Does The Anxiety Ever Stop

[Lab_Rat]

This may seem like a strange topic, but Im sure there are others out there who are going through the same sort of thing!

I lost my first dear ridgy about 5 years ago to bloat, and it was quite stressful as I had no idea about bloat and felt very guilty for some time about her being so sick before she got to a vet

My "problem" is the anxiety I feel about my current RR girl whenever she is a little off colour. She developed tummy problems when she was about 8 months old, vomiting, diarrhoea and food issues. After a myriad of tests and diet changes, her gut settled and shes been fairly good since then with only a few upsets. Her diet is lamb/mutton meat, veges and a lamb based kibble. I cant remember the last time she vomited or had diarrhoea, so all in all shes doing well.

But...................

Recently she has become quite fussy and will only eat minced meat - she will either take a piece of meat from me, and spit it on the floor or just wrinkle her nose at it and refuse it. She is the same with bones. She has refused chicken wings and lamb bones in the last week! If there are chicken wings or lumps of meat in her bowl she will eat around them or pick them out and drop them on the floor. The look on her face is something else, like what she has in her mouth is the most offensive thing shes ever put in there

She has a more than healthy appetite for her normal diet so thankfully she hasnt lost any weight.

On Friday night and last night she wanted desperately to go outside, where she ate huge amounts of grass almost frantically for a good 5 minutes! No throwing up just eating and then coming back inside!

God I feel like Munchausen By Proxy Syndrome is creeping in, but I honestly dont know how to deal with how I feel when my girl isnt herself. And I know when shes not herself, coz shes such a bubbly active dog.

I will be talking to my vet today- who is an angel, but just wondered if anyone else out in DOL land is going or has gone through the same sort of thing. Am I panicking about nothing? I know part of it is from what happened with our first girl. Should I just harden up :D ...Thankfully our Kelpie girl is close to perfect, I dont have any worries with her at all.

Any thoughts??

Thanks guys

Rat

[Kirty]

I really feel for you. We lost our first Dane to bloat and it was just awful. I am paranoid about my current Dane getting it too. I think you need to make yourself very aware of what symptoms of bloat are (excess salivation, pacing, rolling, bloated tummy), and then store than info safely in the back of your mind. I know its hard, but if its going to happen, it will happen. You can't really prevent it or pre-empt it. If you spend all your time worrying, you are not enjoying your dog. You know more now than you did before, you know what to look for and you know when your dog is sick. So if they are not sick, try not to worry about them becoming sick.

Its quite normal for dogs to eat grass though. Whenever I take my dogs to my friend's property, they go mad eating the grass (must taste better than the grass in my backyard!). Sometimes they throw it up later, but most of the time they don't.

[persephone]

hey, rat- I can ,indeed empathise with you ! Losing my deerhoundxdane years ago to bloat .. Hamlet (cockerXkoolie, but deep chested) causes me SO many clenched teeth and worry Is he drinking too quickly? Does he look big in the tummy? why is he eating grass??? :D

With your girl- she may well just have one of the tummy bugs going round ( see jaxx;s buddy's thread)

Hopefully she is Ok again soon!

Now- BREATHE

[Lab_Rat]

Thanks guys, always helps to have anothers input!

I know that if its going to happen it will - hell, Miekahs bloat appeared out of nowhere - no running around, drinking huge amounts etc., etc.

I will try and stop reading stuff into whats just not there, and yeah I guess Ill breathe now :D

Thanks again for your kind words :D

Rat

[sas]

I was paranoid about my Dane as a pup but these days I have come to realise that "Bloat Happens", we can put in all the preventatives we want but it still happens.

The dogs I know that have bloated have bloated not doing any of the things 'we think' causes bloat.

Just know the signs and watch for them

[Kelly_Louise]

My girl Sasha has a sensitive tummy - and I find that raw meats set her off, so they have had to come off her diet. She gets raw bones (with only a little meat on them) and usually that's about all she can handle.

Perhaps it is making her feel ill? Or something in her diet is making her feel ill and turning her off the meat?

Sasha used to LOVE chicken necks (before we knew of her intolerance of raw meat), however turned right off them as I believe they were just making her sick.

When Sash is having a bad day, she will usually refuse food (but may eat the dry kibble) and also rush out to scoff grass. Eating grass is normal, but when she rushes out and scoffs it desperately, it usually coincides with runny poos - so something is amiss.

