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Bloat - What Makes Dog's Burp


BJean
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My nearly 15 y.o. Lab had tieback surgery for Laryngeal Paralysis nearly 3 weeks ago, 2 days later he was looking poorly so I took him back to the clinic that performed the surgery, although didn't see the surgeon. The vet thought he was just stressed from the surgery so gave him an anti-inflam injection and a mild sedative. Once the sedative wore off he got worse so ended up at the emergency clinic who also thought his symptoms related to his surgery. After 2 nights and 1 day at the emergency clinic they still had no understanding of what was wrong with him and he was still not a happy camper. They released him to me on the Monday morning to take him back to my vet where I got to see the surgeon. The surgeon checked the notes from the emergency clinic and noted that in the wee hours of Sunday morning they had put a tube down his throat to release the gas in his stomach. My vet concluded that he had bloated and that this was the cause of all his problems, not the surgery at all. Although it was possibly the stress of the surgery that started the process.

Having just watched that video of the Akita bloating it is exactly what my old boy was doing. I have never had any experience with bloat before but I cannot believe that either the vet I saw at my clinic and the vets at the emergency clinic did not make the connection. They all just focused on the fact that he had had surgery 2 days earlier and didn't look any further. At least they had the sense to release the gas from his stomach which is probably what saved his life.

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A pexy will not necessarily prevent a dog from bloating and torsioning and if you have one done, you cannot be complacent re the signs of bloat.

A dog with a pexy can still bloat and if bad enough, will still torsion. In those circumstances, the torsion can rip the tacks away. The spleen can also torsion.

I am of the view it is next to impossible to measure if a pexy has prevented a dog from bloating and torsioning given that the dog in question may never have bloated/ torsioned anyway.

I chose to have one done because there was some bloat in my dog's lines. I see it as buying me extra time to get to a vet and am still on the watch for signs of bloat and observe some basic things like not exercising around an hour either side of meals, not allowing large drinks of water after exercise and avoiding too much stress.

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My nearly 15 y.o. Lab had tieback surgery for Laryngeal Paralysis nearly 3 weeks ago, 2 days later he was looking poorly so I took him back to the clinic that performed the surgery, although didn't see the surgeon. The vet thought he was just stressed from the surgery so gave him an anti-inflam injection and a mild sedative. Once the sedative wore off he got worse so ended up at the emergency clinic who also thought his symptoms related to his surgery. After 2 nights and 1 day at the emergency clinic they still had no understanding of what was wrong with him and he was still not a happy camper. They released him to me on the Monday morning to take him back to my vet where I got to see the surgeon. The surgeon checked the notes from the emergency clinic and noted that in the wee hours of Sunday morning they had put a tube down his throat to release the gas in his stomach. My vet concluded that he had bloated and that this was the cause of all his problems, not the surgery at all. Although it was possibly the stress of the surgery that started the process.

Having just watched that video of the Akita bloating it is exactly what my old boy was doing. I have never had any experience with bloat before but I cannot believe that either the vet I saw at my clinic and the vets at the emergency clinic did not make the connection. They all just focused on the fact that he had had surgery 2 days earlier and didn't look any further. At least they had the sense to release the gas from his stomach which is probably what saved his life.

When I realised what was happening to my boy I rang the vet and explained to her that he was a big, deep-chested, 9yr old male GSD, gave her his symptoms and the situation was urgent. It was a/hrs, so with OH driving (speeding :o ) we arrived at the surgery only to have to wait 'another' 20 minutes until the vet finally arrived. She was not convinced until AFTER she x-rayed him - she then needed assistance with the surgery so my regular vet was finally called. Even though he also did a bit of low-flying to get in asap it was all too late and the damage was already done :cry:

After thinking about what happened that night I did go back to the vets and spoke to the practise manager regarding the young vet who attended my boy - not to complain, but to suggest that she does not have the experience or confidence to handle a/hr emergencies on her own without any supervision.

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Im so sorry gsdog2 :(:cry:

After eating, if a dog is going to bloat how soon after would it start happening? Is there a general time frame? Thanks very much

Within an hour of eating he was showing the first symptoms - restlessness (pacing)

Edited by gsdog2
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Im so sorry gsdog2 :(:cry:

After eating, if a dog is going to bloat how soon after would it start happening? Is there a general time frame? Thanks very much

Within an hour of eating he was showing the first symptoms - restlessness (pacing)

Hindsight is a wonderful thing though - initially I thought he was just restless. I had no idea what was happening to him until he became more restless (unable to lay down) and gagging. The trigger for me was feeling his abdomen (it didn't look enlarged) and it was tight - that's when my world caved in and I knew he was in trouble :cry:

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Im so sorry gsdog2 :(:cry:

After eating, if a dog is going to bloat how soon after would it start happening? Is there a general time frame? Thanks very much

Within an hour of eating he was showing the first symptoms - restlessness (pacing)

Hindsight is a wonderful thing though - initially I thought he was just restless. I had no idea what was happening to him until he became more restless (unable to lay down) and gagging. The trigger for me was feeling his abdomen (it didn't look enlarged) and it was tight - that's when my world caved in and I knew he was in trouble :cry:

Again im so sorry :(:cry:

I am paranoid abt bloat, esp in summer when Troyboy is hot, i try to wait sometimes till 8 30-9pm for his dinner when i am sure he has cooled off enough to eat. Even then i keep checking on him for a few hrs just to check he doesnt seem distressed. He has a HUGE deep chest so i worry all the time.

