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Our Experience With Bloat


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As some of you know Bailey bloated last week and survived - thank god!

Here's the thread Bailey Bloated

I am posting this because I want to share with you what her signs were and what we were thinking at the time.

 

I hope our experience helps you in identifying bloat as soon as possible and that you too have a good outcome like we did.

 

Of course we have all read about bloat and we all probably freak when our greys going tearing off around the yard with a full belly.... or we wait hours until they stop panting to feed them. We probably all know the signs - trying to throw up, distended abdomen, looks like they swallowed a watermelon, pacing, panting the list goes on. And we all know the theories on why bloat happens, but of course there is really no rhyme or reason when it does happen.

 

Tuesday was a completely ordinary day.

Bailey was 100% her normal self. She was eating fine, drinking normally, playing, resting, sleeping soundly - completely normal. We feed two meals a day. Raw. Raised feeders. She didn't run at all that day.

When I kissed her good night,(at 10:20pm) she was perfect.

 

At 2:30am I heard walking. Then she settled, so I let her be.

At 3:00 am, she's walking again. He tummy looked a little full, but not really any more than normal - as she was looking a little tubby the last few months - we were trying to get her to lose some weight.

 

But one thing was for sure, she was uncomfortable. She would sit down and then get up right away.

 

She also stuck to me like glue.

She wanted to go outside, but didn't do anything.

She looked nauseous so I thought she was going to throw up, but she wasn't retching.

Then she burped and seemed to be fine.

She was panting a lot.

Settled for a few minutes and then I called for Tim because I thought - damn it (or other four letter word) I think we are dealing with bloat.

Tim came down and Bailey actually jumped on the couch and was fine for about 10 minutes.

Then got up and looked nauseous again - walking around like she was preparing to puke - but no retching - her tummy looked somewhat normal still.

I actually had the pepto in my hand thinking of giving it to her.

Then she sat down on the couch again and fell asleep for about 5 minutes.

Tim said, well, let's go back to bed and if she's up again, we'll hear her.

Just as he said that, she jumped off the couch and went to the back door.

That is when she had her first retch... and off we whisked her to the e-vet. This started at 2:30 at home and by 4:00 the vet had a tube down her throat that was releasing massive amounts of gas. We were lucky because her tummy didn't go into torsion.

 

If there was any advice that I would give after going through this it would be: if your dog is showing any signs even remotely close to what i have described - get them to the vet asap. $200 on xrays to see if they are bloated is way cheaper that emergency surgery and worth every penny if you can save them in time.

And although she wasn't showing the text book signs she was bloating and had we waited for those textbook signs, it probably would have been too late.

 

And here is a link to a great article about it written by a well-respected Deerhound breeder. I got this after our situation and boy does it sound exactly like we were going through.

Bloat & Torsion

Edited by LadyBailey
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Thanks Eva...it was very insightful!

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Thanks so much for sharing this. What is extremely frightening about this is the fact that everything that went on that night was so normal. No exercise, nothing in particular to point to.

 

I read that you have a raised feeder, that's what I use for Carl. I've read both pro and con for raised feeders - some say they help prevent bloat, others say they help cause bloat. Did you vet say anything about it?

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Missing my beautiful boy Sunsands Carl 2.25.2003 - 4.1.2014

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Thank you! I have also heard that giving simethicone, the ingredient in gas relievers such as Phazyme can sometimes slow the bloating. This is not meant as a cure, but something to relieve the pressure while you are getting them to the vet. I always keep it on hand.

 
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www.greyhoundadventures.org & www.greyhoundamberalert.org & www.duckypaws.com

 

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I read that you have a raised feeder, that's what I use for Carl. I've read both pro and con for raised feeders - some say they help prevent bloat, others say they help cause bloat. Did you vet say anything about it?

 

Nope, nothing about the raised feeder - being good or bad. The other thing is that we feed raw and one of the things we read before we started feeding raw is that the risk of bloat is much less because the food is what it is and doesn't expand like kibble in their tummies... well so much for that theory :lol

 

By the way, her stomach was completely empty when they tubed her.

