Bloat with Torsion - Page 1

Hi everyone We lost Chaos, our beloved male GSD a year ago to bloat with torsion. We got him to the emergency vet right away, but he could not be saved. He was only six years old, and healthy (other than allergy to ragweed). It was truly heart breaking. I am German and grew up with GSDs (pets), but never heard of this problem in this breed. When speaking to Chaos' breeder I found out that his mother and father also died of intestinal ailments (possibly bloat and torsion). We now have another beautiful male GSD named Cole. He is almost 11 months old. I was told by my vet (same one that treated Chaos) that a preventative operation could be performed that tacs the stomach to the rib cage. After that, the dog can still bloat, but twisting and turning (torsion) of the stomach would be less likely. We talked to Cole's breeder (she posts on this board)when we first purchased him, and she has not had problems with bloat and torsion in her kennel. All of her dogs are in excellent health. So heredity, in my opinion, can be ruled out. I would really appreciate your collective opinions: - how prevalent is bloat and torsion in GSDs? - is the proposed operation advised and helpful? - are there any day to day things I can do to protect Cole from this horrible illness? I thank you for any advise on this matter. Claudia Heather, thank you for producing our new puppy Cole. He is gorgeous with excellent drives. We adore him!

Claudia, Loosing a dog to bloat is really heartbreaking and many of us who have had GSDs or other large breeds have experienced it. I am not sure any statistics exist as to how prevalent it is, by percentages, but it is NOT uncommon. Often, by the time the dog arrives at the vet, it is too late to save the dog. Some vets try and bills pile up as they do try, and in some cases, dogs are saved. My personal belief is that indeed there is a hereditary component to it as the tissue develops in a way that allows the stomach or the intestines to twist. A dog I had bloated and I am absolutely positive it happened because he jumped on top of a jeep going for a toy that was errantly thrown the night before he became ill. I immediately knew something was wrong in the morning, but it was too late to save him. None the less, there are things that are thought to add to the risk. Some of those factors are mentioned in a study done by Purdue School of Veterinary Medicine. I personally never exercise a dog before meals or for 4 hours after meals. The Purdue study suggests feeding dogs twice with smaller amounts, rather than once a day is better. I think it makes sense. They also say that raising the food bowl off the floor seemed to be a factor. I personally would not have the operation performed unless the dog was already in for abdominal surgery. But yes, it can and is done. I recently sold a dog to a man. The dog ended up eating something at the new owners house weeks later that had to be removed surgically. The vet told the new owner that she went ahead and tacked down the tissue in question just because she was already in the abdomen removing the piece of rubber the dog had eaten. I certainly agree that is a good idea if one is already operating. I have a long list of excellent references on this if you care to email me privately. I wish you good luck with your new pup. schwarzenberggsd@earthlink.net

http://www.vet.purdue.edu/epi/update2.htm They are now saying that raised food dishes INCREASE the risk of bloat by 110%!! Geesh! Sure wish 'they' would make up their mind! I'm sorry for your loss. I have never experienced it, but have a friend who did. It's very sad to lose a dog from this...my condolences.

I personally wouldn't put my dog through surgery as a preventive measure. but then again I haven't experienced they tragedy that you have been through. As Hodie stated there are many ways to prevent it on your own. I feed my dogs two small meals twice a day and never excersise close to meals. I pay attention to how much water they are drinking with food in their bellies. Large meals + excersise + water is a recipie for disaster. Avoid mixing those things and unless your dog is genetically predisposed he should be in the clear. JMO Take care, Melanie

