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by malshep on 16 August 2009 - 00:08
I am so sorry for your loss. Throwing up a food can happen with heart issues. You also said his energy level was down too, that can be a sign too. Your dear dog when you found him sounds like he was sleeping very peacefully. We are all here to hold your shoulders up while you are so upset. I know we all have been there. Know that he had a great life with his family. He was heaven sent to you but sometimes heaven needs them back. A big hug.
Always,
Cee
Always,
Cee
by Shepherdguy on 16 August 2009 - 01:08
I am sorry for your loss, its never easy losing a Shepherd. Over the last 30 years 3 of my Shepherds have had bloat or tortion the first one I was young and naieve, my 2nd shepherd she was 2 years old I fed her with a high cereal food content then walked her with my other shepherd and they charged a rolled around she came running back to me in obvious distress and very frightened she collapsed in front of me and was gone in a mater of minutes there was nothing I could do. Learnt a very hard lesson on feeding and exercise. I had an autopsy.
The second one happened about five years ago I was due to travel on holiday within the next 4 hours, I was on a walk and my male shepherd was walking stiff legged and straining when trying to pass a motion I knew then it was a tortion 10 o'clock at night this was so I phoned the vet who agreed to meet at the practice, I walked in told the vet he had a tortion the vets retort was ' X-RAY VISION HAVE WE ' I was very restrained! anyway I left him there and in half an hour I had a phone call to say it was a tortion I agreed to the surgery and he's still with us going on 14! Never new what brought his tortion on.
My third tortion was last year with my thirteen and a half year old bitch. I had returned home after being out for 2/3 hours to find her lying upright on the kitchen floor retching the floor was covered in foamed saliva where she'd been trying to retch to clear the blockage, it was afternoon so I rushed her to the vets, not waiting cus I told them it was a tortion, but because of her age the shock she was in I felt she wouldnt come through the surgery so I made that very hard but kindest decision and had the vet put her to sleep. Never new what caused her tortion either.
Yes our Shepherds are prone to tortion because of their deep chests all we can do is be sensible about food types, feeding and exercise and just keep an eye for signs sometimes its slow others at lightening speed.
The second one happened about five years ago I was due to travel on holiday within the next 4 hours, I was on a walk and my male shepherd was walking stiff legged and straining when trying to pass a motion I knew then it was a tortion 10 o'clock at night this was so I phoned the vet who agreed to meet at the practice, I walked in told the vet he had a tortion the vets retort was ' X-RAY VISION HAVE WE ' I was very restrained! anyway I left him there and in half an hour I had a phone call to say it was a tortion I agreed to the surgery and he's still with us going on 14! Never new what brought his tortion on.
My third tortion was last year with my thirteen and a half year old bitch. I had returned home after being out for 2/3 hours to find her lying upright on the kitchen floor retching the floor was covered in foamed saliva where she'd been trying to retch to clear the blockage, it was afternoon so I rushed her to the vets, not waiting cus I told them it was a tortion, but because of her age the shock she was in I felt she wouldnt come through the surgery so I made that very hard but kindest decision and had the vet put her to sleep. Never new what caused her tortion either.
Yes our Shepherds are prone to tortion because of their deep chests all we can do is be sensible about food types, feeding and exercise and just keep an eye for signs sometimes its slow others at lightening speed.
by shepherdpal on 16 August 2009 - 02:08
i too lost my beautiful shepherd friend Eli, on May 31st , two months before his 9th birthday. He had been fine the day before, his usual happy self, but that day i came home from church and he was laying under the tree in our back yard.. He looked like he was sleeping peacefully but he was gone. The vet said it was probably a heart attack or stroke.. It is still hard. My new pup, who great grandmother is the grandmother of the the dog I lost does not replace him, ( no dog or no one can) but life is better with a new friend. Take consolation in knowing you gave him a happy life and I am one of those who believe that all animals who are loved and love according to their capacity are in heaven waiting for us
by hexe on 16 August 2009 - 05:08
Probably one of the most common causes of sudden death in GSDs over 6 years of age is hemangiosarcoma, a cancer which typically affects the spleen, liver and/or heart, and very often results in spontaneous, unexpected internal hemorrhaging causing the dog to slowly weaken, lose conciousness and ultimately die. There is usually very little in the way of clinical signs to suggest that a dog has this cancer, so it is not unusual for it to be diagnosed only after the dog has already passed, and the cancer is found at necropsy. The fact that Tsar had been losing weight for no known reason can be a symptom of many types of cancer, including hemangiosarcoma, but it can also just be the result of an older dog not utilizing his or her food as well as they did when they were younger, so that alone isn't something that should have prompted a run to the vet in Tsar's case.
My condolences to you and your family; losing them is never easy, whether it's sudden and of natural causes as with Tsar, expected and scheduled with the help of the vet when their quality of life has declined, or any other manner--the simple fact remains that we are poorer once they've left us, yet richer for having had them in our lives.
by daatl on 16 August 2009 - 07:08
Thankyou very much for sharing your knowledge,past experiences and the loss of your own dogs with me.
I really appreciate it and I am trying to take all the information on board to help deal with the pain of Tsar's passing.
Maybe I will never truly know what happened to cause him to die like that, but gosh it hurts more sitting here and not knowing why this happens and getting some insight maybe will help me down the path a little and it is better than doing nothing.We have always loved and cherished Tsar, I never knew how profoundly his passing would hurt.He was our first baby, and had shared many memories and important firsts with us.He also offered the feeling of security and protection for us when my partner was off in the middle of the night working his butt off.I miss him so very much my heart literally aches.
