[Josh]

BLOAT and why this is so important you understand the symptoms

I hope this article helps the reader in some way and the real reason I am writing this is because my Douge de Bordeaux puppy nearly died from bloat. His story is quite sad - starting from when I rescued him aged 7 months old.

At that time, he suffered from a spinal injury. He was a pitiful sight, dragging himself around only on his front two legs and his only future was simply being put to sleep. Knowing that my invention - the Dogaids mobility harness was going to help him slowly regain muscle and walk again, I decided to adopt him.

Over the first few months he already started showing signs of improvement and after eight months or so he was walking without the aid of the Dogaids harness. He was coming to all the shows, exhibitions, and everyone loved him. Most of all, I loved him.

It was around this time, one evening, I gazed upon him sitting in the garden, all miserable and an extremely full belly. I cursed him quietly a few times and smiled to myself thinking that somehow he’d managed to get into his food cupboard and helped himself to the food bag.

I saw him again an hour later still sitting in the same position and this time his stomach looked twice as big! Immediately I went to the food cupboard and found it was locked! I realised straight away that he had bloat and rushed him to the veterinary hospital located close to my hometown of St Albans, Hertfordshire.

The vet examined him and confirmed the dog had bloat. I explained to the vet that he was uninsured because of his injury and even explained what the dog had been through, thinking stupidly that maybe my bill will be reduced!! The vet explained that they would need to carry out x-rays and give the dog some medication which would cost around £350.00. Furthermore if the stomach was found to be twisted, then it would be my choice as to what to do.

This ‘my choice as to what to do’ confused me, and then I realised that he meant money. So I asked him what the cost of an operation would be, to which he replied, £2500 for the operation and a further £2500 for the aftercare.

Although I had the money to pay for this, I had to ask him one more question “So.. if a little old lady came in here with her dog at 11pm in the evening as I have done, and say…, she couldn’t afford to pay the £5000.00, let alone the £350.00, would you would simply put her dog to sleep”?
To which he replied, “If a charity stepped in and paid for the operation, of course we would operate, however, we are not a charity”.

Fortunately, my little puppy didn’t have a twisted stomach and he’s all okay now, however, it could have all ended differently for him if I had not realised the symptoms of bloat.

Its up to you to decide as to what to do, but for myself,

• I have changed his food from Bakers to Barking Heads.
• I no longer allow him access to the water bowl immediately before or after a meal.
• I feed him smaller meals three times a day, and finally,
• I feed all my three dogs separately to minimize any anxiety.

Now… lets get to telling you about Bloat In Dogs

There are few ailments in veterinary medicine that rival the seriousness of BLOAT also otherwise known as gastric dilatation-volvulus (GDV). Once bloat occurs, it is the speed is imperative and this determines whether or not your dog will live or die.

How does Bloat occur?
Bloat normally occurs when something goes wrong during digestion of food. Gases build up in the stomach so fast that the stomach blows up like a balloon, stretching the organ so much that normal circulation of blood to and from the heart is cut off. The stretching itself and the lack of blood to the stomach’s cells can cause cell death, or necrosis. Even worse and more immediately serious, is, when the stomach actually “twists” (known as volvulus) at the top near the esophagus and at the bottom of the stomach at the pyloric valve. Here, the gas builds and builds so gets trapped within the stomach. As the stomach starts growing it cuts off circulation and irreversible damage is done to the cells. The dog goes into shock and then cardiac arrest. This can happen within several hours after the start of bloat. Even if you are not sure, its still best to rush your animal to the vets or an animal hospital IMMEDIATELY.

