Everything You Have Ever Wanted to Know about Bloat:

Preventing bloat, recognizing the signs of bloat, and treating bloat in dogs

Disclaimer: I am not a veterinarian and not qualified to give medical advice. Please always double check with your veterinarian before taking any advice.

Gastric Dilation Volvulus (GDV), more commonly referred to as bloat can be a very scary thing to experience. Many breeds such as the St. Bernard, German Shepherds, and Great Danes have very large deep chests, which makes them more likely to suffer from life threatening bloat. Being a Great Dane owner and breeder, I wanted to make sure I did all I could to help protect my fur babies. I knew that if the worst case scenario ever happened and one of the dog’s stomachs twisted, I would have mere hours to get them in for emergency surgery. 

Prevention: 

Feeding - We feed our dogs three small meals a day from an elevated feeder. This is to help the dog from sucking in air and to prevent them from gobbling down food. Just like with swimming, there is a strict no playing after eating rule at our house. We start this by putting young puppies in their kennel immediately following a meal and continue this period of rest into adulthood. 

Stomach Tacking (Gastropexy) - Major surgery such as a gastropexy can be a scary thing to consider and while it is not without risks this surgery could be what saves your pets life. Our plan has always been to have our dogs tacked when they go for their spay or neuter surgery. Stomach tacking attaches the stomach to the interior wall or to the diaphragm. This will prevent the stomach from twisting in the event of bloat.

Signs of Bloat : 

I have only experienced bloat one time in a dog who was not yet tacked. Typically bloat happens in older full grown dogs. The organs have more area to move around and are therefore more likely to flip. This was not the case for our 8 month old puppy Bjorn. Bjorn had eaten his breakfast over an hour ago and was laying on the floor grooming his sister. 

He suddenly got up and acted like he had to vomit. He tried to get something to come up but nothing would and in a panic he rushed to the door. I took him outside and immediately noticed something was wrong. He was circling in the yard trying to vomit unsuccessfully and his stomach was starting to swell. 

It was one of the scariest moments of my life as I tried to get him back into the house so I could call Shane at work to take us to the emergency room. I gave him 80mg of simethicone in the hopes that it would slow the progression of the gas buildup. This was not a cure but may have given us a small amount of extra time.

Bjorn started to go downhill fast. Bloat needs to ALWAYS be treated like an emergency. He started to become disoriented as we waited for help. He went to his bed and collapsed. As his stomach swelled it started pressing on organs and cutting off blood to his spleen, pancreas, and heart. 

Moving him required Shane to carefully lift his 130lb body into the jeep, being careful not to put pressure on his stomach. Putting too much pressure on his stomach would possibly cause the stomach to rupture. Pushing too hard on his stomach could also put too much pressure on organs that were already being crushed. He was carefully lifted under his legs like a forklift. 

We rushed him to the nearest emergency vet and he was seen within two hours of the initial attempt to vomit. Even getting him there so quickly the vet was concerned that there had possibly been damage to his spleen and he would need to be closely monitored. We were very lucky. None of his organs suffered permanent damage and Bjorn recovered quickly. The quote for emergency surgery was between $3000-$5000 and it was due up front before he could even receive treatment. Even with pet insurance I would have had to pay this up front and be reimbursed later. I couldn’t wait to transfer from different banks, or cash in investments they needed a card and they needed it now. 

Treating Bloat:

Bloat is always something that needs to be looked at by a veterinarian. While you may be able to give medication to relieve some of the pressure you need to know if the stomach has flipped or twisted. If the stomach has not flipped you may be able to relieve the pressure with movement, and medication, however delaying treatment for a dog whose stomach has flipped is a fatal mistake. If you start to notice signs of bloat, take your dog to a vet immediately.