Had A Good Scare Tonight

[Guest GreytBengalMom]

We've had our boy, Eddie, for almost three weeks now. Although I am new to owning a greyhound, I have grown up with dogs.

 

I'm well-aware of bloat, as we lost Norman, our golden retreiver, because of it. I make sure that Eddie doesn't eat or drink too quickly, we don't exercise for at least 1 hour before and 1 hour after he eats, and he eats 2 meals a day. Tonight I nearly rushed him to the E-Vet though, because I had convinced myself he had bloat.

 

He ate at 6, like usual. At 9 I took him out in our yard to burn off some energy before bed. We ran, played fetch, and chased each other for a good 20 minutes. He was panting heavily, so I figured he had had enough and we should head inside. The panting continued, and I urged him to drink some water. He drank a bit, but continued panting and then began pacing. Eventually he laid on his bed, but he was panting SO heavily and seemed uncomfortable and restless. By this point, I was becoming worried. He wasn't acting like himself, and was even whimpering a bit. I was convinced he had bloat and went into full-out panic mode because my husband took our SUV to his hockey game 40 minutes away, and wasn't due home for another two hours. I began googling EVets in my area, and fully planned on loading Eddie into my husband's tiny sports car so I could get him to the vet in time.

 

Before I had to do that though, I ran up to Walgreens and bought some Gas-X (I was told before to administer it prior to taking a dog to the EVet). I came back, and Eddie seemed better but was still panting a bit (probably because I had rushed out of the house in a frenzy and now he was glad I was back.) I gave him 2 pills and he laid down immediately on his side, burped, and quit panting. I then thought I could possibly be over-reacting, and should probably wait to load Eddie up and drive 40 mins to the EVet, in the tiny sports car. It's been over an hour and a half now, and he's fast asleep on his bed and happily farting away.

 

Anyone ever experience anything like this? Should I be giving Eddie some sort of antacid on a regular basis? It was really concerning and scary.

 

My husband is due home any minute. I can't even imagine what he would think if I had taken the dog across town, in his 2-seater, and spent hunndreds of dollars unnecessarily. Last week I was convinced our cat got outside, and the two of us spent 30 minutes outside with flashlights, shaking treat bags, and making kissy noises. Darn cat was under the bed the whole time. I can't imagine what sort of mother I'll be to human children one day, considering I'm a total basketcase over my fur babies.

[3greytjoys]

Glad Eddie seems to be doing much better! Wow, that does sound scary, and seems Eddie was in painful discomfort. What a relief the quick fix worked for him!

 

I'm not a veterinarian, but in general, before I'd give our hounds long-term medication (even over the counter), I'd try to address the root cause of the problem. Either diagnosing an internal cause (like parasites/worms) or possibly finding a more agreeable food that doesn't cause him to be gassy.

 

Completely different issue, but we've given 1/2 dose (10 mg) of Pepcid to hounds to prevent early morning vomiting of bright yellow stomach bile, but we were able to eliminate that need by feeding a small bedtime kibble snack to hold all the hounds over until breakfast.

 

BTW, you sound like a wonderful animal mom to me!

 

I'm sure others will add their experiences/ideas. Good luck, and hopefully that won't happen again.

[msjpk]

Glad things worked out. You are a good Mom, your pupper is in good hands.

[Charlies_Dad]

Perhaps it was just gas? Not really sure but pups do get it and it can be quite uncomfortable. Glad it was not bloat.

Edited February 7, 2013 by Charlies_Dad

[Guest IrskasMom]

Glad everybody is alright including worried Mom .

[Guest FawnFan]

Glad everything turned out well. If it were me in your shoes, I'd call my Vet today to talk about the situation and get some feedback (especially since it is so fresh in your mind). As someone else mentioned, it does sound like he was uncomfortable. Personally I'd want to know why (if possible) and then what are some solutions so it doesn't happen again.

 

You sound like a wonderful Mom and I'm sure Eddie is just thrilled to have you as his human.

 

Good luck and you're doing great!

[a_daerr]

Awww, glad he was alright. Sounds like he just ran around and got too wound up. I had a foster that did that, and would run until he was literally splayed out on the ground.

 

As a side thought, I find that new grey owners are terrified of bloat. It does happen, but it's not as common as you might think. I have an AKC greyhound, and they have a much higher rate of bloat than the NGA greyhounds (deeper chests). We had a gastropexy done on him for that reason. If your dog bloats, everything happens really quickly, so you'll most likely know it. Look for a distended belly that feels tight and multiple attempts to vomit without anything coming up. Sorry you had to go through bloat with your golden. Hopefully it's something that you won't have to worry about with Eddie.

[greytpups]

btdt

 

We call it the $500 burp We rushed Ben to the evet a few years ago. He had some symptoms of bloat but not all so we erred on the side of caution. While we were waiting for the results, Ben let out a huge burp and was fine.

 

At that time I was torn with what to do but decided that if anything happened to Ben because I waited, I would never forgive myself. Kudos to you for being able to think clearly enough and help your pup. I agree with others here, you're a greyt greyhound mom.

[RaineysMom]

Awww, glad he was alright. Sounds like he just ran around and got too wound up. I had a foster that did that, and would run until he was literally splayed out on the ground.