What Causes Bloat?
There are numerous reasons that bloat can happen in your dog.
A few examples of what is believed to be contributing factors are:
• Large meals eaten at one time. It is recommend serving your dog two smaller meals a day, rather than just one big one.
• Rigorous exercise done either before or after a meal. You should wait about two hours before feeding after exercise and two hours again after eating before you let your dog run around.
• Dry food, high in grain, causes fermentation during digestion which again causes gas. Dry food should have meat, meat meal and bone meal listed within the first few ingredients, NOT GRAIN. In other words, dry food should have more meat than grain in its ingredients. A few disagree with this, however, most would agree with this.
• If only dry food is given, some people moisten it with water if it is a the better quality dog food. However, with lesser quality foods, meaning they are less meat-based and are mostly grains, it is better to NOT to wet the food, as water mixed with grain will start the fermentation process which has by-products of gas. But if the food is mostly meat, it's OK, and can actually help with digestion. It is ideal to mix dry food with canned food where possible.
• Gulping large amounts of water at one time during meals. Keep water within the dog’s reach at all times, except during meals.
• Snacks and biscuits that are high in carbohydrates. Grains are carbohydrates.
• Avoid dog food high in citric acid used as a preservative and also food that is high in fat.
Other factors which can also increase the Risk of Bloat includes:
• Certain Dog Breeds — for example the Large breed dogs are most susceptible, although, certain small dogs can bloat too.
• Dogs that are “deep barrel chested.” Meaning the length of the chest from backbone to sternum is long and the width of the chest is narrower.
• Dogs that may have an ancestor history of bloating.
• Underweight and thin dogs.
• Fear and anxiety can also bring about bloating. Dogs that have anxiety should always eat in an environment made as peaceful as possible for them and away from other dogs.
• Male dogs are more prone to getting bloat then the females.
• Older dogs are more at risk than those that are younger.

How to know if your dog has bloat.
If you know your dog, you will find that most of the symptoms are behavioural at the beginning. The dog may slow down and look sluggish. The abdomen stretches to many times its normal size due to the increase in gas. If the stomach look blow up as if the dog looks pregnant, this is one of the first most obvious signs. Although, in some cases, this part of the bloat event can’t be seen. But, usually you can see the distended abdomen which will also feel very hard to the touch, like a ball that has been pumped up with too much air.

The built up internal gases cause SEVERE abdominal pain in your dog, so, you may see that your dog acting uncomfortable, pacing the floor, not being about to find a comfortable position to lie down or may make sounds like they are in pain.

The biggest, most obvious symptom is that the dog appears to be nauseated. They will unsuccessfully attempt to vomit and will retch and gag, but nothing comes up, or very little, if any. They will also attempt to have a bowel movement, assume the position, but again, nothing comes out. Excessive drooling is also a common symptom.

IF ANY OF THESE THINGS HAPPEN, CALL YOUR VETERINARIAN OR RUSH YOUR DOG TO THE NEAREST ANIMAL HOSPITAL. It is better to be safe than sorry. REMEMBER, there are only a few hours available to handle this problem, so time is everything in a case of bloat. Your vet will put everything else aside to address your dog’s condition.

How does your vet treat Bloat in a dog
There are only two basic things that are done to the dog in the case of bloat. The first thing a vet may try is to insert a tube down the throat making a passage for the gas to escape. But if the stomach has twisted, surgery is the only solution. The vet will have to make an incision into the stomach and relieve the gas that way. While in there, he may decide to perform what is called gastropexy. This is where the stomach is actually stapled into its normal position, or anchored into place, so that it cannot blow up should there be another episode of bloat.

Even if the dog has been relieved of the bloat with just a tube and not surgery, he should be surgically examined regardless, so that the vet may assess the damage done by the episode. Damaged parts of the stomach may need to be removed, or the patient’s owner may decide to allow gastroplexy since many dogs that experience bloat often go through it again at a later date. Sometimes only a day or two later, they may bloat again.

It is a good idea to have on hand at home an over the counter drug such as Phazyme, Mylanta Gas (not regular Mylanta) or Gas-X. They contain simethicone which helps reduce gas. This may buy you a little more time to get to a vet.

 

[icemaiden]

Glad your dog is ok. Bloat is a horiffic ailment (if you can call it that) and some dogs are not as lucky as yours, simply because, as you rightly point out, the owners do not know what is happenning until it's too late. Thank you for posting such detailed description.

Re vets costs - isn't that what insurance is for? The unexpected? Just because your dog had health problems does not mean he could not be insured. His pre-existing condition/s wouldn't have been covered but bloat would have been.