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Guest EnzaFerrari

 

Thank you for posting this! I was curious about what led up to it and what made you bring him to the vet. A very informative article as well.

 

I had started feeding Enza on a step stool to prevent her from regurgitating her food, but after reading this, I may take it down to the floor. I also wet her food with water, but now it seems like they say not to do it, but it is the only way she eats her kibble.

 

Goodness a lot of information.

 

 

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X2 on the Simethicone. It's a great med to have on hand, though in an active bloat, what you did (haul a** to the evet) is the best thing! Simethicone is frequently prescribed as part of the aftercare for a dog like yours'.

 

The couple of times that Louis has gorged on dog food- really the only thing that makes enough gas to distend his stomach... binges on human food don't do it- GasX is the best (after I make him throw up his ill-gotten goodies).

 

Lynn

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Thank you for this post and related article..

 

L.

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Missing my Bridge Angels Ryce, Bo, Jim, Miss Millie, Miss Rose, Gustopher P Jones (Pimpmaster G), Miss Isabella and Miss Star

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Guest MnMDogs

Matty bloated about 4 years ago - there was no torsion, but for some reason on that particular day, food was not leaving her stomach. I have to echo that there was nothing out of the ordinary that day. This never happened before, and hasn't happened since.

 

She also had all those same signs - panting, pacing, stretching and sitting and getting up immediately. Matty does NOT sit...ever. So off to the evet we went. Like I said, her stomach didn't twist, and odds are, she would have been ok. Her belly was just full of food (she was 4 pounds heavier than normal when we weighed in! But better safe than sorry if you see these signs. So glad that Bailey is ok!

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Very thoughtful to post this topic. Glad your Bailey will be ok.

 

On a similar note my greyhound appeared uncomfortable the other night for half an hour or so and was eating grass, walking up and down asking to go outside in the garden all the time, panting, tummy noises, burped a couple of times etc. Generally was just not settling.....

 

I have some Kaogel on hand from my vet and I gave him this and massaged his tummy gently for a good while - he released smelly gas (politely put) from his rear and was fine after this. Although I watched him carefully just in case afterwards he soon settled down........

 

It's scary reading about bloat - I have a raised feeder and he is on kibble but I limit his water intake after he eats.

 

I wondered if it was the beginnings of bloat and whether i'd reversed it by my actions i.e. massaging the tummy gently?

 

Comments appreciated

 

K.

 

 

Run free our beloved Sir Snowy, Pip, Queenie, Sadie, Tess & Rosie until we meet again......I would rather feel the thorn than to never see the rose

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GREAT post. Wonder if we should pin this?

 

One other sign that Joseph had when he blocked (not bloat) was: The hair over his lower back and hindquarters was standing up on end. We already knew something was wrong because of the stretching, sitting, pacing, and he was able to vomit.

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You made a good point-the symptoms may not sound like bloat symptoms. I lost my beloved soulmate Slim to bloat/gastric torsion 2 years ago. He had no typical bloat symptoms. He wobbled a little twice appearing weak in the hind end-that was pretty much the only initial symptom. Since I have extreme mother hen syndrome, when I noticed something was wrong I immediately wisked him to the vet because I didn't want to take any chances. He got there in plenty of time according to the surgeon-all tissue was in wonderful condition except that everything was twisted up including his spleen. He was such a fighter. He coded once and they brought him back; coded again and was coming back again till that weak greyhound body took him with DIC. But everyone should take note the symptoms even for bloat/torsion that results in death can be very minor-at least Slim's was. I originally thought he was just having a heat episode as the only symptom was weakness in the hind end. You are so right- don't take chances-get them to the vet- better safe than sorry. And even then it might not be survivable.
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I am interested to know what, if any precautions do you need to take from now on with Bailey?

 

Well after having a little scare with her a few days ago, I have Phazyme on hand and will give it to her if I think she is gassing up again.

 

We will feed her three meals a day to make sure she is isn't maxing out her tummy.

 

We will continue to feed from a raised feeder - the jury is still out on this being a cause of bloat.

