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Effing Bloat!


cassie
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In the early hours of Sunday morning we had the fright of our lives - our 16 month old Saint Bernard Sumo developed a severe case of bloat.

I was already in bed asleep but Josh (my OH) was still up. Sumo asked to go out to the toilet, so Josh let him out and noticed he was trying to vomit, but couldn't. Josh watched him a while, and saw Sumo's waistline expanding before his eyes. He ran and woke me up to come and check on him. I felt his round tummy and he was hard as a rock, so it was straight into the car and off we sped to the vet at 2am.

The vet confirmed bloat. She attempted a tube down his throat to his stomach, but his stomach had already twisted so emergency surgery was the only option. It was a very long and emotional night, and I hated leaving him there :( Finally we got the call at 6am that the surgery had been a success! The vet performed a gastropexy while she was in there, which is when they attach the stomach to the inside wall of the abdomen so that it cannot twist again. None of his stomach lining or spleen had been affected during the bloat, thank goodness, as that can cause further complications.

I'm thanking my lucky stars that:

a) I've read all I can on bloat, because I know Saints are susceptible

b) I've educated Josh on the initial signs and symptoms, and drilled into him how life threatening it is and how every minute counts

c) We knew who and where our nearest 24 hour vet was, and called them on the way so they were prepared for our arrival

and d) Obviously I'm so thankful for the amazing work and life saving skills of the vets and nurses, and that my baby boy survived this ordeal!

So this is just a warning I suppose, to those who have at-risk breeds. And giants aren't the only ones susceptible, any dog with a deep chest (Dobermans, Dachshunds) can get bloat. KNOW THE SIGNS! INFORM YOUR FAMILY MEMBERS OF THE SIGNS! HAVE A PLAN IN PLACE!

Sumo is home now and resting, I was able to collect him this afternoon. Oh and FYI he had eaten his normal sized dinner, he hadn't been running around or being silly before or after his meal, he wasn't stressed in any way, it just happened. We take all the precautions we can and it still happened. Please don't think it can't.

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Oh cassie... so sorry to read this...hugs to you & OH... So glad " our darling Sumo" is going to be ok... Phew !!!! So grateful surgery went well. Very scary though. Effing bloat is right. Errrrr.

Give him a huge cuddle for me.

Edited by BC Crazy
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I had my heart dog do this while I was on holidays... luckily she was with me, and we knew where the nearest vet was (in the middle of the night too)... but it was the longest and scariest wait ever to hear if she'd made it through the surgery!

T.

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cassie - my heart sank when I saw who had posted this - so glad your boy is home and OK - bloat is one of my greatest fears and has been since we got Earl. I second your advice about knowing the symptoms - we do not mess around with any upset tummy symptoms - luckily our local 24 hour vet is very close (and knows Earl well)

Hugs to you and Sumo

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cassie - my heart sank when I saw who had posted this - so glad your boy is home and OK - bloat is one of my greatest fears and has been since we got Earl. I second your advice about knowing the symptoms - we do not mess around with any upset tummy symptoms - luckily our local 24 hour vet is very close (and knows Earl well)

Hugs to you and Sumo

Snap Khm, I was scared to come in here and see which of your beautiful big boofers was affected. So pleased Sumo has come through the surgery. Wishing Sumo a speedy recovery and you, a good night's sleep. :hug:

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Is there a sticky thread for Bloat... these are helpful net refs - mostly provided to me by an owner of Newfoundlands

Bloat chart - save, print out and stick to your fridge...

http://www.bmd.org/bmdcr/bloat_chart.pdf

Accupressure point for bloat relief

http://www.bluefrontiers.us/bloat_accupress.html

Accupressure point for bloat relief (similar to above - same pictures etc)

http://www.iwane.org/acp_point_v2.htm

general article on bloat including list of at risk breeds

http://www.globalspan.net/bloat.htm

Article speculating on causes of bloat and stomach twists (torsion)

http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/preventing-bloat-naturally/

GSD of QLD club page on Bloat

http://www.gsdcqld.org.au/GSDV.GSD.htm

Edited by Mrs Rusty Bucket
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That looks great rusty bucket, I'm going to remember that acupressure point. We only just avoided full on bloat a while back by putting the dog up on the edge of the couch and 'burping' her. I'm very glad it worked because we are a long way from the vet, if she had a torsion as well she would have had no chance, she was expanding very fast to start with.

I'm so glad to hear Sumo is OK, my worst nightmare!

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Oh crap Cassie how horrid, that is one of the scariest words for me as my breed is highly susceptible to it and I live with a state of paranoia. I have discussed gastropexy as a preventative measure with Wolff and I will investigate it further when I get his hips done. I am so glad you were all so prepared and that the outcome was good

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Very sorry to hear this happened to your lovely dog. It certainly is scary. I remember seeing it happen to our Bassett Hound when I was younger. My parents rushed off to the vets and luckily she was able to be saved but I recall a friends' dog not being so lucky. It's just so easy to occur and especially so if your pet is a bit of a guts at mealtimes.

I am so worried about it with my current dog (deep chest Samoyed) I have drummed into my BF so much he mimes what I say to him :o Never let him drink more than a cup of water before or after exercise. No food for 45 mins either side. No exceptions. Once he has settled right down he is allowed to drink more obviously. I'd rather a dog who is a little bit hungry/thirsty for a few extra minutes than the heartache.

So glad this had a positive ending! :thumbsup: Fingers crossed for a speedy recovery.

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So glad he's okay and home again.

Our greyhound bloated, and the problem was that his stomach is so far up in his chest, when I kept feeling his "belly" it was soft! I noticed his rib cage had expanded, which was when I rang the vet at 2am. I had been keeping an eye on him as he was restless, but he had vomited earlier, so wasn't thinking bloat because I knew he'd eaten a skanky bone he'd found.

The symptoms can be so varied, so it's really scary.

Hugs to you all and a quick recovery for Sumo.

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