Sue Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 Last Tuesday my MBT bloated. He underwent emergency surgery to save his life. He is still at the vets, hopefully coming home on Monday. None of the "usual" causes were present. He doesn't eat a kibble diet, wasn't exercised before or after his meal, wasn't stressed, didn't drink at whole heap of water etc. Currently he is drinking ok, but is vomiting after eating. The vets are feeding him canned Hills Science diet. (after looking at it I would vomit too!) Vets have said that he cannot ever eat BARF again, as raw foods are to hard to digest?? and recommend a totally dry diet. Yet all the websites say that feeding a dry diet (kibble) is a major cause of bloat. Has anyone elses dog survived bloat, and what did you feed afterwards? Did your dog re-bloat? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allerzeit Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 Ohhh Sue - I don't have any experience with bloat, so can't offer suggestions on what to feed, but I wanted to send you a and wishes that your furbaby recovers quickly. Trace Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest KOJAK Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 Hi Sue So sorry to here MBT bloated hope all is fine now As a breeder and 0wning a number of german shepherd dogs I have had two dogs bloat. Having operated unfortunately one living one passing on. There is a number of reasons bloat occurs no doubt your vet has told you most commonly in deep chested dogs and larger breeds.Most bloat occcurs in the hottest months of the year or after very quik change in weather temparture where you may have a very hot few days. and of course over excersing You say your dog had not eaten or drank excessively talk to your vet regarding the health of your boy check out Pancreatitus and look for maybe disease such as cancer. After care what I did was feed my dog over a few weeks small amount of food often I removed all buckets of water and put additives in there diet to avoid gas build up in them You could use charcoal tablets with every meal 1-2 tablets per meal I also added oil or liquid parrifin this helps prevent fermentation of there food 2tablespoons per meal it also helps with movement of bones excetra to pass a little easier We use UEKANUBA dry dog food and add water to it as well as raw dog meat Sue just have a look at all the dry food that is available check ones that do not have Soya -bean maybe as a start try chicken and rice When our dogs ever Bloat we have the vet tie the stomach to wall to prevent the twisting to occur talk to your vet and see if they have done this Good luck with your boy love my german shepherds kojak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morgan Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 The latest NSWCC journal has an excellent article in it on bloat by Karen Hedburg. She also has a chapter devoted to the subject in her book. Can you get hold of either of these? Karen has saved the lives of many dogs who have bloated, including mine, and following her advice has saved it happening again. My dogs continued to be fed a combination of dry food and meaty bones after surgery, but I followed her advice re giving charcoal tablets for some time afterwards and small meals. One of my dogs bloated after having half a mutton flap at midnight on a hot day - limited water, no exercise, but 4 separate risk factors - older (9 yrs) deep chested breed (longer stomach ligaments which stretch), had been a 40 degree day and had been stressed thru me being away for a few days and only having a house sitter. There was an interesting link on Oz Show a while back about potassium deficiency being linked with bloat - the larger breeds tend not to get enough of this in their diets - worth looking at. Certainly would explain the cases that are not linked to food, exercise or water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 (edited) Ok, I'm no Vet but .... Vets have said that he cannot ever eat BARF again, as raw foods are to hard to digest?? and recommend a totally dry diet. I wouldn't have thought so - but as I said, I don't have the qualifications to refute this in its entirety. Not to offend the Vets that don't do this, but I find so many Vets are pushing their line of Hills Science Diets - even when your dog's in peak health on the diet its on - that I'm now sceptical that they're suggesting with purely the dog's health in mind. Small, but more frequent meals, I understand are better. Also not feeding close before or after exercise. If I've been working a dog and I return it to its pen, I allow it about 5 laps of water and then remove the water for a while. From what I've seen, read and heard, I think bloat is triggered more by stress, compounded further by heat and eating regime. The common denominator does seem to be deep chested dogs, although I don't think the condition is totally exclusive to those dogs. ETA: I'm glad your dog's ok, Sue. So many don't make it through a bloat episode. Edited February 11, 2006 by Erny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greyhoundangel Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 There are too many variables when it comes to bloat and still not enough information known... I am pretty sure though that there is an operation that you can have done to help stop it from happening again, as since it has happened once you will have to keep a close eye on him... Good luck and I am so glad that you were able to save your dogs life, we have unfortunately lost three dogs to bloat Mel xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffy-Lover Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 how do u identify bloat..... i am guessing obviously the dog gets bloated but is it extremely recognisable???? any other symptoms.. i've not heard of this before and always like to be informed ps - i hope your doggy is much better now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New Age Outlaw Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 (edited) The other things you can do to prevent bloat (maybe you already do these, not