BLOAT in dogs

[lindamarie]

After reading one of our threads, bloat was mentioned.

I always thought the Weimaraner was the dog most prone to bloat as I had a Weimaraner/Lab die if it.....and my niece had 2 Weimaraners die of it.
Deepnite mentioned that poodles are also prone to it!

I quickly googled BLOAT and began to read so many articles, that I found it difficult to select one that could meet the needs of us all understanding this in our doodles.
What I would like to do is outline what I have found, by memory, that might help all of us.

-First, it is a devastating and fatal illness that comes on quickly and the dog must have emergency treatment by a vet IMMEDIATELY.

- Most larger, deep chested dogs are more prone to it.....especially males.

-It is caused by a variety of things such as eating too quickly, too much, drinking large amounts of water before or after. Actually, it is recommended that water be removed from the eating area while the dog eats.

-Different sites recommend different amounts of time before exercise and eating and after eating and exercise. It appears a dog shouldn't eat for 1 hr. after exercise and 2-3 hrs after eating before exercising.

- One site suggests, depending on the size of the dog, one teaspoon to one tablespoon of yogurt mixed in with the dogs food once a day. It must be plain yogurt that is high in the good bacteria and no artificial sweeteners. Another site recommends chamomile tea.....1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon mixed in the dogs food. What we are trying to do here is control the gas build up that leads to bloat.

- Spread the meals out. Do not feed just one large amount a day.

-Know the symptoms such as dry heaves, panting, distended belly that hurts to touch and the dog may be trying to scratch the belly.

- Don't think you can handle this yourself. Know a place you can take your dog IMMEDIATELY at any time of day or night 7 days a week.

It is now that I lament my sweet Toby. Although I knew of bloat through my nieces dogs, it didn't hit me until I saw his enlarged stomach and he had also gone into the back bushes to die......he never went there before. We did get him to the vet ASAP and they turned the stomach. But, he was 15 and the stomach flipped back. The surgery alone would have killed him, so we had to let him go.

Finally, I would highly recommend that you, yourself, google bloat. I want to thank deepnite for mentioning poodles. I had no idea.
My search has already inspired me to make some changes with Bogart.
As deepnite said, he's not trying to alarm anyone. But it seriously would behoove you to know what to do and what to watch out for.......I never want to lose a dog to bloat again.

[deepnite10]

want to add to the information LindaMarie is offering..

do believe that bloat is almost fatal.. and we are the only ones that can respond to their rescue should should something happen..this is not a disease that can be past from dog to dog, human to dog..know that
our doodle are part poodle..in particular our F1B a who are 3/4 s poodle..

we can take measures to help keep bloat from occuring..LindaMarie has mention d many..another is diet..

don t feed your doodles foods with alot of carbohydrates..instead, a food with atleast 30% protein..and replacing carbs with fat for energy..

i don t pretend to know much about bloat..mostly what i ve learn d is information available on the web. and a class im now taking..

we know the seriousness of parvo and bloat is just as deadly..

[lindamarie]

YES! Bloat IS fatal and very, very painful for the dog! I won't even go into detail of what I saw my Toby go through as it makes me want to cry. But, we did get him to the vet ASAP when we saw what was happening. He may have survived if he was younger.....but they said he most likely would never make it through the surgery at 15. So........
I don't even know if you have a good hour to get the dog to ER......because sometimes, by the time WE notice it, it may already be too late.
It's a HORRIBLE subject and puts fear in all of us. But, we must know about it!

[LabyLabradoodle]

They say that chances of being bloated increases when your dog is drinking on a large bowl. Is this true?

[lindamarie]

Hmmm.....never heard that.

[deepnite10]

it can be a cause of alarm..a large bowl can encourage a dog to gulp too much water as well as air..this would inflate the stomach and increase the chance of twisting..