Dog might have bloat . . .UPDATE - will probably be fine

[janey99]

DH is racing our 10yo boxer to the emergency vet, we think she might have bloat.

The kids are asleep and clueless, and me and our other dog are sitting in bed, him whining and me in tears.

If anyone has a spare moment for a hopeful thought, please think of us.

Jane

UPDATE:

DH just called. She has "food bloat" from hogging her dinner and our other dog's. Her stomach has not twisted so they are inducing vomiting and sending her home with gas drops to deflate. Now she has to eat from an elevated bowl and be isolated when she eats.

Thanks for the thoughts!

 

[clh2]

Hope your vet is able to "fix" this. The dog of one of my DD's friend also had bloat, got rushed to the vet...and that dog, Harley, lived for several more years!

I hope yours will too!

 

[JessicaR]

Lots of hopeful thoughts and prayers for your dog and hugs for you!

 

[meliss8599]

Bloat is VERY scary. Sending positive thoughts your way.

 

[MsLeFever]

Good thoughts headed your way!

 

[sissybells]

Our Great Dane had this. We took him to the emergency vet and they did surgery. He came out of it good. It also seemed like he was back to normal a couple of weeks later. It is hard, but they can pull through. He did excellent. I hope all goes well with yours to.

 

[disneymarie]

I never heard of bloat but I know how scary when a pet is very ill. Three if our cats were given a dogs dose of flea med tube, The three went into seizures during the night. I ran the kitten to animal hospital and by the time I got home the other two were in full seizures.

It took time, IV valium and days of treatment but they did all survive. I know how you are feeling right now and am saying prayers that the doggie will be back with the family soon.

Doggie Angels keep him safe please and back to his family soon.
Di

 

[The Mystery Machine]

 

[kellyg403]

Hugs to you and glad it turned out ok. I know how you feel. Our boxer girl has been fighting cancer for a few months, and I think that the end is very near for us. I was just sitting here after helping her out to the yard to go to the potty. I know that I will have to put her down in the next few days and I just can't do it. I know I will, just tonight I just can't do it.

Hugs to you and yours
Kelly

 

[minkydog]

I'm so glad it was easily fixed. Bloat is a terrible thing. My Saint Bernard had it when he was 7yo and by the time my parents got him to the vet it was too late. He died in my father's arms. It was the only time I ever saw my father cry.

 

[chisnpeke]

I'm glad your pup is ok. Our chihuahua got food bloat last year which caused his trachea to collapse. It was very scary for us but he's fine now. Glad your dog will be too.

 

[Deb in IA]

We lost our 11 year old Labrador last year due to bloat. It was horrible.

Glad to hear yours is doing well.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Sending good thoughts for your dog.

Our vet is big on bloat education. Not one visit goes by without his mentioning it to us.

One thing you mentioned: the issue of elevated bowls. I would recommend you do your own research on this. It's controversial. Some feel that elevated bowls allow more air to enter the stomach when the dog is eating, which is part of the problem of bloat. To my knowledge, the AVMA hasn't made a recommendation one way or the other yet because the research is unclear, but it is something they're looking at. Personally, I feed my GSD (who has an enormous chest) out of bowls on the ground because that is the way the canine species eats naturally and I think less air will go in the stomach that way. We also are very careful about exercise around mealtime, water gulping and making sure to feed two smaller meals per day where the kibble is wet beforehand.

ETA here are a couple of articles to look over:

http://www.raidthewind.com/bloat.htm

http://www.petplace.com/dogs/is-your-dog-at-risk-for-bloat/page1.aspx

To slow a fast eater down, I've seen mention of placing a large rock in the middle of the bowl (so the dog has to eat around it).

The scary thing is that once a dog has bloated, it can happen again fairly easily. I'd work on preventative measures and making sure to know what symptoms look like so you can get help quickly if it happens again. Good luck.

 

[minnie56]

Hugs to you and glad it turned out ok. I know how you feel. Our boxer girl has been fighting cancer for a few months, and I think that the end is very near for us. I was just sitting here after helping her out to the yard to go to the potty. I know that I will have to put her down in the next few days and I just can't do it. I know I will, just tonight I just can't do it.

Hugs to you and yours
Kelly

Bless your heart...I know that agony.

 

[Muffy]

We lost our 12 y/o Shar Pei to Bloat last year. It is horrible. I'm glad your dog is going to be ok.

 

[texaslassie]

Thank you Pea-n-Me for that valuable information! I have two Dobermans and one of them eats his food in 30 seconds. The rock idea is an awesome idea.
I've never elevated their food and feed them 2x daily.

The fast eating one is from Doberman Rescue and he has issues with eating his food as fast as he can. He tries to eat it before I even place his bowl on the floor.

WOW, I learn great information from this board daily from you guys.

Cyber hugs to you all!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

You're welcome, texaslassie. It's one of those things I kind of live in fear of, having the breed I do and knowing several dogs who've suffered from bloat. One was my neighbor's dog. He survived a very serious episode but was never right afterward. They called me over as I was in my bathrobe sipping coffee one morning and I helped them comfort him as he took his last breaths. It was very painful and they beat themselves up over it very badly even though none of it was their fault.

 

[DawnCt1]

We lost our 11 year old Labrador last year due to bloat. It was horrible.

Glad to hear yours is doing well.

I lost a golden retriever to bloat, it was awful. Annie, my standard poodle bloated at 18 months. She needed a splenectomy, a gastropexy, pronestyl for bloat induced arrythmia, weekly cardiograms to get off of the pronestyl, but she survived for 7 more years and died of myasthenia gravis.