sure) is don't put the food bowl on the ground, but try to feed at a higher level, as this gives the food a straigher line to travel and reduces airt intake when eating. The other thing is breaking up the meals into more and smaller portions. I feed my greys half their total food in the morning and half at night so there is not so much food in the gut at any one time. Just some thoughts. Good luck and hope your dog makes a full recovery! Edited February 11, 2006 by New Age Outlaw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morgan Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 don't put the food bowl on the ground, but try to feed at a higher level There is some research now suggesting that this doesn't work, and might actually make things worse. Can't remember where I saw it, but I was surprised, as I had always been told to do this. Never did actually do it, and have not had any recurrences. Mind you, my hounds all eat 3 times a day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greyhoundangel Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 With our hounds, out of the three that passed away, two ate on ground level and the other had his food raised... It's a horrible condition, and I don't wish it on anybody's dogs... Mel xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TangerineDream Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 (edited) One of my Dobes survived bloat twice - both were diet related where the dry she was being fed had meat byproducts in it and her stomach was fermenting this. I had to put her on Supercoat and had no more problems. Also fed cooked chicken mince (with the fat skimmed off), rice and oatmeal. From then on I have always made sure that my dogs have at least 1 hour of quiet time after exercise and before a meal and then after the evening meal that is the end of their day - they lie around except for wandering out to go to the toilet....... if prone to bouncing after a meal, they get crated. Meals, especially straight after bloat in the recovery stages, should be reasonably bland to start as the gut (from stem to stern) will be bruised and then brought back to include the fooods that you will be giving them. Feed at chest level if you can. Meal size was halved in the evenings and fed in 2 stages, and water was withheld for at least 1 - 1.5 hours after a meal. Stay vigilant......once they have bloated, there is an increased risk of it happening again. I always used to tap the sides about 5 and 15 minutes after a meal just to ensure that I didn't hear the awful 'hollow' sound and I still palpate gently to make sure that the abdomen is soft. After that I always used to carry a bottle of Ipecac - salt water also works well in making them throw up if you can get to them in time.....used the Ipecac once and it certainly helps if it works BEFORE the stomach twists... Edited February 11, 2006 by TangerineDream Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greyhoundangel Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 With our hounds, out of the three that passed away, two ate on ground level and the other had his food raised... It's a horrible condition, and I don't wish it on anybody's dogs... Mel xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clyde Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 I am pretty sure though that there is an operation that you can have done to help stop it from happening again, I can't remember what it's called either, but a friend just had that done to her Dogue. She was so worried about bloat, her vet did alot of research and they went ahead and did it last week while she was desexed. Something about pulling the stomach lining tighter? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ianto Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 I think the op is called a gastropexy, they stitch the stomach to the side of the body to stop it twisting when they bloat. Saw it on foxtel on K9 boot camp, military dogs in Texas were getting it done when they finished training. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 don't put the food bowl on the ground, but try to feed at a higher level There is some research now suggesting that this doesn't work, and might actually make things worse. Yep .... I read that somewhere too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clyde Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 I think the op is called a gastropexy, they stitch the stomach to the side of the body to stop it twisting when they bloat. Yes, that's the one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FeralSam Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 My dog (GSD) was raced to animal emergency for suspected bloat but turned out to be intestines which had double twisted (horizontal then vertical). Whilst under they also performed a gastropexy for future safety. Once home I had to feed her 5 times a day with a bland mix of rice & meat. From memory the routine lasted for about 10-15 days. She returned eventually to her normal diet which was dog biscuits alternated with meat/rice/vegies. My vet never steered me away from any particular foods but indicated viligance to such things as gulping food down, eating huge portions and exercising too soon after eating. I wish you good luck and a speedy recovery. Sam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aus_k9gsd Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 my dog has been getting barf since his bloat, he was a 3 when he had bloat he will be 9 this year. I also started him on dry afterwards at the vets insistance but i found he actually wasnt digesting the dry food it would come out the other end sometimes looking exactly like it went in some pieces of dry food where still fully formed so i changed him back to his barf diet after talking to a few people as i was told raw foods have natual enzymes that help break down in the stomach and we haven't looked back. He also has his stomach attached to his ribs and we have had no further problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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