So the tummy feels tight and if you tap on it if feels hollow? Sorry to ask, its just the only things i know to look for are pacing, heavy panting and bloated out tummy

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Im so sorry gsdog2 :(:cry:

After eating, if a dog is going to bloat how soon after would it start happening? Is there a general time frame? Thanks very much

Within an hour of eating he was showing the first symptoms - restlessness (pacing)

Hindsight is a wonderful thing though - initially I thought he was just restless. I had no idea what was happening to him until he became more restless (unable to lay down) and gagging. The trigger for me was feeling his abdomen (it didn't look enlarged) and it was tight - that's when my world caved in and I knew he was in trouble :cry:

Again im so sorry :(:cry:

I am paranoid abt bloat, esp in summer when Troyboy is hot, i try to wait sometimes till 8 30-9pm for his dinner when i am sure he has cooled off enough to eat. Even then i keep checking on him for a few hrs just to check he doesnt seem distressed. He has a HUGE deep chest so i worry all the time.

So the tummy feels tight and if you tap on it if feels hollow? Sorry to ask, its just the only things i know to look for are pacing, heavy panting and bloated out tummy

When you feel the tightness in the abdomen you'll know it's time for the vet. It's something you need to be aware of with a deep-chested dog, but as I'm finding with my other two dogs I can't keep revisiting what happened and wonder what I could have done differently - it's only going to cause you a lot of stress.

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Glad all is OK Lilli.....I was going to post earlier. I have been down the same road with 2 of my bitches.

1am is late for feeding? I try to avoid feeding after 2pm.... I don't want a gas build up & a tummy full of food o'nite.

Not so late for mine, my dogs are usually fed morning and night, night is usually between 9pm and 11pm :o

I am quite convinced, more than anything else, that a dog must have a genetic predisposition to bloat for GDV to occur.

Once there is genetic predisposition, then instigating factors like diet, immune, and environmental conditions come into play.

Very true Lilli....my girls were mother & daughter. They bloated at 9yrs then daughter at 9yrs & 11yrs. The gastropexy saved the daughter the second time around, the stomach was unable to twist. Vets I have spoken to say age is also a factor in the predisposed breeds.

My current bitch will have a gastropexy when she is speyed next year. :)

I think it is best to look at it from a lineage perspective.

For example, I can say Anatolians in Australia are not prone to bloat, but what I am really saying is that the current lineages of Anatolians in Australia are not prone to bloat. imo the problem is that bloat is attributed to general breeds, and so people think its a 'deep chested' problem, when really most dogs are deep chested by proportion anyway. It is because most dogs in Australia are not pedigree, that familial link is not more often attributed.

Edited by lilli
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If you have a Breed Prone to Bloat, print this out: http://www.greatdanerescue.com.au/Bloat%20Chart.pdf and stick it to your fridge with the phone number and address of your emergency vet and call and make sure before an emergency happens that your Vets can and know how to deal with an emergency case of Bloat / Torsion.

Unfortunately even that doesn't work - my vet (who owns in partnership a business that has three different surgeries and employs a number of vets) can more than handle an emergency GDV, unfortunately the vet on call that night wasn't so capable (how was I to know :confused: ). My only other option was to drive an hour to the emergency a/hrs hospital in Brisbane,which under the circumstances was not an option. Sadly I knew the signs and I feel I got him there as soon as possible, in fact my husband thought I was crazy to be so stressed when to him our boy didn't look that bad :(

ETA I'm sorry to be so negative, as you can probably tell I'm still struggling to come to terms with the sudden loss of my boy :cry:

Edited by gsdog2
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I'm terrified of bloat :(

If Mosley even looks a little bloated I'm on the floor listeing to his stomach, tapping his belly to see if it sounds hollow....I'm a bit over the top :o but only because it can happen so quickly.

So glad your boy is ok lilli :)

If Mosley is an Anatolian (and I think he is from memory :o)

then I doubt he will suffer from bloat :)

The genetic predisposition for bloat in Australian Anatolians in extremely low.

I have not heard of an Anatolian dying or suffering from bloat in Australia for many years. There is no known incidence between myself and other breeders in more than a decade.

Yes he is :) I didn't know that lilli, you've eased my mind, thank you! :)

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gsdog2 - that is so awful to hear :(

I remember when I took my GSD into the emergency vet some yuppie couple was there with their guinea pig who hadn't eaten for two days and they were seen to before my dog :mad

actually I am still surprised at how slow the vet staff were

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Not to detract from your GSD Vehs, and you quite possibly should have been seen at the same time, but a guinea pig not eating for 2 days is pretty serious - they get ileus, gut stasis which can kill them.

GDV is one of my biggest worries with my boy, Louie. He has a really deep chest, and I'm constantly on the lookout for any signs of bloat.

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Corrie - he was special .. :) he was an honest dog and an open, loving dog....and I think of him still every day ,7 years on.

Im the same with our last ridgy girl Miekah :angel: who we lost about 6 years ago to GDV.

I felt guilty for so long afterwards as I had no knowledge of bloat or its symptoms....By the time our girl had vet attention, it was far too late to save her. The fact that she only had one foreleg was not in her favour for recovery, so we let our girl go.

When we got our 2nd ridgy I was paranoid to the point of becoming such an anxious idiot about something that may never happen!! Each time she ate grass, or behaved in an unusual manner I was convinced she had bloat....Anyway over the 5 years shes been with us Ive chilled about her getting bloat - I dont believe there is any one thing that causes it, and if it is going to happen, it will happen no matter what! I am aware and sensible about feeding & exercising, but try not to be too manic about it. I am also an hour away from a decent vet, so I do need to be observant!

I feel for everyone here that has lost a dog to bloat - its a very hard thing to deal with :grouphug:

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LOL don't worry FlickMac I was prepared for that response

I could just see this couple were drama queens with more money than sense (because emergency vet fees are not reasonable) anyway he pulled through, thank god so I'm less angry about it now

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