Bloat Discussion

[Guest FordRacingRon]

Okay, so amonst the many things we never want to have happen to our greys, bloat would be one of those. NOw we all know pretty much what it is,,but the survey in CG magazine seems to me to come from another planet.

 

"preliminary survey results indicate being fed dry kibble was a factor......other factors include : anxiety, being born in the 1990s,being a family pet, spending 5 hours a day with thier owners.

 

Factors a ssociated with a decreased risk of GDV included: playing with other dogs, running the fence after meals, receiving fish and egg dietarty supliments, spending equal time indoors and outdoors. "

 

I am fascinated with kibble being a factor (does this mean without liquids) being a pet and spending time with owner. I am flabergasted that running after a meal and spendig a lot of time outside decrease potential. Can anyone expalin these things to me? Seems s though Leia should have had this 1000 times based on t he risk factors.

[Brindles]

I thought it was common knowledge that exercise immediately before or after a meal would increase the risk of gastric torsion.

 

Bloat is not as common in Greyhounds as most people tend to believe.

[Guest FordRacingRon]

I thought it was common knowledge that exercise immediately before or after a meal would increase the risk of gastric torsion.

 

Bloat is not as common in Greyhounds as most people tend to believe.

 

 

This i s what I thought was our mantra,,never exercise after eating. That is why I brought this up,,,unless running the fence doesn't mean actually running and has nothing to do with a fence. The other thing I t hought was totally wierd was s spending too much time with people. HUH? My dog spend on an average of 23 hours a day with people.

[Guest FastDogsOwnMe]

I don't consider Greyhounds a "bloat breed" like German Shepherds where it's a huge, constant worry. I believe bloat is largely genetic and the biggest risk is the dog's having a first degree relative who has bloated, having bloated previously itself, and having a nervous and insecure temperament. The problem is rampant in SOME BLOODLINES of Borzoi, and yet nearly non existent in others, which suggests to me it is mostly genetics- which could mean temperament is a huge factor too, since unstable temperaments are also genetic.

 

Was the study based on just Greyhounds? I think it's VERY rare for an active racing Greyhound to bloat, so maybe the comparison was that the racing life leads to fewer cases of bloat than the pet life does? But racing Greyhounds are stable and secure in their environment, not fed plain kibble, and are younger, obviously, than retired pet hounds.

 

I think the most important thing is to know the signs and to act quickly upon the first indication of them. Dogs that pace, pant, guzzle water while all worked up, can't keep weight on- those are the ones I would worry the most about. JMO

[Batmom]

Wouldn't consider a magazine survey indicative of anything in a matter like this. Amusing, but not much else.

[MerlinsMum]

I haven't read the article, but I'd like to know more about the studies these assertions are based on. Spending 5 hours a day with their guardians? Being born in the 1990s? Being a family pet? All this - especially the last one - seems incredibly vague

[Guest Swifthounds]

I don't consider Greyhounds a "bloat breed" like German Shepherds where it's a huge, constant worry. I believe bloat is largely genetic and the biggest risk is the dog's having a first degree relative who has bloated, having bloated previously itself, and having a nervous and insecure temperament. The problem is rampant in SOME BLOODLINES of Borzoi, and yet nearly non existent in others, which suggests to me it is mostly genetics- which could mean temperament is a huge factor too, since unstable temperaments are also genetic.

 

 

Was the study based on just Greyhounds? I think it's VERY rare for an active racing Greyhound to bloat, so maybe the comparison was that the racing life leads to fewer cases of bloat than the pet life does? But racing Greyhounds are stable and secure in their environment, not fed plain kibble, and are younger, obviously, than retired pet hounds.

 

It wasn't a study, per se. It sounds like it was a poll of CG readership? If so, all of those factors would be correlations only, not causations. In exploring just about any area of study, when you poll a random sample, you'll find some very funny correlations. Shark bites peak along with ice cream sales - but not because sharks are incensed that kids eat ice cream.

[Guest FastDogsOwnMe]

If they surveyed people who read a pet Greyhound magazine then of course most of the dogs who bloated would be pets who live indoors and eat dry kibble.

 

I would say born in the 1990s just implies that older dogs bloat more often- which is true.

[Guest FordRacingRon]

It's o n page 6 of the Spring issue. Start with this: "The Fall 2010 issue of CG contained a call or a participation in a survey about bloat. The following is a preliminary report of the results". But later it does state that this is an internet based survey,,there were 2551 respondents,,but I think it was posted in other breed specific magazines too,,so it's not all about greyhounds. I still can't beleive, no matter what the breed, that exercise (which I assume is a major factor) is okay.

[Guest MonsterMomma]

Correlation does not equal causation.

[OwnedBySummer]

I thought that article was weird, too. I don't think spending time with the owners could possibly have an effect on bloat. Unless spending time with the owners = meals = bloat. And spending time without owners (or people) means little or no food and thus no bloat? I thought the whole thing was very strange.

Edited April 10, 2011 by OwnedBySummer

[greysmom]

I remember taking this survey when they posted it. We had a Great Dane with Bloat and Torsion who survivied to a long (for Danes) life. I remember thinking at the time that the questions were odd and were likely not to produce good scientific results.

 

My Alex was two years old, had been napping right before dinner, and bloated immediately after eating kibble soaked in water from a raised feeder. This was in 1995-ish and the thinking at the time said that feeding habits were more of a factor than anything. Interestingly, out of the littler of nine pups (we had two of them), 5 died from bloat within five years, and our girl and one other pup survived it, two (including the other pup we had) never came down with it. Their sire also died from bloat at age 10.

[PrairieProf]

I thought it was weird too, and I did think it was a little confusing and possibly irresponsible that they published the results as if they were serious data, with no commentary about methodology, sample size, how to interpret the results, etc.

[krissy]

I personally rarely worry about bloat. Greyhounds are really not all that predisposed. The number of bloat threads that come up on GT though seems to suggest that the general opinion is that bloat is a bigger problem in greyhounds than I seem to think. Not sure why that is. Maybe I'm delusional.

 

Considering we don't actually know what causes bloat I don't find these random correlations all that surprising. Yes, typically we think of feeding large meals and running as being predisposing factors, but we don't actually have hard proof of that. Kind of like how they keep flip flopping on how you should sleep your baby... back? tummy? Just when you think they've figured it out they change their minds and decide the other way is better. I think that's where we're at with bloat right now.

[Guest FordRacingRon]

I personally rarely worry about bloat. Greyhounds are really not all that predisposed. The number of bloat threads that come up on GT though seems to suggest that the general opinion is that bloat is a bigger problem in greyhounds than I seem to think. Not sure why that is. Maybe I'm delusional.

 

Considering we don't actually know what causes bloat I don't find these random correlations all that surprising. Yes, typically we think of feeding large meals and running as being predisposing factors, but we don't actually have hard proof of that. Kind of like how they keep flip flopping on how you should sleep your baby... back? tummy? Just when you think they've figured it out they change their minds and decide the other way is better. I think that's where we're at with bloat right now.

 

The raised vs not raised feeder is another example of which you speak. When we got Leia is was an absolute,,raised feeder. Now many are saying it an absolute, non-raised feeder. We still used a raised.

[greysmom]

Yes, we use raised feeders still too, but it's mostly because all mine seem to have a hard time reaching the floor to eat! I guess mine all have really long legs or something!

[TheFullHouse]

Spending 5 hours a day with their owners???? If that's the case, mine are doomed because they're with me 24/7.