Bloat Question!

[Porcheesy]

I am new to this forum! My question is about bloat... I have been putting my 3.5 month old CC in her crate after every meal she eats... she stays in for 1.5 hours to digest... should this be done only for puppies or is this necessary for adult corsos too? Thanks

 

[Boxergirl]

I don't have a Corso, but I do have an EM and I've had boxers for over 20 years. Boxers are a deep chested breed and prone to GDV. I limit exercise before and after meals. I feed three meals to puppies and two meals to adults. I do not allow them to drink a lot of water after they've eaten. I make sure that they eat their food at a normal pace - no gulping. There have been some recent studies done that indicate that there may be a genetic component to GDV, which is interesting. I take bloat very seriously, so here are some links for you. Don't worry yourself silly, but do familiarize yourself with the symptoms.

Genetics of GDV
http://www.vin.com/apputil/content/...13&catId=51027&id=6976369&ind=31&objTypeID=17

Bloat chart
http://www.bmd.org/bmdcr/bloat_chart.pdf

Two dogs with bloat. One made it and one didn't.

 

[Bailey's Mom]

Every year it becomes necessary to remind our members of the dangers of bloat. It comes on quickly...waiting to go to the emergency vet is a mistake.

Watch the videos...they are graphic, but, the knowledge will galvanize you into action, and your dog needs you to know the symptoms and to act fast to rescue them.

Thank you, again, Boxergirl for saving lives by keeping us all informed.

 

[Boxergirl]

Every year it becomes necessary to remind our members of the dangers of bloat. It comes on quickly...waiting to go to the emergency vet is a mistake.

Watch the videos...they are graphic, but, the knowledge will galvanize you into action, and your dog needs you to know the symptoms and to act fast to rescue them.

Thank you, again, Boxergirl for saving lives by keeping us all informed.

FWIW, I can tell you that my daughter says that far too many of the bloat/torsion cases that come in to the ER are too late to save. Even her friend, who is also a certified vet tech, lost her dog to GDV. She'd never actually seen a dog bloating before and missed it. Reading about it just isn't the same as seeing it, so I think the videos are very important to watch.

Oh! I forgot to post this link. It's about pressure points for bloat. The author is one of my daughter's former instructors who is big in the Irish Wolfhound world. I know my daughter thought very highly of her as a vet. I figure anything is worth a try on the way to the clinic.

http://www.iwane.org/acp_point_v2.htm

 

[marke]

I've had three dogs have torsions , one "bloat" , and two intestinal torsions ..... as you see in the vids a stomach torsion is evident right away , intestinal torsion not so much ........... all three dogs were middle aged edgy males , I think temperament had a lot to do with it ........ I personally never have given a thought about preventing it , even after having it happen , i'm of the opinion if it's going to happen it'll happen ..... the stomach torsion was in the morning easily more than 12hrs after eating . one of the intestinal torsions I believe was from the male breeding .......... I do believe it is genetic in that body type and temperament are genetic .... the body type that predisposes them to it is the body type I/we look for , the temperament is common , but not something folks are looking for , at least not me .............

 

[7121548]

I don't think there's any way to prevent it completely. I tend to agree with Marke--that if it's going to happen, it will happen. My parents' border collie x had bloat and torsion, even though he hadn't eaten much or exercised the morning it happened. He's also only 65 lbs., so you just never know. Nevertheless, I still feed small meals hoping it will reduce the risk of any problems.

 

[trg]

Our GSMD had a spleen intorsion, she got very lethargic and bloat very quickly. Rushed her to the vet, spleen removed, stomach tacked, $3000 later all good. It was scary. But we do what we can for our family members.

 

[Nik]

I keep my dogs on nap time for a minimum of an hour after eating and I feed them four meals a day ( I split breakfast into two smaller meals and dinner into two smaller meals). We lost our senior dog, Cerberus to bloat. He got his over night and we didn't find him until morning and then rushed him to the vet. The vet didn't recommend surgery and wouldn't do it himself, would only refer us elsewhere. Cerb was very senior citizen and his chances of surviving the surgery weren't great. It was absolutely heart breaking and if taking every precaution possible saves us that particular scenario or lessens the chances we will do it. In the case of Cerberus he had not just eaten or been running around after eating or over eaten.... Sometimes it just happens despite precautions taken. But, anything that lessens that chance is worth doing in my opinion.

 

[scorning]

I believe bloat is pretty uncommon in puppies, it happens more to adult dogs. I've had 1 Boxer, 2 Dobermans, and 6 Great Danes, and only one dog (Dane) bloated. He was probably about 2 years old. He got him to the vet in time for them to surgically correct it, and then they stitched his stomach to prevent torsion from reoccurring. When I had my current Dane neutered I also had the preventative gastropexy, but this was primarily because he is a nervous dog prone to stomach problems so I considered him high risk. I probably won't get the gastropexy when and if I spay my current female Doberman.

I don't really do anything to actively prevent bloat, I don't crate my dogs before/after they eat. However, I also don't take them for a hike or do strenuous training with them right before or after meals either.