I think you might need to find what is causing your girls upset tummy, or what she can eat that will not irritate it - and you might find she improves alot.

Since cutting out raw and putting her on Advance kibble and Advance canned food, Sash has regular firm poos and very rarely has an upset tummy. I know it's not as good nutritionally - but it's better than her being consistently sick and off her food.

[Dogsfevr]

I own breeds pre disposed to bloat & have lost 2 to bloat & no im not paranoid about it because i now i take every precaution that is reasonable to minimize the chances.

There are to many what ifs & the more paranoid i become the less enjoyment i would have owning the breed & would get out.

Stress can also be a major factor by the owners .

[OSoSwift]

Lab rat, You are most certainly not alone.

I had My older Dobe bitch had bloat and /or tortion 3 times. She did eventually die as an old dog but from Dilated Cardiomyopathy.

As you can imagine I wwas alwyas stressing over her. Her abdomen was watched closely and many times a Day.

With my younger girl, I was extremely careful and did all the "right things as far as bloat was concerned(same as my older bitch) and never had it happen. It was a constant stress though and I honestly woke up every morning wondering if I would find her healthy or bloated or dead from bloat or from her heart.

I found out many things about my dogs lines and realised it was going to be highly likely she would suffer from Cardio. Every time she went to the vet hospiutal I got her heart checked - it was around once a month as I worked there as well.

One day after her being off colour for about a month and going through nearly every test available to dogdom, I let her out after having fed and crated her. Her abdomen looked enlarged. I tapped it and it was fluid. I just knew her heart was gone . She had had a full blood panel and 2 vets checked her heart two weeks before. WIthin hours she gained 5kgs of fluid. I took her to the vet - grade 5 heart problem - Cardio! Iminent death. She managed on something like 18 to 20 tablets a day for 4 weeks until I made the decision to let her go.

Owning Dobermanns is far to stressful for me. If I went away I had a friend house sit who was also a vet nurse and very aware of bloat signs as I couldn't leave them with just anyone - especially the old girl who developed interesting behaviours after her three bloat surgeries. I was anxious the whole time I was away and had nightmares every night the had died without me.

It was very restrictive. I loved and still love my Angel with every ounce of my being - she was most certainly one of a kind and can never be replaced.

I will not ever own another Dobe and most likely never own a dog that has a higher than normal predisposition to bloat.

My anxiety ended when I got my Whippets. One of the things that really sold a Whippet to me over one or two other breeds I was considering was the fact they do not have documented hereitary diseases over here. I have read on other forums there are some diseases we should be testing for and I will endeavour to do that. But I am MUCH less anxious now than I was over the many years I owned Dobes.

[Dogsfevr]

I now a few whippies who have bloated,it doesnt just affect big dogs

[OSoSwift]

I know it doesn't just affect big dogs and I know that many other breeds can be affected and I take reasonable precautions. But it is much less likely to happen to a Whippet than a Dobe.

[Lab_Rat]

Thanks for your replies - I know others go through stressful times with their hounds, I was feeling particularly sooky that day!

My girl has picked up in the last few days, Ive been adding a probiotic/herbal supplement to her meals and it seems to be helping.

Having a stressy human watching your every move probably doesnt help much either :D I stress - she stresses, so I stress more Think I need to start doing yoga and use rescue remedy!!

KellyLousie - Zola does suffer from intolerances to most meats, lamb being the exception. She was eating chicken wings happily up until about a month ago. She only gets the odd one though as they make her itch. Turkey is pretty unavailable in my part of the world.

Like your Sasha, Zola will be picky with food and rather eat a paddock of grass than normal dog food. Thing is she doesnt vomit - it generally comes out the other end Yummo!

I certainly dont fuss about what she eats - if she does she does, if shes not interested it gets taken away.

I wish I could figure out why she is not interested in bones???

ShowDog - I think you are so right about the stress/human thing!! See I dont worry a bit about our Kelpie. Even when she is crook I dont get quite as worked up over it compared to when the ridgy is sick. Like I mentioned above, I think I need the destressing :D

I too do all the right things to supposedly prevent bloat, they are fed twice a day, Zola has a Gutsy-bowl, they are not exercised an hour before or after meals.......And I understand if its going to happen, it will.

