Offspring born to a bitch that Bloats - Page 1

I'm really furious but that maybe because of potential fear of what could happen. My husband purchased a puppy for me as a gift. I had mention that I love those bloodlines so he surprised me with this pup. The problem is the breeder never acknowledged that the bitch is a bloater. She does it regularly and he bred her anyway. Well, damage done, we own the pup but I'm concerned as I have heard that bloat can be hereditary? I'm looking for information from anyone who has or had a pup from such a situation as this, I don't want to spend the rest of this pups's life being paranoid but as you can tell by my tone I am. Any suggestions greatly appreciated. Thanks, Mel

Bloat can be hereditary. Your best bet if in the US, to see if your state has a puppy lemon law that guards against genetic defects (normally to 1 yr) or in your contract with the breeder what it states for genetic disorders? Good luck!

Some people to forego the worry have the stomaches of their dogs stapled. It is hereditary. An acquaintance of mine had several dogs of hers eventually die from bloat and the last of this line she had their stomaches stapled. When she discovered this, all her dogs were spayed and neutered. I understand that the dogs going into service,very often undergo this procedure as a precaution. The dogs with all their training are so valuable that they cannot afford loosing one. Your DH sounds like he had only your wishes at heart. Too bad about the bitch's breeder. Sunny

Was it a repeat breeding? If so, try contacting some owners of siblings. It may ease or confirm you worries.

Melody, I am having a few problems with this story. Usually when a dog experiences a full blown episode of bloat, it needs to be operated on asap. Bloat is very serious and usually fatal if not treated right away. Chances of survival are slim at best even if caught in time. Surgery is necessary. The bloated stomach often squishes and ruptures the spleen, which then needs to be removed. Tissue that has been cut off from the bloat dies off, and releases toxins. The stress on lungs and heart and overall cardiovasular system and other organs usually does the rest. Once the dog is under the knife and things do go well, it is common practise to staple the stomach to the inside of the stomach wall, to avoid future bloat episodes. It keeps the stomach in place and avoids that it can turn around its own axis, by which it would close up at both ends, thus creating an enclosed capsule in which gasses start to expand, but have no place to go. So, after surgery, the chances of a repeat episode are very slim. That puts a questions mark in my mind as to the statement "...the bitch is a bloater. She does it regularly...". Sounds like this female may have some problems (who is saying she has anyways? is it heresay? or does it come from a reliable source?), but they do not sound like real bloat. Bloat is common in large breeds with deep chests. Feeding, exercise, stretching of the stomach, etc, there is a whole list of things that can be the cause, but so far no one is really sure how it comes about, since it can still happen when all precautions have been taken and bloat should not occurr, in theory anyways. Preventative surgery to attach the stomach to the inside of the stomach wall is sometimes done in breeds that are affected to a large degree with this problem such as Great Danes. In most breeds it does not occur until the dogs are about 5 to 7 years old. It can also happen more frequently in bitches after whelping. What the dogs usually have in common is the built, which predisposes them to bloat. Add to that the previously mentioned practises and bloat may not be just a gentic problem, it can just as well be caused by outside factors. When I read that someone has a whole kennel full of dogs coming up with bloat, I also have to question if it is just gentics. The source of the bloat problem is not fully understood yet. Also, we all know that just because the dam or sire has a problem somewhere that does not means that all its offspring is automatically afflicted with the same problem. These things are often blown out of proportion. Check your sources. Better yet, go directly to the source and find out exactly what the extent of the problem is. I doubt that any breeder freely advertises that dog X has problem Y. It could be just a rumor. No breeder has yet been able to breed the trouble and maintenance free dog. Death is hereditary! We cannot avoid it. Educate yourself about bloat, how to prevent it and what to do in case it does happen. Google does the trick. Talk to your vet about it, that you are worried and put in place an emergency plan if it bothers you that much. Then kick back your feet and enjoy your puppy!!!

