Yes I would echo what Tass has said, having two breeds both of which are predisposed to bloat and/or GDV people need to understand a few things.

First of all a dog can bloat without having a torsion.
Secondly a dog can have a torsion without a bloat.

I have had two dogs with torsion, one of whom bloated.

She bloated at about 2 years of age, the vet and I deflated her; a couple of years later she had a torsion with NO symptoms bar I knew there was something wrong.

My male also had a symptomless torsion.

In both cases they exhibited behaviour which was completely at odds to their normal life.

My male came upstairs and got on my bed.

The bitch just looked at me with haunted eyes.

In both cases I took them straight to the vet saying I had a dog with torsion.

In both cases the vets told me to go away and come back in the morning.

In both cases I insisted they be opened up.

The male survived but had a stroke soon after.

I lost my bitch on the table, a week before her 5th birthday

The biggest risk in bloat is the familial tendency in some lines. The dam and two aunts of my bitch had torsions, the dam survived.

ps I have not watched the video and have no intention of so doing

Will 3rd what SB and Tass have said. I've never had a dog bloat but know someone who did and the only sign was she got very aggressive with other animals in the house. No swollen stomach, no throwing up or anything.

Again, just to add, all dogs display pain differently.

I knew someone who only phoned the vet when their dog was jumping around screaming its head off, perhaps trying to run away from the pain. They hadn't noticed any other symptoms either. This behaviour started suddenly and when they tried to calm him his breathing was harsh/panting. Luckily he survived his op and beyond.

Thanks for posting the video though as I hadn't actually thought about the fact that a dog may not make a sound...

Thanks

The good thing about posting this sort of thing is that everyone can add their own knowledge and experiences into the pot which is what is needed (and indeed what has happened!).

I'm just so glad the dog in this instance survived. Still sad for my friend's beautiful GSD, who didn't


Wys
x

I'm not going to watch the video, but to echo what SB and others have said...

Dogs show pain in different ways. My GSD has bloated 3 times, each time she has not had a torsion.

The first time she began drooling, drinking lots and then bringing it stright back up, she was also breathing very heavily. It came on suddenly and I knew straight away what it was.

Second time she started wandering around aimlessly, she was drooling and her heart was racing. Again I knew what it was and rushed her to the vets.

Third time, she went and laid down in the garden on the concrete, totally out of character, I went to check on her and she was expanding in front of my eyes.

My weimaraner started drooling, drinking lots and being sick, his heart was racing and again he ballooned in front on my eyes, then collapsed on the way to vets.
Unfortunately I lost him the day after as his heart went into arhythmia and he could not be saved.

I didnt watch the video either - ive seen Bloat 3 times now and hope never to see it again. First was a very young dog which we had, 2nd and 3rd was Harvey. Symptoms are very classic, sick, continuous water dripping from mouth - very tender and in pain - the intense pain terrifies the dog and although abdominal area swollen in Harvey, it didnt balloon however the area was rock hard both times

It is thought there are different causes to Gastric Torsion/Bloat and none have ever been totally identified as the main cause

Those of us with breeds more susceptible to this horrible condition can be as careful as we can with diet (which I believe caused Harveys) etc however as JB once said on another thread, sometimes it just happens.

Putting the whole 'why are they filming it' thing to one side....

It's good to have this available for people to see although (based our experience) I would say this is fairly tame both in terms of the 'size' a dog can suddenly become and also the lethargy.

I will not view it either. I'm sure that with dogs, as with humans, there are many nasty but rare conditions that would result in extreme distress for the dog. But I don't want to watch an animal or human suffering in pain to be made aware of them. I can read up on them.

Sometimes thinking you know 'just what to expect' can be counterproductive. Not every dog or person presents the same symptoms with a similar condition.