RnL - So sorry to read about your dear Dobes. I can understand why you cant have them - Im feeling a bit the same with the ridgies! I love the breed to death, but if I cant enjoy having them, why have them???

I still dont know if its just bloat Im worried about or Zola getting sick generally. She went through quite a long period of time being a sick dog and now everytime she shows a sign of being off colour, I panic. Not sure why as none of her sickness was life threatening - well apart from the snake bite!!

Does snake venom cause long term organ problems at all does anyone know. I have tried googling it, but came up with nuthin'........

So thanks again guys, I think youve put it all in a bit more perspective for me - I just need to harden up and panic less so I can ENJOY my darling dog!

Rat

[Kelly_Louise]

KellyLousie - Zola does suffer from intolerances to most meats, lamb being the exception. She was eating chicken wings happily up until about a month ago. She only gets the odd one though as they make her itch. Turkey is pretty unavailable in my part of the world.

Like your Sasha, Zola will be picky with food and rather eat a paddock of grass than normal dog food. Thing is she doesnt vomit - it generally comes out the other end Yummo!

I certainly dont fuss about what she eats - if she does she does, if shes not interested it gets taken away.

I wish I could figure out why she is not interested in bones???

Same with Sasha, she doesn't vomit the grass either - it comes out the back end (sometimes with a little help from Mum when it can't come out properly ). Sasha was the same with chicken wings - would gobble them, then just wouldn't eat them anymore. I think, although she loves them, she maybe related to them making her sick. Like with us I suppose, if you have a bad experience with a particular food - you kind of get turned off it? I'm not sure, but I don't question it too much anymore. We just stick to what we know works best.

For us, we just had to take Sasha off all raw food. It was the only way. She can handle cooked chicken/beef etc (although I've never given it to her in big quantities - but enough to have made her feel queasy if it was ever going to. She's like a reverse dog - has to do everything differently. Most dogs thrive on raw food - NOOOOOO - not my Sasha, she has to be different

Even with fish, Sasha loves sardines. But if I give them to her everyday, she will refuse to eat them anymore. Twice a week is about all I can get away with.

It's been an ongoing battle getting Sasha 'right' - and it costs an absolute fortune feeding her the diet she is now on... but it works, she has developed lovely muscle tone and filled out, is bright and healthy looking, and we no longer have the consistent sickly days (only the few and far between ones).

I hope you find what will work for your girl soon to allow you to feel happy and less stressed - I know how frustrating it will be, so I can fully sympathise.

I also worry about bloat (and everyone laughs at me and says I'm crazy)... but I'd rather be safe than the one time I"m not and be sorry. I ensure Sasha doesn't do much an hour before and after - and everyone knows those rules. I've not had experience with bloat, however I'm petrified of it - so if I did have such a bad experience I know I would be very worried about it all the time. But each dog is different.

[OSoSwift]

Does snake venom cause long term organ problems at all does anyone know. I have tried googling it, but came up with nuthin'

It can, if it is futher down the track, then it is likely to be not quite as severe as straight after the bite/treatment.

Getting bitten by a snake puts a huge strain on all the bodies organs. The kidenys and Liver cop a fair hammering with drying to filter venom, drugs and the products that end up in the urine from the muscle breaking down.

I haven't had a dog bitten as yet - have had a cat, but I think if a dog (or cat) has been bitten it is not a bad idea to periodically run a full general health profile to make sure that everything is as it should be.

I have a cat that survived Av Gas poisoning - still don't know how! She was only 3 at the time and I always have it in the back of my mind that she may have kidney and liver issues - especially after reading up the problems that have shown up in humans. Granted that is normally after low level chronic exposure, but she was very sick, and a high dose, burnt off skin from her pads and took all but about 10 hairs off her tounge, never to grow back, so I figure it will catch up with her eventually.

Oh she also lost her ability to smell.

Basically if you are worried, get some blood drawn, run a full genral health profile if it shows up as all good, great, you then have a healthy baseline to compare too.

[Lab_Rat]

KellyLousie - Zola does suffer from intolerances to most meats, lamb being the exception. She was eating chicken wings happily up until about a month ago. She only gets the odd one though as they make her itch. Turkey is pretty unavailable in my part of the world.

Like your Sasha, Zola will be picky with food and rather eat a paddock of grass than normal dog food. Thing is she doesnt vomit - it generally comes out the other end Yummo!

