22/04/2025
Worth a read... this could save your dogs life. Know the symptoms.
REPOST - BLOAT: The Facts
Troy & Cooper
Both Malamutes, Troy was my partner's dog, Cooper was my dog, both born in 2008, unrelated.
Troy was neutered.
Cooper was entire.
• Troy was taken by Bloat in 2016, 2 days before Christmas day.
From the last time he was seen looking and acting normal he was dead within 45mins.
The first obvious sign when he was seen was retching or unproductive vomiting.
The Vet was 20 minutes away.
He didn't make it to the vet alive, he didn't even make it to the van.
He was raw fed twice a day, always exercised well away from feeding, over 2 hours on the day, he Bloated around 6 hours after feeding, around 11pm.
As it was late at night and past bedtime there was no one with him when it initially started.
It's not unusual to find dogs in the morning that have passed over night.
• Cooper was taken in 2018, 3 days before Christmas day.
The Vet was 10 minutes away.
He made it to the Vet alive but died in my arms around 10 minutes later.
He was a little more complicated, Bloat was secondary to another condition (a blood clot in his lung following a short illness).
He was kibble fed twice a day, fed well away from exercise on the day.
He was not a speed eater, he always ate slowly.
He had a slight cough in the afternoon which became progressively more severe after feeding.
He died from the blood clot around 6:30pm, around 3 hours after feeding.
We'll never know if he would have survived the Bloat, but the Bloat did progress severely very nearly killing him and gave me a taste of what it can do.
Some of the symptoms of the blood clot and Bloat overlapped making it harder to spot the Bloat in the early stage.
Despite retching or unproductive vomiting being the most common sign, at no point did Cooper show that sign, I was with him all day.
It can be hard enough for someone with no experience spotting a life threatening condition early, but 2 at the same time?
This was a case of going from no experience to being thrown in at the deep end.
Prevention is better than cure!
What causes Bloat?...
No one knows, as of yet there is no known cause.
Difficult to prevent something when you don't know what causes it.
There is a difference between a "Cause" and a "Risk Factor".
• Cause = something that made it happen.
• Risk Factor = something that makes it more likely to happen.
What are the Risk Factors?...
• Depends who you ask!
• Specific diets do not prevent Bloat despite what you may hear.
Dogs Bloat on all diets.
Do more kibble fed dogs Bloat?... Probably, because far more dogs are fed kibble so it stands to reason.
If you fed raw for 20 years and never had a dog Bloat, does that mean raw feeding reduces the chance of it happening?
What about if you fed kibble for 20 years and never had a dog Bloat, does that mean kibble feeding reduces the chance of it happening?
• Despite many owners these days not exercising dogs within 2 hours of feeding, dogs still Bloat.
If you've always waited 2 hours after feeding before walking your dog and never had a dog Bloat does that mean it reduces the chance of it happening?
What about those that have always walked their dogs close to feeding and never had a dog Bloat, does that mean exercise close to feeding reduces the risk of it happening?
There is some suggestion that gentle exercise such as walking helps gut motility, so could it help?
It's sensible to avoid vigorous exercise after eating, not just because of Bloat.
People worry about vigorous exercise because of the possibility of the stomach "flipping", but there is no evidence you can make their stomach flip by exercise.
• Diets.
Feed/Exercise Timing.
Speed eating.
Drinking close to exercise/feeding.
One large meal a day.
Raised food bowls.
Temperament.
Higher drive dogs.
Nervous dogs.
Stress.
Although these risk factors have been reported, these associations have not been consistently validated. Some limited studies and cases suggest they do or don't, evidence in conflicting.
There is opinion, sometimes strong opinion.
There is nothing that says THIS is what causes it and THIS is what will prevent it from happening in your dog.
Anecdotal recommendations for reducing the risk of Bloat have been published in reviews on the topic, but evidence based guidelines for the prevention of Bloat do not exist in veterinary medicine; other than prophylactic gastropexy, which is recommended for all working dogs.