 

[Calioutlaw1a]

What Causes Bloat?
There are numerous reasons that bloat can happen in your dog.
A few examples of what is believed to be contributing factors are:
• Large meals eaten at one time. It is recommend serving your dog two smaller meals a day, rather than just one big one.
• Rigorous exercise done either before or after a meal. You should wait about two hours before feeding after exercise and two hours again after eating before you let your dog run around.
• Dry food, high in grain, causes fermentation during digestion which again causes gas. Dry food should have meat, meat meal and bone meal listed within the first few ingredients, NOT GRAIN. In other words, dry food should have more meat than grain in its ingredients. A few disagree with this, however, most would agree with this.
• If only dry food is given, some people moisten it with water if it is a the better quality dog food. However, with lesser quality foods, meaning they are less meat-based and are mostly grains, it is better to NOT to wet the food, as water mixed with grain will start the fermentation process which has by-products of gas. But if the food is mostly meat, it's OK, and can actually help with digestion. It is ideal to mix dry food with canned food where possible.
• Gulping large amounts of water at one time during meals. Keep water within the dog’s reach at all times, except during meals.
• Snacks and biscuits that are high in carbohydrates. Grains are carbohydrates.
• Avoid dog food high in citric acid used as a preservative and also food that is high in fat.
Other factors which can also increase the Risk of Bloat includes:
• Certain Dog Breeds — for example the Large breed dogs are most susceptible, although, certain small dogs can bloat too.
• Dogs that are “deep barrel chested.” Meaning the length of the chest from backbone to sternum is long and the width of the chest is narrower.
• Dogs that may have an ancestor history of bloating.
• Underweight and thin dogs.
• Fear and anxiety can also bring about bloating. Dogs that have anxiety should always eat in an environment made as peaceful as possible for them and away from other dogs.
• Male dogs are more prone to getting bloat then the females.
• Older dogs are more at risk than those that are younger.

There's a lot of anecdotes out there about what causes bloat, with little real data to support any of it.

The evidence that we do have suggests the following:
-The most important determinant of bloat is if a 1st degree relative has had bloat.
-Eating more quickly predisposes to bloat. Strangely, this is only true in large breeds, but not giant breeds. Note that it was previously thought that eating larger meals or a single large meal predisposes to bloat, but this has since been disproved. It is the speed of eating that is important, not the size of the meal.
-Eating from a raised bowl predisposes to bloat.

 

[Josh]

On Facebook, i see it all the time where someone has had a dog die because of bloat. I simply posted this article because even if it helps just one person to save their dogs life, it would have made it all worth while. Even if that one person; changes the foods they buy; Rigorous exercise straight before and after meals; gulping large amounts of water especially when the food they are feeding their dog has a lot of wheat within etc..

 

[doodles]

My newfie had bloat and thank god I had read the information I was given when we bought him it saved his life.

 

[RawFedDogs]

There's a lot of anecdotes out there about what causes bloat, with little real data to support any of it.

The evidence that we do have suggests the following:
-The most important determinant of bloat is if a 1st degree relative has had bloat.
-Eating more quickly predisposes to bloat. Strangely, this is only true in large breeds, but not giant breeds. Note that it was previously thought that eating larger meals or a single large meal predisposes to bloat, but this has since been disproved. It is the speed of eating that is important, not the size of the meal.
-Eating from a raised bowl predisposes to bloat.

No one knows what causes bloat so there is really nothing that can be done to minimize the chances of bloating. Many dogs bloat several hours after eating so it's doubtful that and particular method of eating causes it. Many dogs exercise either before or after eating and don't bloat so it doesn't appear that is a valid cause. I have had Great Danes for 10 or 11 years and always walked them after supper with no problem. Both my Danes eat very quickly. One of my Danes would eat 2 chicken quarters in less than 15 seconds. So I have serious doubts about fast eating causing bloat although admittedly I haven't fed them a kibble diet so I can't say whether eating kibble fast has any effect. They eat out of raised bowls with no problem.

I know that raided bowl thing came from a study at Perdue University. That study was flawed and discredited in so many ways as to make it useless. Their conclusion about raised bowls came from this reasoning ... "Many if not most Great Danes eat from raised bowls. 45% of Danes will bloat in their life. So eating from raised bowls causes bloat." They never think its just the physiology of the Dane that causes bloat. I think those other causes listed above also came from the same study.

So that brings me back to the beginning ... we don't know what causes bloat so there is nothing we cand do to prevent it. I suspect stress is the biggest if not the only cause of bloat but I have nothing to back that up.

 

[Calioutlaw1a]

No one knows what causes bloat so there is really nothing that can be done to minimize the chances of bloating. Many dogs bloat several hours after eating so it's doubtful that and particular method of eating causes it. Many dogs exercise either before or after eating and don't bloat so it doesn't appear that is a valid cause. I have had Great Danes for 10 or 11 years and always walked them after supper with no problem. Both my Danes eat very quickly. One of my Danes would eat 2 chicken quarters in less than 15 seconds. So I have serious doubts about fast eating causing bloat although admittedly I haven't fed them a kibble diet so I can't say whether eating kibble fast has any effect. They eat out of raised bowls with no problem.

