Bloat

weimdawgs · Posted: Sat Dec 01, 2007 8:49 am Post subject:

When they get kibble, I still put some water in it.

Beth · Posted: Sat Dec 01, 2007 8:53 am Post subject:

Wow, I never have put any liquid in their kibble, just dry food next to their water. Now, I may put gravy or drippings (from roasts and such), but I never knew I was supposed to do that!

Hey, quick question, and I could probably find it if I had time to surf, but, while I'm here
Can they have pork?

(As I'm sitting on here, my 2yo and Daisy got ahold of a whole tube of wrapping paper, Oui Vey)

wildlifecr13 · Posted: Sat Dec 01, 2007 10:28 am Post subject:

mine have had pork... one of the few things Lola would eat some days.

heidimonster · Posted: Sun Dec 23, 2007 11:21 pm Post subject: Bloat

Our weim is currently recovering from bloat surgery. For her, the cause was multi-factorial-pre-existing GI problems, stress, and possible over-exertion after eating. I should give some info on her medical history. She has had previous GI issues, which included episodes of vomiting, diarrhea, and weight loss. We had every test possible performed on her to get to the bottom of the problem. It was determined back in August, that she MAY have IBD. However, no Internal Medicine vet that saw her would definitively say for sure. So, we tried to keep her "condition controlled" with a restricted diet. She was doing very well until we left for a vacation 2 weeks ago. Luckily, the boarder whom we trust both our dogs with noticed the symptoms and took her into the Vet. At first, the vet told us that she might have swallowed a coin, as a circular object was showing up on the x-ray films. They performed a lavage procedure and told us that she was doing well. When we returned home from our trip the next morning, the ER vet stated that she bloated again over night, and that she MAY need surgery, but due to her past GI issues he wanted her regular vet to examine her. What about the coin? It was an un-dissolved pepto tablet. We asked if she was in any danger? No, not right now because her stomach was still static. Long story short-Our vet instructed us to monitor her at home for the next few hours, checking for the cardinal symptoms. Which are: vomiting, diarrhea, refusing food/water, voluminous stomach, trouble walking, and the worst of all, protrusion on her left side. At 11:00pm when I first noticed the protrusion, I broke every traffic law in Virginia to get her back to the vet for ER surgery. While they had her open, they took biopsies of her GI tract. Which confirmed IBD.... which is a whole other set of problems. But she is at home recovering very well, as there was no internal/permanent damage done.

AmyB · Posted: Sun Dec 23, 2007 11:34 pm Post subject:

I'm so sorry! What a rough time you have had!!
I'm happy to hear that she is recovering. I hope that she gets well soon. What will you guys have to do about the IBD?

heidimonster · Posted: Mon Dec 24, 2007 11:58 am Post subject:

weimdawgs · Posted: Mon Dec 24, 2007 12:20 pm Post subject:

What a coincidence that this thread resurfaced now. Jake is recovering from surgery for bloat and gastric torsion.

Jake was a high risk for GVD because of his age and size. Stress is also a factor. Just know that it can happen to any dog for any reason or for no reason at all. Knowing the signs is important but it is even more important to just go......if you think it may be bloat...just go. Don't wait to be certain. The best case scenario is that it will cost you a couple hundred dollars because you are paranoid.

In Jake's case, I had no question...I knew. I was in danger of losing my boy. Thank God it turned out the way it did.

Iam very happy your girl is recovering.

RDarkes · Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2008 2:14 pm Post subject: Bloat

There seems to be a difference of opinion on the issue of raising the dog dishes off the floor or keeping them on the floor. I actually have one of each, and was thinking about raising all of them. I also have a 4 year old, Thor who eats his food like a maniac. I recently became concerned about this issue when my oldest boy Neiko (9) vomited , and seemed to be gasping for air. He quickly recovered, but it got me checking this issue out. When this occurs in a horse, it is called colic, and is fatal more often than not. A horse will bit their side, and lay down in the stall and thrash around.
What concerns me most here is that last nights dinner came up in the vomit, about 18 hours after he ate it. I would appreciate any thoughts on this issue. I have read the attached below article.

weimdawgs · Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2008 2:39 pm Post subject:

Welcome to the site!!! Your boys are beautiful!! And thank you for rescuing.

My oldest boy, Jake, had bloat/torsion surgery on December the 18th. Jake is 10. He recovered beautifully from the surgery and is doing very well. It can happen very quickly. They are more prone to it the older they get. I believe Jake had some small incidences with bloat that resolved it self prior to this last incident.