I hope all the information I am learning here will help me when we are ready for a new puppy, I would never consider another breed, they are the epitome of perfection and to me whatever the cost is, is nothing in comparison to what you get for life. So for that,I would like to thank all you GSD breeders for.
Dayle and family
I really appreciate it and I am trying to take all the information on board to help deal with the pain of Tsar's passing.
Maybe I will never truly know what happened to cause him to die like that, but gosh it hurts more sitting here and not knowing why this happens and getting some insight maybe will help me down the path a little and it is better than doing nothing.We have always loved and cherished Tsar, I never knew how profoundly his passing would hurt.He was our first baby, and had shared many memories and important firsts with us.He also offered the feeling of security and protection for us when my partner was off in the middle of the night working his butt off.I miss him so very much my heart literally aches.
I hope all the information I am learning here will help me when we are ready for a new puppy, I would never consider another breed, they are the epitome of perfection and to me whatever the cost is, is nothing in comparison to what you get for life. So for that,I would like to thank all you GSD breeders for.
Dayle and family
by windwalker18 on 17 August 2009 - 00:08
I lost 2 dogs to bloat... neither had any history of gastro problems prior to the event that killed them. Both were taken to the vet within 20 minutes of onset... and despite all attempts both passed away. The memory of walking Fawn into the office and assisting in the surgery, reasuring her that all would be well... sucessful surgery... then she just stopped breathing. No warning... just stopped... CPR, and meds did nothing to revive her.... all I could do was sit down on the surgery floor and cry. Dr. Kay kindly walked away and let me have my time even though I'd woken him from a sound sleep with the emergency call and we'd had 2 hours of surgery.
No words will help... just time. Know you did what you could and loved your kid. And when the time is right a new best friend shoud be given a chance to heal your heart.
Ikon is finally healing mine from several traumatic losses.
No words will help... just time. Know you did what you could and loved your kid. And when the time is right a new best friend shoud be given a chance to heal your heart.
Ikon is finally healing mine from several traumatic losses.
by GoldCoastFilms on 17 August 2009 - 01:08
daatl
Kathy and I are very sorry to hear about your precious Tsar. He is in heaven, make no mistake about that. Animals are welcomed by their Creator God into heaven, every one of them. Tsar lives on and is happy, playing with friends, eating the best food, running through fields that have scents he's never smelled on earth.
We have been walking through an excruciating time with our Noah in the vet hospital. See our thread "Our German Shepherd is facing mysterious life-threatening symptoms". We are reading through your thread to see if there is anything we can do to keep Noah safe from what your Tsar experienced.
Bart
by TangoCharlie on 22 August 2009 - 09:08
Hi, I lost my best mate "RAFPOL FIREFOE" in the late 1990's with torsion,which I assume is what we are talking about here, He died three days after a massive operation to right his twist, He was from a working bloodline and had produced 14 Police/Prison service dogs, his father was National Police Champion in 1987. He was 5, In a cruel twist of fate I lost firefoe's mum with the same problem two weeks later. She was my foundation bitch and was one in a million. I gave up breeding and training GSD's after this, vowing never to return to the breed. However, a tour of duty in Iraq as a Bomb dog handler in 2006 has changed my life and I am back in the breed, one of my dogs out there was a Sable GSD bitch and she was fantastic, I decided that when I returned to UK I would get a GSD again, In december last year I purchased "Daisy Vom Houthrack" from North Belgium and hope to compete with her in Schutzhund next year. It is clear Shepherds are prone to stomach torsion and I firmly believe incorrect diet and feeding regime are big players in causing this horrendous problem. I am feeding a BARF diet now. I will never feed an all in one complete diet again, cereal is banned here.
TC
TC
by calijo on 22 August 2009 - 10:08
An update on my post of 15th August- Mika had a bloat on Thursday, got caught in teatime traffic on the way to the vet and took 30 minutes to get there! Luckily when they operated last year they stitched the stomach back and that prevented it from turning again. On the X-Ray we could see not only gas in the stomach but also in the chest cavity.
Both times it has been on a hot day and at teatime, he had been drinking a lot but we put that down to the weather, he does drink a lot at normal times.
This time they inserted a stomach tube to release the gas and did not need to operate. I collected him three hours later and as of now he is making good progress.
Re the vet: when we rang to ask them to wait for me as the surgery hours were due to finish 5 minutes after he started to froth and try to vomit, the receptionist didn't understand the words "suspected torsion". After repeating it several times I said "This dog nearly died last year from a twisted gut. We have 45 minutes before he dies, will you please ask a vet to wait for me to arrive?" I said it might be a good idea for her to learn a few key words which might save a dog's life and also save wasting time having to explain it to her! She replied that she was only the receptionist and there was no need to be rude! It appears she thought we were telling her that HE was having an abortion!!! Which if it wasn't so serious might be funny.
Jeannette/
Both times it has been on a hot day and at teatime, he had been drinking a lot but we put that down to the weather, he does drink a lot at normal times.
This time they inserted a stomach tube to release the gas and did not need to operate. I collected him three hours later and as of now he is making good progress.
Re the vet: when we rang to ask them to wait for me as the surgery hours were due to finish 5 minutes after he started to froth and try to vomit, the receptionist didn't understand the words "suspected torsion". After repeating it several times I said "This dog nearly died last year from a twisted gut. We have 45 minutes before he dies, will you please ask a vet to wait for me to arrive?" I said it might be a good idea for her to learn a few key words which might save a dog's life and also save wasting time having to explain it to her! She replied that she was only the receptionist and there was no need to be rude! It appears she thought we were telling her that HE was having an abortion!!! Which if it wasn't so serious might be funny.
Jeannette/
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