It is pretty well accepted that Genetics, dogs with a first degree relative that have previously Bloated. Large breeds with a deep chest (it also affects small breeds), more specifically dogs with a high depth to width ratio of the chest are key factors.
There is suggestion it may be related to a gut motility issue, or a microbiome issue, makes sense, there is ongoing research, but still no conclusive evidence.
• Gastropexy is said to be the only preventative measure, it does not prevent a simple Bloat, just the stomach twist which is the most dangerous part, it's much more common in the US, especially in working dogs.
In the US all DoD Military Working Dogs are Gastropexied before they enter training, they have been for over a decade, they have gone from losing 10% of dogs per year to Bloat to 0.1%.
It's not so common in other countries as a prophylactic procedure, I know some vets won't even do it as such, especially here in the UK.
A small number of pet owners say it doesn't work because they've had it done but their dog still suffered a full GDV, this is probably rare. There are multiple different techniques, and the experience/skill of the surgeon are likely important factors.
But most owners are not doing it anyway.
• My advice...
Listen to all sides, consider everything, and then do what you feel is right for your dog, what makes you feel comfortable BUT, do it with the understanding that it can still happen, nothing is guaranteed to prevent it.
Also, understand that many of those who have been through it, especially those that have lost a dog to it, find it difficult to talk about.
Those that do talk about it often have a strong opinion on what you should do.
So what can you definately do to help your dog NOW?...
• Understand the Signs & Symptoms
it's not always obvious, you want to catch it as early as possible but it can be difficult even for experienced owners to spot very early on.
• Know what's normal for your dog
This is a big one, knowing what is normal at rest, at work, behaviour, vital signs, everything, in everything they do will get you far, not just with Bloat. If you don't know what's normal you won't know when something is abnormal.
This will help you understand when something is even slightly off.
This is what will help you pick up Bloat very early on.
Very early signs of Bloat can be as subtle as a behavioural change or elevated heart rate.
(Signs & Symptoms https://www.facebook.com/share/p/AjdbGz4GRpLMMp22/)
• Learn what to do in an emergency, it is always an emergency!
Despite what you may hear it's not easy to deal with, and it's not always easy to get to a vet fast.
Some dogs get to a vet in time and survive, some dogs unfortunately were never going to make it to a vet in time.
It can progress and kill fast in some dogs, in others it can progress slowly over a number of hours.
Some people live 10 minutes away from the vet, some over 2 hours.
People will tell you what to do based on their own experience which is limited, Bloat is so varied and every situation is different.
(Veterinary Committee on Trauma best practice recommendations for prehospital veterinary care of dogs
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/XTSeFGbwWQqZnGTa/)
• Have an emergency PLAN!
(https://www.facebook.com/share/p/Z9HuwBKNLvWU5PaE/)
• Rapid recognition and treatment is key to survival
You learn something from every dog you share your life with.
In a lifetime with dogs I learned my biggest lessons from Troy & Cooper...
• You never stop learning
• Being prepared
• Understanding how to support my dog in every way, how best to help them when they need it
• Know what's normal for my dog
• It can go from bad to worse FAST
• Don't focus on the obvious alone, in Cooper's case one condition masked the other in the early stage
• You don't truly understand something until you experience it
• If it ends bad, it's hard to get their final moment out of your head, it's heartbreaking
• If it does end bad, use the experience in a productive way moving forward, it makes it a little easier if something good can come from it
• Bloat is horrific
• There is nothing like fighting for your dog's life and seeing the look of desperation in his face, then have him die in your arms, to motivate you to learn and be the best dog person you can be, that one experience changed how I think about dogs
• There are some great people to learn from
Learn more about BLOAT here https://www.facebook.com/share/p/e4QFb9jauLQ6usJ3/
I am a canine behaviourist/trainer using force free/positive reinforcement methods