Good Grief DH why are you so crabby. My situation and information comes directly from the breeder. NO RUMORS, sorry to disapoint you DH. The dog had surgery to fix the bloat. Her stomach has been tacked. The dog still goes through all the motions of bloat though and I guess (from the breeders mouth) regularly. I was given the vets name and I spoke to them today. She said yes, the dog did indeed twist and it was surgically repaired. The dog has been seen by a specialist and they plan to do a scope to see why said dog is still having problems. DH, I'm not attacking any breeder as you ellude, this person probably would never even dare venture into this site. I didn't get the dog for breeding either, she'll be spayed and have her stomach tacked as Blitzen suggested. I just asked what should I do and I didn't need you DH reprimanding me like I've done something wrong. I came here for answers from others and I don't need to be told to go google my information. In fact, I don't know why you even bothered to write your long winded reprimand unless you are having a bitchy day, and thought it would be good to go attack someone, (I just happen to be the lucky one) instead of just passing up the subject. Thanks for nothing DH, you really make a person's day. Mel

Oops, Sunshine, I meant to thank you for the advice on having my puppies stomach stapled when she's being spayed. I've been reading too many posts and get confused sometimes of who said what. But Blitzen usually has good tips too;-) Thanks to most of your for your suggestions and comments. Mel

Mel, I certainly did not mean to upset you. But you are giving very different sets of information here. In the first post you write that the breeder never acknowledged the bloat, but now he does, and you also have more background info that you did not have when you first posted. How am I supposed to know that? I also do not consider telling you to prepare and then enjoy your pup reprimanding you. I merely raised questions, some of which you have now answered. But feel free to disagree with me any time. Sadly info on a dog's medical history floating around hardly ever IS correct unless it does come from the source. And often it IS blown out of proportion. A breeders credentials and a dogs legacy can quickly and carelessly be tarnished that way... Yep, so the possibility of that will leave me a bit crabby perchance. I will always ask for caution when making unproven statements that can affect someone. I do not read anywhere in my post above that would give me reason to feel disappointed that there are no rumors. On the contrary. Maybe you should re-read it. Your last posts have raised new questions though. And this is a discussion, is it not? Would I put a dog through preventative surgery? No. That is only my personal opinion. We are talking major sugery here... This surgery is primarily done in Great Danes because of the huge percentage of their population affected by bloat. So in their case, bloat is a foreseeable consequence of owning a GD puppy. Then the surgery makes sense. In a case where it may only be a possibility... who knows. You of course must do what you think is best. Next thing is me getting a letter from you 5, 6, 7 years from now, telling me that you listened to me but it would have been better if you had followed your own instincts because your dog just had a bloat episode. Following your own intuition is always best! But consider your own words too - the surgery did not fix the dams problems. Should someone breed with a female after it has had bloat? I don't know. Would I? No. Should someone breed a male after bloat? I don't know. Would I? I don't know. I have never considered this question until today. Would I get a pup from lines with known bloat problems? I don't know. If I knew before hand, maybe not. If I found out after the fact like you did, I might be more cautious about feeding and when to exercise, but that would be the extent of it. What about finding out about bloat in a sire/dam when your pup is already older? Bloat is probably somewhere in all the GSD that are around, somewhere in their genetic background. I cannot focus on all the bad. Then I could never own a dog again. Another reason for most likely being crabby about this whole thing is that a dear friend just lost her dog to this very problem on Monday. So who am I to say, don't do the preventative surgery... There are a reported 300 to 600 gentic diseases in dogs. Are you going to worry about every single one? Its not worth it. Dogs will die, that goes with owning one. I understand your fear, but you cannot, must not worry about everything, otherwise you will never be able to enjoy this puppy, or any other puppy. And, gosh, you really should enjoy your puppy! As to the dams continued problems - could be a feeding error for that particular dog, a digestive problem, an allergy, many things. Especially if it continues. Have they tried feeding raw? Feeding only meat without any carbs? Reason is that she may not be able to digest any carbs and instead ferments them, which will cause the gassiness. Have they tried giving digestive enzymes? Feeding several times a day? Rest after feeding? Are they feeding a poor quality food? Are they feeding something that causes gas like soy, green tripe? Could the dog have a food allergy that causes gas? Etc. See, there are so many possible causes, you may have absolutely nothing to worry about.

Melody, I would be interesed in hearing what lines your pup is from. I have a friend who just had a full brother to her female die of bloat at 20 months. I read some of your other posts and happened to see you mention the lines of my girl.......you may private message me back . Thanks

A friend with Am lines has done quite a bit of research on causes of death in GSD's. Using the statistics she's gathered which include the age at which the dog first bloated and pedigrees, it does appear that many GSD's with the tendency to bloat are in fact related. I can tell you for a fact that in Alaskan Malamutes the tendency to bloat is definitely genetic. One very well-known kennel has produced numerous dogs that have torsed and that breeder now routinely tacks all her breeding and show stock. Most other breeders will no longer use her dogs or purchase puppies from her.