PSA - canine bloat, gvd, torsion

[MissAriel]

New here, and poking around I thought I would share my recent experience with bloat, torsion, gvd (gastric dilation and volvulus) in the hopes that it saves someone else the pain of our experience.

Our dog, Butter, was a 90lb 13 year old mixed breed with advanced arthritis. We knew she wasn’t going to live forever, but we were completely unprepared to lose her the way we did.

I came home from a ride one Sunday afternoon and everything seemed fine. Butter was napping in a sunny spot in the living room. I got myself a drink, let Butter out into the yard, went to take a shower. After the shower I got busy with house chores. It was maybe an hour after getting home that I looked out the back door to see Butter retching. I went out and she was in obvious distress. She was panting hard and her heart was racing and there were long ropes of foamy vomit hanging from her mouth. There were probably 20 small puddles of foamy vomit around the yard. I called the vet and rushed her to the emergency vet. By the time I arrived she couldn’t stand on her own. The vet brought out a gurney to bring her inside. It was already too late. 45 minutes had elapsed since I found her vomiting.

If you have a large, deep chested dog, please read the following to educate yourself on the symptoms and to help minimize the risks of gvd. While it isn’t always so sudden, quick intervention is key to recovery.
http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/01/25/gastric-dilatation-volvulus-or-twisted-stomach-in-pet-dogs.aspx

I am sad I couldn’t help her, but I thank God He sent me to look out the window when I did so I could be with her at the end.

When the time is right we will find another mutt to rescue

[To_the_MAX]

So sorry for your loss! What a horrible way to lose a pet.

I have two Great Danes, so I have made myself very familiar with bloat. Fortunately haven’t experienced it, and hope I never will, but as soon as our first Dane came home I made sure I was familiar with the signs. It’s so frustrating that they can’t really pin down a cause for it…there’s many theories and debates but not really anything concrete.

[arabhorse2]

My now ancient Dane (10 y/o) bloated with torsion at 2 y/o. I saw it happen at almost the first instant as I was watching her from the window. Got her to the emergency vet within the hour, and she was x-rayed and prepped for surgery by 2 hours in. The surgeon said her youth and my speed in getting her there were instrumental in her survival.

Anyone who owns a dog needs to read up on signs of bloat as even breeds not prone to it can get it, and time is critical.

Sorry you lost your old girl that way, OP. It’s a scary situation.

[MistyBlue]

Lost my beloved GSD to bloat last December. Sh*tty rotten thing, bloat. I knew about it and always kept an eye on my dogs for signs of it since I’ve always had large dogs. GSDs can also be prone although the more narrow dogs are even riskier. Danes are #1 for it unfortunately.
I saw the very first sign since I was in the room with my dog when he started looking distressed. Within 4 minutes we were on our way to the emergency vet. Made the normally 30 minute drive in less than 20, had called from the car and they were ready and waiting.
It wasn’t fixable. :no: Just the car ride there was…indescribable. He was in so much pain.
I still can’t put his toys away.

OP, so very sorry for your loss, it’s such a rough thing to go through.

Arabhorse2…10 is an awesome age for a Dane!

[Canaqua]

I’m so sorry for your loss.

And, thank you for the PSA! I have a random, 2 year old, mixed breed. I deeply regret not having a gastropexy done when she had her lap spay at 8 months. As she has become adult, she’s acquired a deep chest and narrow waist…the BC in her is obvious, but we don’t know what the rest is. Ugh. So we go with smaller meals and no rowdiness after eating, but I wish I’d had more of a clue at the time of the lap spay, as bloat, etc… is now a worry, based on her build.

[MistyBlue]

Canaqua…it’s tough when it’s a random mixed breed because you just don’t have any idea what size/shape they’ll end up being.
My niece got a Walker Coonhound from a rescue. He was a young pup, looked exactly as that breed should. He matured to 120+ lbs and taller than me on his hind legs.
I’ve had a buttload of “who knows” dogs in the past and they don’t always turn out how we think they will. Had a Malamute shoot past top Mal size/weight by 6 months. By 3 years he was more than double what he should have been.

[bits619]

Lost my childhood dog, a standard poodle, to bloat at ten or 11 years. It was horrible. I’m so sorry for your loss, op (and the others in this thread). I worry about it a ton with my weimaraner.

[CrowneDragon]

So sorry for your loss, but your PSA is a good one.
A friend had a lovely younger Great Dane. She woke them up one night vomiting and very uncomfortable. They decided to wait until the morning to see if she improved. She was in very bad shape by the time they took her in, and there was nothing to be done to save her at that point. They had no idea what bloat was, or that Danes are so predisposed.

Another friend’s poodle had the same issue a few years ago, except that she was a very experienced dog person, identified the problem immediately, and had him at the vet in very short order. He recovered quite uneventfully despite being a fairly old guy at the time.

Time is of the essence.