You will know, just as I did that you need to get help. Jake had eaten dinner just about 2 - 2 1/2 hours earlier. It was veggie and fish night. He got restless and was trying to vomit and poop and drooling so much that his chest and front paws were wet. I knew almost immediately that he was in trouble, so did he. Jake started pacing at about 8:15- 8:30. He paces when he is stressed so that didn't get me attention right away. But shortly after I realized something was up with him. I gave him some gas ex but things continued to escalate. It was about then that I noticed he was distended. I got dressed, got him in the car and off we went. I had him in the ER by 9:30 and he was in surgery by 10:30. This all happened on the Friday night before Christmas.

Just watch him after meals. I feed my guys at 5 in the morning so that I am not feeding them and leaving for work. Also, raising the bowls is no longer recommended.

There is whole thread about Jake's surgery. (Jaked bloated).

How is Tatianna??? It's nice to see you here...

Lynn

anne · Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2008 1:25 am Post subject:

My thoughts on bloat....
Stay away from lines that have it. It is inherited, or rather the propensity is inherited.
STRESS is a big factor.
Go the emergency vet even if you might look like a paranoid lunatic and insist on an x-ray if you think your dog is bloating.
Unproven but mentioned in literature... raw food diets may be a good thing. Yes i believe it, there is a lot of water in raw food, nothings expanding in the stomach.

Cengle · Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 10:44 pm Post subject: Bloat took my Reny last year

My first weim, Reny, died suddenly from bloat last summer. He had a very large chest and skinny little waist (good looking weim, though!) which really made him suseptible to it.

You will know if your dog is experiencing bloat - I had read a few things about it and always had the "signs" in the back of my head. Reny tried and tried to vomit and tried to poop with no success. His stomach was hard and bloated to the size of his chest and he whined. When he whined, thats when I threw him in the car and took him to the emergency vet. Someone else mentioned that you should know where your closest after-hours vet is and I agree - I did not and spent a very critical 45 minutes on the phone and internet looking for one when there was one only 10 minutes from my house.

It was too late for Reny, we could have had surgery but he was 8 years old and there was only a 50% chance of survival and no guarantee on any kind of quality of life afterwards. That lead to the worst decision I have ever made in my life--having Reny put to sleep. I can only hope no one else faces that same situation. If in doubt, take your weim to the ER vet - your instincts are probably right! I hope this post helps someone.

mazzywest · Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2008 9:56 pm Post subject:

Cengle, sorry to hear about Reny. My dog Gus also had bloat at age 12. We noticed one night he didn't finish his dinner and we woke up the next morning and he was clearly in distress. He didn't eat his food again and couldn't poop, and he kept retching and gagging. I knew the signs of bloat and immediately called our vet. We rushed him in and by the time we got there, he was in shock and foaming at the mouth. The vet operated immediately and found non-cancerous tumors in his stomach, which probably caused the bloat.

Gus' belly scar healed nicely and he did ok for a few months after his bloat surgery. We put him on a motility drug, Metroclopomide (sp?) to help him digest his food, and we fed him smaller meals five times a day. We soaked his kibble in water before he ate and mashed up any food we gave him. He had always eaten with raised bowls and we limited his exercise after he ate. Ultimately, Gus went down four and a half months later with congestive heart failure and complications related to diabetes.

The bloat surgery was expensive ($5000, plus post-op visits to get stitches out and meds), and it's also risky. Older dogs have a good chance that they will bloat again (I can't remember the statistic, but I think it's like 1 out of 3 dogs). But if given the choice, I would have gotten the surgery all over again.

AmazingGrayce · Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2008 10:15 pm Post subject:

bloat scares me to death. I follow every pre caution but Im sooo afraid one day she will bloat when shes alone. Than when I read so many people on this board talking about how their dogs have bloated...yikes!

Im Scared enough that Ive wondered if I would be crazy to get her stomach tacked (sp??) at 3 years old as a preventative. I wish I knew more about it when I got her spayed because I think I def would have asked them to do it.

clarkiek · Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2008 10:23 pm Post subject:

AmazingGrayce · Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2008 10:26 pm Post subject:

I dont know a ton @ it either..ive just heard of dogs whove bloated having it done and heard it can be done while spaying. I think it may not completely prevent the actual bloating but the twisting the of stomach which is what can be fatal.

Anyone heard of getting it done just as preventative for no reason besides being a super duper paranoid psycho weim mommy that doesnt want to lose their weimer to bloat