Swollen Belly

[Guest annemurph]

Hi! I adopted a little girl last summer. Recently, after eating, her side bulges out. I've taken her to several doctors and been given deworming medication, antinflammatories, and special ID food. Her side (where I've learned her belly is) still will bulge out periodically after eating. She does not seem upset or in pain; but I'm still concerned. I've never seen this with any of my other greyhounds. The vets keep telling me not to worry about but I still do. Does anyone have experience with this? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

[ahicks51]

"Side" as in just one side?

[Guest Energy11]

THAT IS strange! Sounds like it could be an accumulation of gas??? Wow ... keep us posted! D

[Guest kydie]

Is she a "gassy" pup, does she have loose stool? some pups are just born with some type of internal mis-wiring, not to worry, if she eats, drinks, sleeps, pees and poos with no pain, is happy I would watch her very close and if any of these things change, then look for another vet opinion

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest LindsaySF]

Just one side? Does it seem to go down pretty soon?

 

Maybe she is eating too fast and swallowing air, and it is gas build up?

 

[Trudy]

Have you tried feeding smaller meals more frequently or feeding her from your hand.

Not a vet - but it sounds like she's getting a lot of air in her belly when she eats.

[Guest greytkidsmom]

Any chance it is a hernia in the abdominal wall?

[Guest annemurph]

It's only her one side, right under the rib cage and where the vet told me her stomach was. It's so strange, it's this weird blump that pushes out and then goes down. She also has problems with loose stools, which is why we're now doing the ID food. I'm hopeful it's just gas. I'm going to raise her feeder up higher and try the smaller meals suggestion. She's not in any distress, just has a weird side blump.

[Guest Energy11]

I'd give a 20 mg Pecid AC daily, too. GOOD for GAS! Wow... this IS puzzling!

[MP_the4pack]

if you can afford it, ask for an ultrasound. That should put you completely at ease.

 

 

 

[grey14me]

does she normally get fed once a day or twice a day?

[Batmom]

I'd see if you could arrange a basic x-ray next time you see the swelling -- take her in right then.

 

A swollen rib cage is what you'll see in a lean-bodied dog like a whippet or greyhound when they bloat.

[KF_in_Georgia]

A friend of mine was acquiring a greyhound puppy. In this post on her blog she was evaluating several puppies from one liter. She posted before and after pictures of one girl (the one my friend eventually adopted) who gorged like a pig at mealtime. Scroll down to the third and fourth pictures on the page.

 

Reagan no longer gorges at mealtime. But you can see from the photos that it's not all that abnormal. It may not be wise to let your girl eat so much at meals that she gets uncomfortably large. If nothing else, she's frightening you. And there's the risk that she actually could bloat sometime, and you wouldn't spot the symptoms because it would be much like her usual puffiness.

 

If your girl gobbles her food, try one of several tricks to slow her down. (Spread kibble on a cookie sheet so she has to root around for pieces. Or pour some kibble in an old blanket and make her hunt out the pieces.) If she eats more slowly, she should get less air in her belly. Also, smaller meals fed more often will help.