BLOAT

[FORDE'SMOM]

Hi....after reading many most here about bloat......it scares me .....i'm wanting to make sure i do everything possible to prevent this from happening.....in reading other websites I saw where it said that elevated bowls are not good and could increase the chances of bloat....i use the elevated bowls for forde, after hearing that it was better for dogs, forde's are about 8 or 9 inches off the floor......can anyone help me with this...is it a good or bad thing to use them........

 

[Marine91]

You raise a good question as I was thinking about getting Harlea elevated bowls when she gets older but after seeing this and a few other posts the past couple of days I am not sure if I want to any longer. Hopefully someone with more knowledge than me will be along soon.

 

[DudleysMom]

Now I'm curious, because everything I've ever heard said that elevated bowls were better!!??

 

[HoochsMom]

I have never used the elevated bowls for my dogs but my last dog, which was a boxer, died with bloat. So I am not sure if it matters or not. I did everything to make sure he did not get bloat, and he was not a fast eater. I always fed him in another room from our other boxer so I did not have to worry that he would rush to eat. He was absolutely fine. He ate his dinner. Within an hour, he was hurting and very ill. Within another hour, my vet had to put him to sleep. One of the worst days in my whole life...............but I don't know any way I could have avoided it. Sorry, I'm not much help. It's just a hard thing to figure out..................

 

[FORDE'SMOM]

@((( HOOCHSMOM ))) so sorry.......

 

[FORDE'SMOM]

well i just gave forde his breakfast with his bowl on the floor not in the elevated stand....he looked at me like what's going on here.......just not sure what to do !

 

[Sheena]

Wow this is scary! What to do?? :/

 

[DudleysMom]

I have never used the elevated bowls for my dogs but my last dog, which was a boxer, died with bloat. So I am not sure if it matters or not. I did everything to make sure he did not get bloat, and he was not a fast eater. I always fed him in another room from our other boxer so I did not have to worry that he would rush to eat. He was absolutely fine. He ate his dinner. Within an hour, he was hurting and very ill. Within another hour, my vet had to put him to sleep. One of the worst days in my whole life...............but I don't know any way I could have avoided it. Sorry, I'm not much help. It's just a hard thing to figure out..................

Oh my gosh. I am so, so sorry. Nothing anyone can say to help, but thoughts and prayers coming your way.

 

[Twice]

Bloat was always a concern in my house with the bullys but now that Athena has made herself a home in my heart it is an obsession! The #1 killer of Great Danes is bloat so I have studied this almost as much as I studied kidney disease with Abby.

There is no great evidence either way on raised or ground level feeding. The theory about bloat is that air causes the stomach to twist which is why some believe raising the bowl, making them eat slower is a decent preventative. There have been studies that completely discount everything we think we know about GDV, they say everything we know is wrong. But these studies were all done on deep chested breeds who were prone to bloat in the first place. I've spoken to many Dane breeders and large breed vets about this and they all say something different about bowl height.

What they all agree on is this...

Feed smaller meals. Twice a day is better than once a day.
No activity one hour before and one hour after meals.
No WATER one hour before and one hour after meals.
Feed a grain free food that doesn't expand too much during the digestion process.
Once an animal bloats, the odds of it happening again increase by 75% unless a gastroplexy is done
Gas-X strips are your new American Express Card.... don't leave home without it.

To test if your dogs food puts him or her at a greater risk for bloat you should take a cup of food, put it in a bowl, cover it with warm water and tightly cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit for an hour. After an hour if the plastic wrap is puffy the food you are feeding creates a lot of gas (gas in the bowl, gas in the gut) Also, it's bad if the food has absorbed all of the water. This mimics how the food expands in the belly during digestion. If the food expands too much it can cause the stomach to become heavy and lopsided which makes flipping easier.

The stomach flips, gas builds up and up and up. Most times the spleen also flips along with the stomach! Without immediate treatment you lose your best friend. Gas-X strips or any anti gas medication can buy you some more time to get to the vet but there is no guarantee. I like the strips because they are easy to carry in my pocket or wallet, they dissolve instantly on the tongue and I don't have to worry about shoving pills down her throat.

 

[airmike1]

Hi Ford's Mom!

Glad to see your post on Facebook. I had first-hand experience with Winston at around the age of 2 or 3 around 10 years ago. This is something that I had never heard of until Winston was rushed to a pet ER after hours and was in the fight for his life.

No one knows what triggers this horrible event, so I am going to lay out the environmental factors and elements that might establish a pattern to the person that might document theses cases.

Winston was a healthy, intact 81 pound male who was brought to a specialist regarding a rear knee issue (ruptured ACL) and was sedated for x-rays. After the completion of this procedure, Winston was brought home after the sedation wore off.

Well after Winston was home, I left the house for dinner and came home, in which case Winston took a drink of water from his NON-elevated food and watering dish and I proceeded to let him outside into the backyard. Winston soon went into distress since he began repeatedly attempted to vomit. This was a vicious cycle that caused him to briefly pass-out and cause pain. My partner was instructed to call the specialist's office since I had noticed they had a 24 hour emergency service in the facility next to the specialist's office. We loaded Winston in the car and rushed him down the Interstate going over 100mph as Winston was in pain and deteriating QUICKLY. By the time we arrived at the ER, staff was standing by and we loaded him on a gurnee. At this time Winston's abdomen swelled and was tight to the touch!

