want reassurance, but we have each other. I get it.

Do people or don't people want a sticky "emergency situations and things to look for" post to help them make the decision? By all means talk about it as well, but maybe for reference?

[moosepup]

Are we going to have a sticky for every possible health emergency? I'm happy for people to ask for help/advice on a case by case basis. It might just save a dogs life if an unsure/scared owner posts and is advised to go to the vet.

[bedazzledx2]

I think its a good idea. Not everything is an emergency but if you think bloat, blockage, snake bite...just off the top of my head. Others will think of more but when you are panicking it would be a good place to start.

I get the "I want to talk about it" thing. I don't get the "what should I do" thing. E vets cost an arm and a leg, but my dogs cost a great big piece of my heart. Bloat is terrifyingly dangerous to me, as is dogs ingesting things that are known to be very toxic to them. I've had scary moments where I have been very close to rushing one of the boys to the vet. In the end, though, me and OH are the ones in the best position to make that decision. Doesn't mean we don't want reassurance, but we have each other. I get it.

Do people or don't people want a sticky "emergency situations and things to look for" post to help them make the decision? By all means talk about it as well, but maybe for reference?

[corvus]

There are a few things I can think of that it would be good to have a quick reference for. In addition to bedazzled's suggestions, maybe heat stroke, common poisons, maybe signs of kidney stress and just general things to look for that should be considered warning bells. Chocolate toxicity comes up a lot as well, and may or may warrant a trip to the vets depending on how much and what kind was eaten.

We ended up hunting around on the internet for information on how to help a choking dog because of Erik's propensity to try to swallow huge chunks of bone whole. The information is not easy to come by. Eventually I came across a link to someone showing how to do it on YouTube. OH has seen it, too, and I feel better knowing we have at least a vague idea what to do if that ever happens.