Bloat Survey

[RKCM]

This came from another forum. Bloat was stated as only 2nd to Cardio in the cause of death in dobermans. Please take the survey.
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Our goal is to look at conditions that are relevant to the further study of this disease. Your contribution is appreciated. A summary of the results and findings will be posted on our website www.breedingbetterdogs.com in November 2010.



Thanks for any help that you can give to this effort

Carmen Battaglia

770 998 3679

[DLS]

I am going to have to go and fill this out! In over 35 years of being involved with dogs I have NEVER had one bloat. Ever. I have often wondered why as so many others have had dogs bloat.

[dobeshowgirl]

I filled it out too. We have never had any of our dogs bloat. Mom is really good about catching it very early if they do start showing signs and is right there with the gas x. I was reaised to be as vigiliant with my own dogs. I also think it helps that we soak their food in water.

[Dobs4ever]

http://www.practical-pet-care.com/archive.php?200702210922539

I am sending a link on some new info from the Dane people - About the time you think things are right they come up with a different idea - but I do not used raised food bowls and don't soak food based on more recent studies. It may end up that no one is right.

This is a quote from the article "I have a Dane breeder friend who recommends feeding the raw diet to anyone who's had a dog bloat. They use to recommend soaking a dogs food in water prior to feeding, thinking that presoaking any of the grains would lessen the risk of bloat, but later determined that soaking the food actually increased the risk for soaking kibble makes the grains ferment more in the gut.. The same for using a raised bowl which was once thought to decrease the risk, then later discovered a raised bowl added to the risk."

I only post this for information purposes. Everyone has to make up their own mind. I have never had to give gas X on this program so not sure if that is why or not. Hope this helps.

[RKCM]

I am going to have to go and fill this out! In over 35 years of being involved with dogs I have NEVER had one bloat. Ever. I have often wondered why as so many others have had dogs bloat.

I have never had bloat either and have wondered why too.

[Big Dogs]

I shouldn't say this but we have never had bloat. We do use raised bowls we do not soak food but we do follow the 2 and 2 rule. No work or playing for 2hrs before or 2hrs after.

[Shadowlands]

Knock on wood, I have never had any issues with bloat either. I don't use raised bowls but I too don't allow excercise (work or play) about hour before and after meals.
I think that like a lot of things out there, unfortunately, there is never going to be any hard and fast rules about preventing this. If whatever you're doing works, keep doing it.

[RKCM]

We feed dry food and don't soak and we don't have raised food dishes. We do have raised water dishes though. The dogs get meat and veggies cooked weekly. They do rest for a couple of hours after eating and when they do go out after eating, they come right back in. The major of their exercise is before they eat. It works for us and never had a dog with bloat.

[MLR]

I feed dry kibble and use raised dishes and so far have never had a problem with bloat either. I think what everyone's saying so far is so. We do what seems to work for us.

[Rhiannon]

I filled it out too. We have never had any of our dogs bloat. Mom is really good about catching it very early if they do start showing signs and is right there with the gas x. I was reaised to be as vigiliant with my own dogs. I also think it helps that we soak their food in water.

Well actually we don't soak it we just put enough water in to almost cover the food and then put it down immediately. I don't feed elevated and we also do not allow any vigorous excercise an hour before feeding or an hour after feeding. Kind of like the no swimming rule after eating to prevent cramping with people.

I also only feed a high quality food. The reason being have you ever put warm water on your food and watch what the food does. The cheaper foods will start to bubble and almost take on a fermentation process if you watch it. It is disturbing to say the least so only high quality food served here.

I am a firm believer in Gax X. Have not had to use it but only a couple of times. Rule of thumb around here is if the dog is beginning to look like it is pregnant and you know that is impossible. Grab the box of Gas-x. Think about it. Bloating is when the stomach is filling with air. (Gas) The more the stomach fills and begins to bloat the more uncomfortable the dog will become. This is when they will get into serious stress and then some will roll and thrash around kind of like what a horse will do when it colics. There are handlers that travel with bloat kits. I also keep on hand one of the medications we have in case a horse colics. It is given by injection and stops the pain for a horse as well as a dog. Please keep in mind that I have gone over my prevention / treatment routine with my vet and nothing is done without consulting her first. There are also handlers out there and breeders who keep a trocar on hand. I won't even explain it because I think it is far to dangerous. But you can google it I am sure. I think the Gas-x is a far safer alternative. I agree with whatever works for you keep on doing it I always say if it isn't broke don't fix it. I will say that I have been called to testify in a case that involved a handler and a client dog that died of bloat and torsion. The handler was not at fault and after testimony the owners of the dog were the ones found negligent. Not fun by any means but my testimony did help the handler and backfired on the people who insisted I testify in their behalf. Oh and by the way I am glad to have the help of my daughter who has learned to be vigilant in caring for our dogs. Now I am off to take the survey.

[Rhiannon]

The reason we wet the food and don't soak it is that if I eat anything dry it makes me thirsty. So think about the dog who eats and then wants to tank up on water. So we wet the food and then do not allow any excessive water drinking after eating. They cannot have their water in with them until about two or three hours after eating. I think this is what helps our dogs. Also I should say that it has been with our Weimaraners that we have used the Gas -X not the dobes. But these are sporting dogs that have been working hard and then started showing signs of distress. And I believe that the Gas-x won't hurt them so if we even have any inkling of a dog that could be starting to bloat I have used it. Nothing can ever replace our vet in my opinion. But since it is a matter of life and death when a dog bloats and torsions. Torsion meaning the stomach rotates. And due to the fact that bloat and torsion surgery is so very expensive and not always successful I believe that an ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure. I even took a break in the middle of posting this reply to speak to our vet. We went over several of the things here that I have talked about and one of the things she told me was that a lot of the time they also have to remove the spleen as well because the blood veins are in distress as well. Bloat and torsion can be so bad that the stomach will actually rupture which is not good in any way at all. There have been people who even have had their dogs stomachs tacked to prevent the stomach from rotating again only to have it happen again. True story. And Dobs4ever is correct in saying that things change all of the time and we may never know 100% a way to prevent it from happening. But I say that my box of Gas-x is still a whole lot cheaper than the cost of the surgery to save my dog's life. I also was talking price of surgery with her as well and was thrilled to hear that God forbid if one of my animals ever got to this point that we would be looking at less than 600.00 which made me very happy as I know of vets out there that it is over a thousand dollars to do depending on what part of the country you live in. Also what I am talking about here will not replace what your veterinarian can do for your dog so always contact your vet if in doubt. My vet did say that no amount of Gas-X can help your dog if the stomach has already rotated so that is when time is of the essence get the dog to the vet immediately.