 

As a side thought, I find that new grey owners are terrified of bloat. It does happen, but it's not as common as you might think. I have an AKC greyhound, and they have a much higher rate of bloat than the NGA greyhounds (deeper chests). We had a gastropexy done on him for that reason. If your dog bloats, everything happens really quickly, so you'll most likely know it. Look for a distended belly that feels tight and multiple attempts to vomit without anything coming up. Sorry you had to go through bloat with your golden. Hopefully it's something that you won't have to worry about with Eddie.

 

both our first 2 got bloat (Nube then Rainey) so maybe it's more common than is thought....

[a_daerr]

both our first 2 got bloat (Nube then Rainey) so maybe it's more common than is thought....

 

Oh my God, that's horrible. The only scientific study I've ever heard of on bloat is the Purdue study, which was conducted back in 1999. The dogs involved in the study (Akita, Bloodhound, Collie, Great Dane, Irish Setter, Irish Wolfhound, Newfoundland, Standard Poodle, Rottweiler, St. Bernard, and Weimaraner) were chosen for being "high risk." Only a little over 5% of them developed bloat, however, the dogs weighing more than 99 pounds were at 20% higher risk. Great Danes and Bloodhounds had by far the highest prevalance. I wonder if there have ever been any studies done specifically on greyhounds and bloat? Maybe Jennifer will weigh in if she sees this.

[cometdust1]

Could it possibly be that he is swallowing air when he's panting while playing?

[Remolacha]

This has happened to Fletcher a couple of times, both times it was just gas. I gave him gas-x (liqiud for children) and watched him closely until he settled down. Fletcher has IBD, don't know if that contributed to it or not, but I always keep gas-x on hand. Glad he is alright!

[greyhead]

Gas-X (simethecone) is wonderful stuff. We too had to use it, frequently at times, with Spencer's IBD and still use it once in a while. I wouldn't worry about it if I were you unless it happens often. But, yes, you should probably mention it to your vet next time you talk.

[JJNg]

I wonder if there have ever been any studies done specifically on greyhounds and bloat? Maybe Jennifer will weigh in if she sees this.

I'm not aware of any studies and couldn't find any on a quick search either. My general impression is that it's a lot more common in AKC greyhounds, and I rarely hear of it in NGA greys, although it does happen. I have a friend who bred AKC greys, and she lost 2 littermates to GDV - one at a fairly young age, and the other had surgery at around 10 and made it through the acute episode, but had to be euthanized a year or so later due to stomach motility problems.

[RaineysMom]

Oh my God, that's horrible. The only scientific study I've ever heard of on bloat is the Purdue study, which was conducted back in 1999. The dogs involved in the study (Akita, Bloodhound, Collie, Great Dane, Irish Setter, Irish Wolfhound, Newfoundland, Standard Poodle, Rottweiler, St. Bernard, and Weimaraner) were chosen for being "high risk." Only a little over 5% of them developed bloat, however, the dogs weighing more than 99 pounds were at 20% higher risk. Great Danes and Bloodhounds had by far the highest prevalance. I wonder if there have ever been any studies done specifically on greyhounds and bloat? Maybe Jennifer will weigh in if she sees this.

 

they both had the gastroplexy surgery and survived (to the tune of a LOT of thousands of dollars....) and passed from other reasons years later (well, 2 for Rainey and 5 for Nube). Needless to say, every time one of mine throw up I FREAK out.

[Guest rennina]

I was told that bloat is not common in Greyhounds comparing to other large breeds, even in ACK greys.

 

I had a similar experience but with different symptoms: one day Misty was too hungry that she gulped in 1 lb. ground beef within THREE SECONDS. Then she rushed to the curtain and started licking it. She was burping and licking everything she could reach, trying to eat the carpet and dirt on the door mat. It lasted about an hour before she fell asleep.

 

We were panicked because we thought it was bloat. I checked her gum color, touched her belly but didn't find it distended. She wasn't panting or trying to vomit, only burping and excessive licking. So I'm guessing it was gas, or even acid reflux?

[Rickiesmom]

I had a similar experience with my whippet years ago - he was bowing, stretching, and clearly very uncomfortable. Called my vet, said I'm bringing him in, think we're in trouble. They watched him in the waiting room and agreed - they thought it was bloat. An exam and x-rays revealed . . . lots of gas. He has had the same behaviour from time to time since, not often, but now I know what it is. I did not know you could give Gas-X to a dog, that is helpful.

 

You are a wonderful greyhound mom and I really laughed visualizing the whole 2-seater story.

[a_daerr]

I'm not aware of any studies and couldn't find any on a quick search either. My general impression is that it's a lot more common in AKC greyhounds, and I rarely hear of it in NGA greys, although it does happen. I have a friend who bred AKC greys, and she lost 2 littermates to GDV - one at a fairly young age, and the other had surgery at around 10 and made it through the acute episode, but had to be euthanized a year or so later due to stomach motility problems.

 

I was hoping you had some insight! Hearing that, I'm glad we had the gastropexy done for Truman. Even though it's not foolproof, better safe than sorry. Our vet has Danes and did gastropexies on his own dogs, so I felt pretty confident that he did a great job. It did leave Truman with a HUGE incision and scar, but that could also be due to the fact he was cryptorchid.

[Guest GreytBengalMom]

Thanks, everyone. I actually spoke to my vet today (since Eddie is going on week 3 of diarrhea), and he thinks it was gas as well. I'll keep the gas-x handy, but for now I am also giving Eddie Pepto twice a day for the next 3 days per the vet's suggestion.

 

I appreciate everyone's kind words!