[Skeezix]

I had heard of it, but didn’t know a lot about it until we adopted a large approx 5 yo German Shep X from the SPCA. The woman there gave me information and told me what to feed. After reading about it I am so thankful she did

So very sorry for your loss

[paulaedwina]

Having had rhodesian ridgebacks for 15 years I was always aware of GDV risk. My dogs ate a high potency kibble that passed the swell test (some kibble positively double in size in moisture). I was able to therefore give small quantity meals. I also kept an eye on them.

No bloat thank goodness.

Paula

[MistyBlue]

Standard Poodles are also predisposed to it too. :no: Fantastic dogs!
It’s such a horrible thing to go through. Sometimes it’s just a gas bloat, but sometimes it’s a lot worse. At least if they operate and can repair it, they tack the stomach during the operation.
I’ve always had big dogs, but not all were predisposed to GDV. Mals aren’t prone to it, they’re barrel shaped and have ample interior room. Sometimes the big mastiffs can get it, but not as often as the more narrow breeds. Technically any dog can get it, but it’s not common for certain breeds.
I’ve read some studies that say it’s more common in purebreds than crosses and other studies that say crosses get it as often as purebreds. It seems to be somewhat like colic in horses…horrible and dangerous and common but still not enough known about it.
What bothered me a lot was that for years the advice for avoiding it in big dogs was to elevate their food bowls. Then that changed to do NOT elevate their bowls as that makes it worse.
Also…watch more closely when your dogs are on any sort of medication or if they have issues like skin infections or allergies…anything that makes them uncomfortable or worried. My GSD got it from being on an antibiotic that made him nauseous, despite the fact that the vet also gave me an anti-nausea medication also to avoid bloat. He got nauseous, tried to vomit so hard he flipped. Over his spleen.
Also canine personality has a lot to do with how well hey handle the operation, dogs that tend to get nervous or not do well recuperating aren’t always good candidates for surviving the period after the surgery. Just like with horses and colic surgery. :no:
It does seem to be more common in male dogs according to what I’ve read, but I’m also wondering if that’s because the big dogs really prone to it tend to get tacked during their spay if female as a preventative. Since they’re in the abdominal cavity anyway. And male dogs getting neutered aren’t having invasive surgery so fewer have the preventative tacking done.
After having gone through it, I’ll be having any future large dog tacked whether male or female. Because Lord knows I don’t EVER want to go through that again!

[Beethoven]

GD, GDV are just terrible. Any dog can get it, so I think all dog owners should be educated. Of course, there are breeds that are more predisposed than others. My surgery professor has done a GDV surgery on a dachshund, so really even the little ones can get it.

So sorry for your loss. I also lost one to GDV.

[wendy]

I’m always surprised so few people know about it, considering it’s the #3 cause of death of older dogs. ANY dog of any age, shape and size can get it, although obviously some breeds, and any older, large-breed male, are more predisposed to it.

Many cases seem to be related to stress, rather than to diet/eating- moving, boarding, bad weather, family strife, something stressful.

Eating meals of nothing but dry kibble increases the risk; feeding wet food, or adding chunks of meat or canned food to the kibble decreases the risk.

But sometimes/often there is no apparent precipitating factor.

[chism]

Our first Ridgeback had bloat when she was 12 years old. Luckily, we caught it quickly and surgery saved her life. The tough old girl lived another 3 years.

[SarahKing]

I work in an emergency hospital. Bloat is a nasty nasty thing. Thankfully the last one we saw was caught very early in an otherwise young health German Shepherd. This was one time when Dr. Google was correct! The brought him in straight away. He recovered beautifully with zero complications and the owners were beyond grateful.

[Beckham03]

I am so sorry for your loss. I work in an emergency clinic also and see it a lot. I am glad you were able to be with her.

[Justmyluck]

The PSA should be to pexy all deep chested breeds when they are spayed and neutered. Especially females you are already in the abdomen there is almost no reason not to do it.

[trubandloki]

So sorry for your loss.

[ThistleDewDressage]

I too worked as a tech in an emergency vet clinic, I have had two scares with my own pets, one had a reaction to his steroids, my boss had to meet me at the clinic at 2am, not bloat, but all the signs. The other was quite recent and my Rotti ate a huge amount of dog food at a horse show. His stomach was hugely swollen, he was very uncomfortable and so off we went to an emergency clinic an hour away that I had never been to. At the time I had no idea he had eaten all his food for the weekend. Thankfully he didn’t have a torsion and a good vomit later he was ok. I am grateful that I am aware of all the risks, but I do think it is tough on my nerves. Uhg, between the horses and the dogs, I will be grey long before my years call for it.

[SarahKing]

[QUOTE=Justmyluck;7247608]
The PSA should be to pexy all deep chested breeds when they are spayed and neutered. Especially females you are already in the abdomen there is almost no reason not to do it.[/QUOTE]

One of my instructors from tech school has Weims. The only two bloats she ever dealt with were her own dogs. When she posted about getting a female pup on Facebook, I asked if she was going to have her pexied when she got spayed and she deleted my comment!!