Dogs and preventing bloat...

[taraann81]

we have giant breed dogs, 2 bullmastiffs, Mabel and Ruby, 8 and 4 respectively and a 16week old st.Bernard pup. we have never encountered bloat..but it is always something I watch for and worry about.

when Mabel was a pup(8yrs ago) it was suggested to feed from raised dishes...Now my saint breeder says that "trend" has gone by the way side and now some experts believe it may contribute to bloat.

we feed small frequent meals and don't allow strenuous play around meal times, we also never with hold water to prevent large quantities from being consumed all at once.

I am contemplating haveing a gastropexy(Sp? aka stomach tacked to the abdominal wall) on Adelaide(saint). Anybody else have this done on their dogs? what was the cost? Does it alleviate the worry?

I am sure that having this done during the spay is the best and most economical way of going about it. Addys breeder however prefers her dogs not be spayed until the age of 2, supposedly she likes them to reach their "full potential" before the spay and to see how they have matured. Addy is very much pet quality, her muzzle is too long but as the breeder said "stranger things have happened".
I don't think I would wait the full 2 years to have her stomach tacked..
Anyways any advice or experiences would be welcome.
Thanks.

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

We lost our Borzoi in December to bloat...while not in our care. I have heard mixed things about feeding from raised platforms, moistened food, no exercise for a while after eating, etc. I would talk to a vet (or three) and get lots of opinions about it before going that route. I know redhen on here has a St. Bernard and hers was stapled....

 

[taraann81]

Quote:
I saw that thread, and that one picture..close up of his face.. Just seemed you could see his soul and personality in those eyes. I am sorry you lost him.

I have spoken to my vet, she still advises to moisten food and raise dishes. Both things I've heard can be contributing factors, None of my dogs have family history of bloat, so thats a plus...

 

[Jamie_Dog_Trainer]

The tacked stomach is a good thing to do for prevetion, however it doesn't prevent bloating, it only prevents torsion (when the stomach is bloated with gas and it flips over, twisting the stomach itself and other organs). Dogs can and do bloat with a tacked stomach. Tacking prevents torsion and therefore its easier to treat the bloat.

I have clients that want me to raise all feed bowls for their large dogs. I do it at their request but I don't feel it helps at all. One thing that does help is getting a dog to slow down on eating. The more they gulp their food the more air gets into their stomach. I have a large GSD who doesn't gulp his food but tends to swallow air while in high drive during training or play time. I actually burp him as you would an baby. He knows the routine: he does a 'paws up' on my chest and I firmly thump his ribs and rub his abdomen until he burps. I can see when he's got too much air because he starts getting a bloated look right behind his ribs.

One of the best things I have found to slow down a fast eater is to feed them in a large pan, and add some large river rocks (large, as in no way they can swallow them). This forces the dogs to slow down and look for their food, the rocks prevent too large of bites and I have yet to see it fail to significantly slow a dog down.

 

[taraann81]

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Thanks Jamie

All of my dogs eat like the ladies they are and speedily gulping down their food doesn't occur(or hasn't yet). I will speak to my vet about tacking, what is the treatment for just bloat as opposed to gastric torsion? Does is still remain a medical emergency?

 

[thebritt]

Sounds to me like you're doing all the right things. I wouldn't worry about it.
I'm not one to have invasive surgeries done unless absolutely necessary.

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

We also had one of these:

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&ke...=aps&hvadid=7155317859&ref=pd_sl_1ffv5zjuup_e

It seemed to work pretty good....we never had any problems with bloat or torsion while using it.

I guess I should clarify that our Borzoi ended up with a torsion after his bloat was not dealt with in a timely manner.

 

[taraann81]

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But with giant breeds and gastric torsion, waiting for it to be absolutley necessary is often a death sentance, or at the very least MUCH more expensive than having the pexy done preventatively..

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

Quote:
But with giant breeds and gastric torsion, waiting for it to be absolutley necessary is often a death sentance, or at the very least MUCH more expensive than having the pexy done preventatively..

What happened with my dog--he was on his way back from the Eukanuba and I didn't know that his handler/breeder had given him to someone else to transport (apparently this is a common practice with show dogs). Anyway, I still to this day don't have their name or number and apparently they didn't have mine either....I didn't get a phone call until 4 hours after he'd died and after close to $2,000 was spent without my consent to try to stabilize him for surgery and then to necessitate him after he'd died and for his cremation.

As much as I loved that dog, had someone called and asked I would have had him put down and I would not have had him cremated under any circumstance.

It's a horrible, painful way to die.

 

[arabianequine]

I heard not to let them have water 30 min before and after eating.

Water and food are always down at the same time....and my saint eats and then drinks and so on.

Seems like that is how she gets the dry food down.