Also had this emailed to me from a friend awhile back...it was apparently written by a lady who just lost her GSD to bloat and did massive research on it. Maybe something here will help....sure couldn't hurt. Symptoms Pacing, fidgeting. Acting agitated or uncomfortable Salivating, panting, whining Licking weird things, almost obsessively. May even lick the air. (You will know it when you see it!) Unsuccessful attempts to vomit, retching Excessive drooling, usually accompanied by retching noises. May vomit foam/mucous. Difficulty breathing, shallow breathing, panting Rapid heartrate Pale gums, or very red gums Swelling in abdominal area (may or may not be noticeable) Hunching up May try to gulp water, snow, dirt, rocks, grass. IF YOUR DOG SHOWS ANY OF THESE SIGNS SEEK MEDICAL ATTENTION IMMEDIATELY! Risk factors Deep-chested breeds (GSDs, Danes, Saints, Labs, Irish Wolfhounds, Great Pyrenees, Boxers, Weims) Raised dishes result in an 110% INCREASE in risk of bloat! (See link at bottom of page) Feeding some canned food or table scraps seems to lessen the incidence. Previous history, or family history. Fast eaters. (If you have a gulper, try scattering the kibble on the floor.) Tense/fearful/anxious dogs Underweight dogs Males more likely than females Food containing citric acid, or food with fat in top 4ingredients. Large volumes of kibble. (i.e., less calorie dense foods) Treatment The immediate treatment is decompression of the stomach. The vet will do this. Without surgery there is a 24% mortality rate and a 76% chance of re-bloating at some point. The best choice is to finish the treatment that has been started and have the abdomen explored. If the stomach can be surgically tacked into place, recurrence rate drops to 6%. {Marvista Vet } Prevention NO exercise around mealtimes. (1hr before, 2hrs after) Light walking is okay, and may increase gastric motility. (That’s a good thing.) Limit water intake right around meals, and also around exercise. Don’t limit their water intake except around mealtimes/exercise. Feed several smaller meals rather than 1 larger one. It is possible that administering simethicone (Phayzyme, Gas-X) at first sign of abdominal discomfort MIGHT buy you some time. It does NOT eliminate the need to seek emergency medical attention! Possible prevention: 1-2 Tbs of Aloe Vera Gel or 1 Tbs of apple cider vinegar given right after each meal to promote proper acidity Yogurt or supplemental acidophilus to promote healthy bacteria in the gut.

Thanks Hodie and soothersmaylive for your kind replies. The purdue link was very helpful, and I would appreciate the list of references Hodie mentioned. My e-mail address is: skykat@charter.net Chaos was free fed, by that I mean he had access to food when ever he wanted, so he never gulped his food. He became ill at 11pm and had been just lying around. We were packing to go on vacation with him the next morning, so it could have been nerves/anxiety. He also stole the leftovers of a cornish hen we had for dinner earlier, crunching it quickly, before I could get it away from him.......personally I think that may have caused the bloat, but why his stomach would twist when he is just loafing around (I'll never it cornish hen again). He became ill 4 hours after the hen incident. Healthy and sleeping one minute, throwing up foam the next. We knew within minutes that he was seriously, and rushed him to the emergency vet. He died 15 minutes after he got there.....45 minutes after the illness started. Chaos died a year ago Mother's Day, and I still tear up when I think of him. I have his ashes in the living room....the place he loved to hang out. Thanks for the support. I'll elevate his bowls as soon as I get off the computer. Claudia

Thanks for all of the great information. I am leaning toward trying to prevent it on my own with some of the suggestions that were made, like GSDfan suggested, rather than surgery, . Just would feel horrible if Cole bloated in the future and I did not do everything possible to prevent it. Is simethicone (Phayzyme, Gas-X)an over the counter medication. I'll make sure to keep some around the house. You guys are great!! Claudia

1)No playing(especially with other dogs or animals) or running until at least 2 hours after a feeding. This gives the food time to pass out of the stomach and reduce the chance of the turning/flipping. 2)How ever much I feed my dogs, I do it in two feedings(one in morning, one 10 hours or so later in the evening depending on what activities are planned). This keeps the stomach smaller(less dense), and does not stretch the stomach out(inside) so the effect of turning the stomach are reduced/minimized when the inertia acts upon the internal organs when the dog rolls during play. 3)Avoid the kinds of play that results in a particular dog "rolling" over the ground, thus diminishing the chances of encountering the inertia to occur upon the stomach that turns the stomach to begin with. This is serious, because until it's too late in most cases, you don't even know the stomach has turned or flipped. ************************************************* I copied and pasted the above advice from an email I sent out. I emailed the above just this week to a family that got a dog from us 2 years ago. They had a friend that lost a GSD to this, last week. I advised her, this is what I do personally to try and avoid this phenomenon. I have been raising these dogs since 1982 and I have never experienced this personally. Sorry about your loss. Stephen

I misread the issue on elevated bowl.......putting them on the floor again quickly. Claudia

Certainly using some good sense, and some of the advice posted here is reasonable in trying to prevent bloat. However, in my opinion, THE most important thing is to know the signs and symptoms and NEVER delay getting help. The sad thing is that dogs, like children, often do not show distress until it is too late. For those of us who have had this happen or know someone to whose dog it happened, usually it is the same sad story. By the time the dog showed symptoms and signs, even when taken immediately to a vet, it was too late. The problem is that when this happens, blood supply to the affected tissue is lost and the tissue dies. Once it dies, a rapid cascade of other things begins to happen. Even with excellent surgery, blood volume replacement, and other advanced care, the dead tissue has sent the chemistry of the body out of whack and that causes cardiac problems, kidney problems and so on and so on.