03/28/2025
🚨 BLOAT. Please read. It’s very serious and that’s why I’m such a stickler for rest before and after meals. This can happen to any dog, but I listed the top breeds most prone to bloat in the comments. So sad for this owner to experience this even though she was diligent 💔
One of the saddest things in the world is to walk out of the vet’s office with an empty collar and leash. The events of this morning have me a little lost for words.
I’ve had GSDs for around 15 years now and I’ve always been a stickler for bloat prevention. Never do dogs eat until they’re completely calm, then we have 1.5 hours of rest after meals to let them digest. I naively thought at this point, it wouldn’t be something that happened to one of my dogs.
This morning Buck had a potty mess in the house about 5:50, so I let him out and cleaned it up. He was outside for a bit, may have gotten some water while he was out there? But came in seemingly fine. He started to sound like he was vomiting (which I had not heard him do previously) and had another accident in the house so I let him out again, and cleaned that up. I went to call him inside but he’d crawled under the deck. He came out from under it in distress with hiss abdomen hugely swollen. It was THAT fast. We left to go to the ER vet at 6:55 a.m.
One hour and five minutes upon waking up this morning and he bloated. That’s all it took.
We tried to get him some relief, and to save him but letting him go was the kindest thing for him.
We brought Buck here back in 2020, and a few weeks after he arrived he tested positive for both heartworms and an active Lyme infection. We battled to get him better with the help of our vet friend Michelle Wendell, doing all of the treatments for him and keeping him calm in her clinic. He made it through all of the treatments perfectly, testing negative for all by the end of 2021. Buck also went through a cancer scare last year, but tumors were removed with no further treatment necessary. I never thought it would be bloat that got the better of this strong boy.
Buck, you will live on in your many offspring all over the world. From sport dogs (IGP, PSA, Mondio), SAR dogs, to beloved family companions, your legacy will live on in the breed for generations to come.
Buck vom Hundepit IGP 3, AD
01/26/2015 - 03/28/2025