 

We will make sure that she doesn't drink a lot of water after she eats. Of course not allow her to run etc., follow the simple rules that we know about bloat.

 

We will still feed raw, but for at least a month we will be feeding home cooked bland food. Not sure if we will be adding Raw Meaty Bones back into her diet.

 

We are also going to see a holistic vet with 30 years experience, this Friday. I want to get her opinion on how we can help her heal and also what if anything we need to do for her, now that she doesn't have her spleen. I know they say, people and dogs can live without them, but if there is a supplement that can help her, we will do it for her.

 

She is currently getting acupuncture, massage and chiropractic adjustments for her other reasons, so I hope that these too will help her in her healing from the surgery.

Edited by LadyBailey
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As some of you know Bailey bloated last week and survived - thank god!

Here's the thread Bailey Bloated

I am posting this because I want to share with you what her signs were and what we were thinking at the time.

 

I hope our experience helps you in identifying bloat as soon as possible and that you too have a good outcome like we did.

 

Of course we have all read about bloat and we all probably freak when our greys going tearing off around the yard with a full belly.... or we wait hours until they stop panting to feed them. We probably all know the signs - trying to throw up, distended abdomen, looks like they swallowed a watermelon, pacing, panting the list goes on. And we all know the theories on why bloat happens, but of course there is really no rhyme or reason when it does happen.

 

Tuesday was a completely ordinary day.

Bailey was 100% her normal self. She was eating fine, drinking normally, playing, resting, sleeping soundly - completely normal. We feed two meals a day. Raw. Raised feeders. She didn't run at all that day.

When I kissed her good night,(at 10:20pm) she was perfect.

 

At 2:30am I heard walking. Then she settled, so I let her be.

At 3:00 am, she's walking again. He tummy looked a little full, but not really any more than normal - as she was looking a little tubby the last few months - we were trying to get her to lose some weight.

 

But one thing was for sure, she was uncomfortable. She would sit down and then get up right away.

 

She also stuck to me like glue.

She wanted to go outside, but didn't do anything.

She looked nauseous so I thought she was going to throw up, but she wasn't retching.

Then she burped and seemed to be fine.

She was panting a lot.

Settled for a few minutes and then I called for Tim because I thought - damn it (or other four letter word) I think we are dealing with bloat.

Tim came down and Bailey actually jumped on the couch and was fine for about 10 minutes.

Then got up and looked nauseous again - walking around like she was preparing to puke - but no retching - her tummy looked somewhat normal still.

I actually had the pepto in my hand thinking of giving it to her.

Then she sat down on the couch again and fell asleep for about 5 minutes.

Tim said, well, let's go back to bed and if she's up again, we'll hear her.

Just as he said that, she jumped off the couch and went to the back door.

That is when she had her first retch... and off we whisked her to the e-vet. This started at 2:30 at home and by 4:00 the vet had a tube down her throat that was releasing massive amounts of gas. We were lucky because her tummy didn't go into torsion.

 

If there was any advice that I would give after going through this it would be: if your dog is showing any signs even remotely close to what i have described - get them to the vet asap. $200 on xrays to see if they are bloated is way cheaper that emergency surgery and worth every penny if you can save them in time.

And although she wasn't showing the text book signs she was bloating and had we waited for those textbook signs, it probably would have been too late.

 

And here is a link to a great article about it written by a well-respected Deerhound breeder. I got this after our situation and boy does it sound exactly like we were going through.

Bloat & Torsion

 

was she eating grass?

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Thank you for the post. This was a very well written and informative post!!! We had a greyhound in Chicago die of bloat several months ago - he was between homes and at a kennel. I was so upset when I heard about the story plus no one had really walked me through what is was, signs and/or symptom, etc.

 

I have done more reading but a post like this is critical.

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was she eating grass?

 

Nope. Not during the day or as it was happening. And when I took her outside for the first time at 3pm 'ish, I thought that this would be the first thing she would do as she looked nauseous. But that night she didn't even step onto the grass. She stood beside with that look in her eyes, "please help me". That was my first clue that something wasn't right.

 

 

 

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