BLOAT - Page 2

Also, here's a great article by another doctor who speaks about bloat and how to prevent it. He pretty much validates everything I just said.

 

http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/preventing-bloat-naturally/

 

GSDFanboy, I'm not a fan of kibbles and my dogs don't ever have to eat kibbles after the first few days of transition.

But, there are some (possibly) false notions which need to be addressed.

This research (NOT opinion) says kibbles may actually digest faster than meat, or at least they travel faster through the system.

http://therawfeedingcommunity.com/2015/01/08/digest-this-kibble-may-actually-digest-faster-than-raw/

And, dogs that don't get any fillers need their anal glands expressed more often.

To 3shep re "Preventative measures to be encouraged"

May I suggest this. Before purchasing your next dog do some research. Learn the lines & individuals that bloat , torsion or have an intussusception, a bacterial overgrowth of the intestine or are deficient in pancreatic enzymes.

All are highly inheritable and thought to be interrelated to the problem. The more these problems are ignored in lines the more frequent they become. SO AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE STAY AWAY FROM THEM.

In my bookmarks under GSD I have a # of subfolders inc one called Early Death wh/ has further subfolders by disease. But do not limit yourself to web resources. IF you are an active GSD owner and are trialing & showing a. Keep your ears open & b. Ask,ask ask a ton of questions about the dogs you see and their parents, siblings, grandparents etc. Ask specifically re longevity - equally highly inheritable. I started to choose for longevity back in 1978 when I saw where the breed was headed. In one generation I raised my average old timer age to a healthy 14. Shepherds use to live longer. 15,16 and sometimes even older. Some of those genes are still out there. We need to be vigilant in identifying them & preserving them.

I know Rebecca Rodgers in Ca has had a # dogs live to a healthy 15+.

Ironically the longest lived shepherd I had (16.5) was my Nemo http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/german_shepherd_dog/dog.html?id=557479-nemo who as a pituitary dwarf was destined to die young. But thank god he didn' t read the book plus he just happened to have a sire 2x World Sieger Lasso who lived to a healthy 15. While Lasso produced beauty, movement, herding ability he also produced dwarfs so they stopped breeding to him. It may well be he produced other problems as well. That I do not know but the lesson as always it takes two to tango so you need to know both sides of the family tree. On Lasso I do not know because I never researched Nemo' s pedigree. He came to me at 6 by his own decision - hopped in the car & said I'm going with her. There is a bit more to the story which you can find here if you are interested.  http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/community.read?post=837280-a-very-fine-dog-indeed

Just a note. For the last several years of his life Nemo ate mostly a raw diet but that was used to heal & keep at bay the skin issues most dwarves have because they don't produce enough growth hormones. It allowed him for the first time to have a fully normal coat wh/ speaks to the appropriateness of the diet to me. However prior to that he had done pretty well on the same diet all my shepherds have had which is primarily a hi quality kibble supplemented occasionally with raw meat, fish or eggs, leftovers, oatmeal etc and plenty of fresh water. Kibble most oft fed dry, on the floor. Sometimes with water added but not soaked. They are fed when I get up and just b4 I go to bed and I have a very erratic schedule. They are fed & we go about our day .

@ Tig

Thank you kindly for your suggestions-but I've been active in the breed for many years and have done due diligence.  The dog mention in this matter did live a long healthy life after the incident.

And I still practice my precautions with my six very active shepherds and will continue to do so.

Clearly I cannot speak for everyone, but my experiences with Bloat / GDV are as follows:

2 cases, identified in dogs under my care, both reached the vet's theatre in time and were successfully corrected by surgery. (Because I knew what to look for, and acted quickly).
Both dogs were males; they were about five years apart in age when they bloated; they were very likely unrelated within 20+ generations; both were fed in the same way, with both being managed in a similar manner including kibble, wetted (which I do for other reasons too), 'rest time' before and after eating, food spread over two meals, much of the time on exactly the same kibble brand; in fact the only difference was the first/younger of the two to bloat, being a particularly large animal, had been fed using a raised bowl prior - and we had just stopped doing that a couple of weeks before, because our vet told us of the then new research that said rather than decreasing the chance of Bloat, a raised bowl seemed statistically more likely to encourage it !

I also heard of at least one dog, not in my care, who was fed raw - but still got GDV.

So as far as I am concerned, unless / even if all the research TIG talks about is available to you, its still a matter of 'luck', first and formost.