I certainly dont fuss about what she eats - if she does she does, if shes not interested it gets taken away.

I wish I could figure out why she is not interested in bones???

Same with Sasha, she doesn't vomit the grass either - it comes out the back end (sometimes with a little help from Mum when it can't come out properly ). Sasha was the same with chicken wings - would gobble them, then just wouldn't eat them anymore. I think, although she loves them, she maybe related to them making her sick. Like with us I suppose, if you have a bad experience with a particular food - you kind of get turned off it? I'm not sure, but I don't question it too much anymore. We just stick to what we know works best.

For us, we just had to take Sasha off all raw food. It was the only way. She can handle cooked chicken/beef etc (although I've never given it to her in big quantities - but enough to have made her feel queasy if it was ever going to. She's like a reverse dog - has to do everything differently. Most dogs thrive on raw food - NOOOOOO - not my Sasha, she has to be different

Even with fish, Sasha loves sardines. But if I give them to her everyday, she will refuse to eat them anymore. Twice a week is about all I can get away with.

It's been an ongoing battle getting Sasha 'right' - and it costs an absolute fortune feeding her the diet she is now on... but it works, she has developed lovely muscle tone and filled out, is bright and healthy looking, and we no longer have the consistent sickly days (only the few and far between ones).

I hope you find what will work for your girl soon to allow you to feel happy and less stressed - I know how frustrating it will be, so I can fully sympathise.

I also worry about bloat (and everyone laughs at me and says I'm crazy)... but I'd rather be safe than the one time I"m not and be sorry. I ensure Sasha doesn't do much an hour before and after - and everyone knows those rules. I've not had experience with bloat, however I'm petrified of it - so if I did have such a bad experience I know I would be very worried about it all the time. But each dog is different.

Dont you love having to extract grass :birthday:

Im glad youve found a solution for Sasha. Im pretty strict with what Zola gets, and shes been fine up until this latest refusal to eat chicken wings. So I will just stick with what I know she'll eat I think and offer bones occasionally. Our two also get salmon a couple of times a week - Zola loves that!

Rat

[Lab_Rat]

Does snake venom cause long term organ problems at all does anyone know. I have tried googling it, but came up with nuthin'

It can, if it is futher down the track, then it is likely to be not quite as severe as straight after the bite/treatment.

Getting bitten by a snake puts a huge strain on all the bodies organs. The kidenys and Liver cop a fair hammering with drying to filter venom, drugs and the products that end up in the urine from the muscle breaking down.

I haven't had a dog bitten as yet - have had a cat, but I think if a dog (or cat) has been bitten it is not a bad idea to periodically run a full general health profile to make sure that everything is as it should be.

I have a cat that survived Av Gas poisoning - still don't know how! She was only 3 at the time and I always have it in the back of my mind that she may have kidney and liver issues - especially after reading up the problems that have shown up in humans. Granted that is normally after low level chronic exposure, but she was very sick, and a high dose, burnt off skin from her pads and took all but about 10 hairs off her tounge, never to grow back, so I figure it will catch up with her eventually.

Oh she also lost her ability to smell.

Basically if you are worried, get some blood drawn, run a full genral health profile if it shows up as all good, great, you then have a healthy baseline to compare too.

Wow - whats in av gas??? Sounds pretty nasty! Our last cat was bitten by a snake when he was quite young. He lived to 16 I think. He ended up with kidney failure and I think dementia. Not sure though if this was an age thing, from the snake bite or extreme pining for his mate that died a year before. Ironically also by snake bite I think!

I think I will get a full blood test done. The last one she had was well over two years ago when we were trying to determine what on earth was wrong with the poor girl! Youre right RnL, it would be good to have a baseline for any future ilness.

It would be great if the poor animals could talk and tell us what exactly was paining them! Or what had hurt them. Ive lost 3 animals in the last 12 months that I would love to know exactly what was wrong with them before their deaths!!

Rat

[OSoSwift]

Just google Avgas and the MSDS sheets, and also Jet fuel - quite frightening. Needless to say there is none on the property now.

[Lab_Rat]

Will do RnL.

One of our cats - same one that was snake bit - decided to bathe in transmission fluid when just a few months old!!! We ended up washing him about four times I think. It was a good thing he didnt mind, just layed back and enjoyed it.....He still stunk of it for a while though.

Rat