There likely isn't a single cause of bloat, which is why vets are trying to find risk factors, and there have now been some non-dietary risk factors found that I listed. No one would claim that any one of those risk factors alone will cause bloat, but rather may increase the risk of bloat. You are perpetuating the problem of anecdotal evidence when you use your extremely small number of Danes and try to extrapolate that data to an entire population. The Purdue study looked at risk factors in 1,637 large and giant breed dogs.
This is equivalent to the person who says "my grandpa smoked 2 packs a day for 30 years and lived to be 102" to discredit the fact that smoking increases the risk of lung cancer.

With any risk factor there will be a normal distribution of risk, meaning a bell-shaped curve, where there will be a small percent of the population at either end of the spectrum. So, for example, with smoking a small percentage of people will get lung cancer with very little exposure, and some will only develop lung cancer with huge exposure. However, the majority of the population falls in the middle of the bell-shaped curve, and will develop lung cancer at a fairly predictable rate.

The Purdue study suggests that speed of eating is only a risk factor in large breeds, not giant breeds like your Danes. The study also found that increased exercise before or after eating does not increase the risk of bloat, and may even decrease the risk.

I know that raided bowl thing came from a study at Perdue University. That study was flawed and discredited in so many ways as to make it useless. Their conclusion about raised bowls came from this reasoning ... "Many if not most Great Danes eat from raised bowls. 45% of Danes will bloat in their life. So eating from raised bowls causes bloat." They never think its just the physiology of the Dane that causes bloat. I think those other causes listed above also came from the same study.

You clearly did not read the study, because their conclusion was nothing of the sort. You have very little confidence in the scientific community of you think a conclusion like that would pass in any sort of peer-reviewed publication.
What they did was look at a variety of risk factors, including a raised food bowl. They looked at the lifetime risk of developing bloat in dogs that ate from the ground and compared it to dogs that ate from a raised food bowl. Specifically in giant breeds like your Danes, they looked at about 340 dogs that ate from the ground, and about 380 dogs that ate from a raised food bowl. They then did what is called a univariate analysis to look at the risk of bloat when only considering a raised bowl, and then a multivariate analysis to take into account several other variables.
It was found in both large and giant breed dogs that a raised bowl increases the risk of bloat.

I suspect stress is the biggest if not the only cause of bloat but I have nothing to back that up.

There is some data to support this, though again there doesn't appear to be a single cause of bloat. It was found that the risk of bloat was increased following a stressful event. Further, it was found that the "happier" a dog seemed as subjectively reported by the owner, the less likely it was to bloat.

 

[GreatDaneMom]

wow.. this is really sad... as someone who owns 3 great danes, i know what needs to be done to try to avoid bloat. im sad to see people tearing this apart rather than saying "thank you for the information" and maybe adding something helpful to it. who cares if some people say its not a "factor" anymore... its not hurting the dog to still follow the guides, so who cares?

OP, THANK YOU for your input on bloat. its very scary and i hate to see any dog go through it. in my home, this is what we live by:

1- limit water intake. my dogs are not allowed to drink large amounts at a time, especially right after eating.
2- rest before and after eating (1hr).
3- slow eating. 2 of mine are slow, one eats fast. she has a slow down bowl
4- comfort when eating. 2 are on the floor as a raised feeder did not prove to help prevent bloat. one DOES have a raised feeder due to arthritis though.
5- high quality food. the food that expands less in the stomach is better. doing a "food test" in water is always a good idea. food that expands a lot and floats i avoid. food that pretty much crumbles, is what i use.
6-avoid any stressful situations as possible. if it is a must, make sure they have not recently eaten and try to make it as quick as possible. (not much stresses my dogs though....)
7-smaller meals. my dogs are not allowed to free feed or goarge themselves. they are fed 2 meals a day (though i wish i could do 3) my adults both get 2 cups at each meal, my puppy 4 until he reaches adulthood and his metabolism slows down. when he was younger though (under 6mo) 3 meals was a must.


this is just my protocol at home. im not saying this is perfect or will prevent bloat. but it doesnt hurt to do anything you can.