The doctor put Winston under gas sedation and performed an x-ray and told me that he needs emergency surgery and that I should visit him before he goes fully under. They had to unravel Winston's intestines as his stomach gassed-up like a over fissing soda causing his stomach to float and rotate. This rotation cut off his esophagus and small intestines which prevented him from vomiting/burping and pass gass.

Winston, by the grace of God, survived the life saving surgery and beat the 50/50 chance of survival for the next 24 hours. He was a tough fighter and was so brave after the lengthy recooperation. For about a year, Winston would experience seizures that would suddenly come on him causing a sudden head bobbing symptom that would go away by distracting him with his favorite treat.

He miraculously lived 9 years, 22 days from his 10th birthday. His birthday would have been tomorrow (24th). He went to the otherside of the rainbow 2 years ago this month :-(

In summary, here are the signs and symptoms that I witnessed Winston with Bloat:
1. Constantly trying to vomit (aggressively dry heaving) with lots of foamy mucous.
2. Expanding abdomen and serious pain.
3. Blood expelling from the rectum (this was at the veterenarian's office.

My new kid Elliott, has an adjustable, elevated food and watering dish. He eats when I eat so as not to stir him up during feeding and after feeding. He is rambunctious after he eats, so I try and keep him from getting hyper after he eats or drinks. Again, no one conclusively knows what causes Bloat. So I try my best to not worry excessively about it and use caution around feeding time. I never thought how great to hear my bulldog burp and fart, as that is an immediate indication that all is well.

Mike

 

[cowsmom]

i have went through this with sarah. when she eats on the ground she coughs and has a hard time eating so i tried the elevated bowl and she ate much better. still coughed occasionally but all in all she ate with no trouble unlike before. when one of our members dogs died with bloat and i read the raised bowls could contribute i took then away from her. well the eating problems started again. she would eat to fast n cough and have to stop and go back. well after much debate i gave them back to her and i will not say she has no trouble when eating it is so much better i have decided she will eat from them until something changes. we all have concern about this for sure. every time sarah gets sick i am so scared. i do watch all my pets eat and do not leave the room till they are done. i dont leave food down while im gone either. i also do not let her drink right after eating as sometimes she will go to the water bowl and just go to town right after eating which i stop her after a few seconds.

 

[Koakley]

I have experienced bloat or Gastric Dilation first hand with my bullie. He had just been neutered the same day that the bloat occurred. We got him home and everything was fine, he was still a little drowsy from the anesthesia used for the neuter, but all seemed find until that night. He didn't have much of an appetite after the surgery, so food was not even a factor. We gave him a little bit of water because he seemed to be very thirsty, let him outside to potty, after he came inside I noticed something was wrong immediately. He was panting very heavily (which I dismissed at first because as we know, all bullies pant after they have been outside) but he just seemed so restless. He tried to lay down, but just kept getting up and pacing all over the house. That is when I noticed his tummy got real big, and he started to dry heave. He kept trying to vomit, but nothing would come up. I knew right away that this was bloat. We rushed him to the Emergency clinic where they performed emergency surgery and saved his life. During the surgery they also did a gastropexy (tacked his stomach to his side, so that his stomach will never turn again). Also, as soon as we got to the vet, the first thing the assistant did was thump his tummy, when she did this it made a sound like a balloon would when you tap it-this is also something to check for if your worried that your bullie has bloat.

There is really no way to prevent bloat-unless a gastropexy is done. It can happen at any time, no matter if they are chowing down on their dinner (elevated bowls or not) or just playing around with their toys. The best thing that you can do for your bulllie is to be educated, and know what signs to look for, so that you can get them to the vet before it's too late. All of the signs and symptoms that I have read online and in books is identical to what our baby presented with. Thank the lord he was just way too stubborn to let it take him from us that night.

 

[Baconator]

Thanks for the great info [MENTION=4225]Twice[/MENTION] and everyone else who has experienced this first hand. The only thing that seems like it's a trend among the bully owners that have experienced this is that it happened after a surgery that required anesthesia. I wonder if it's because they have empty stomachs from being under, or maybe when they wake up from the surgery things aren't "in place" where they were prior to the surgery? Has anyone else made this observation? I think [MENTION=2071]Davidh[/MENTION] may have had first hand experience with this as well.

 

[FORDE'SMOM]

thanks guys...love all the input ..........like i said i gave forde his breakfast without the elevated bowls....you could tell he wasn't use to it ( he hates change) and i did notice that he had to try harder at getting the food being that it was so much lower than what he's use to......which made me think he was taking in more air than he really had to....sooooooooooooo ( don't laugh, i put the elevated bowls back ) i'm going nuts here .......if i knew how to do a poll i would to see how many use elevated bowls !

 

[Davidh]

Sounds like you have some great info above, but I have never experienced bloat in any of my bullies, thank God.