Is it possible it could have been the canine form of SADS? And not related to bloat at all

First of all my post was in direct response to the post which said there were no outward signs of a dead dog having suffered a GDV.

If you find a dead dog, there will not necessarily be any outward signs that it has died due to a GDV.

I hope that clears that up.

Secondly, as I mentioned in my earlier post, it is perfectly possible for dogs to suffer a GDV with no typical signs.

How do I know this?

Because I had two dogs that suffered GDV with NONE of the symptoms you describe in your post.

And there is plenty of documented evidence of other dogs having the same experience.

Many diseases and conditions without overt, text book symptoms in both canines and humans.

HTH

There are an infiinite number of possible causes for the death.

Just as you cannot determine the cause of death when you find a dead human if there are no visible signs of trauma and old age is discounted etc, the same is true for dogs.

The only way you can remove guesswork from the equation is to perform a necropsy.

On the basis the dog was found as if he was standing up but on its side and history of organ failure in the famliy my guess would be its heart went

As SB said the only way to tell for sure is a necropsy

so sorry for the loss of your dog.

My girl phoebe had a bloat and torsion at Christmas. It was very quick and extremely evident. She was panting, trying to be sick and poop, wouldn't stay still and was quite distressed. within about 15 mins she looked like she has swallowed an inflated beach-ball. Thankfully we got to vet quickly and she had the surgery.

hope you manage to find out what happened

I hope no-one minds me asking this - but I'm only just starting to learn about dog illnesses.

I'm familiar with the warning signs of bloat and how dangerous it can be (I have rabbits who can be prone to it - it can be fatal to them too). But I have only recently read about the not feeding within an hour of exercise - is this something recommended for all breeds?

As we do feed Whisper soon after exercise. So far as I'm aware her breed (Rough Collie) is not a breed that is prone to bloat but is good standard practice for all breeds to follow this guideline? I want the best for our dog so am happy to change the way we do things to try and minimise the risk of bloat.

Twice we fed dry kibble dry and twice Our boy bloated - too much of a co-incidence for us.

Early symptoms can include

Pacing back and forth
Constant drooling
Obvious discomfort on movement & to touch
Swollen abdomen

Some think that the dog panics / can't cope with the severe acute pain and this does not help the condition

If in any doubt at all, get to the vet immediately. - day or night

All breeds can suffer bloat/torsion and do.

It is more common in large deep chested breeds.

I would always leave at least an hour between exercise and feeding, better a hungry dog than a dead one.

The warning signs of bloat/torsion are great a) if they occur and b) if owners are aware of them; often however either or both are not.

When I took both my dogs to the vet they wanted us to go away and come back in the morning, I stood my ground and my decision was, unfortunately, vindicated.

I now keep Windeze and Infacol to hand to give to my dogs should I believe they are having a bloat/torsion and would give them these on the way to my immediate trip to the vet.

(Both contain simethicone which is used in Gas Aid in the US for dogs and here for cattle).

I also have infacol at home, car, dog walking bag and ine at kennels for when she is there. We have had a few bloats since the bloat and torsion at xmas. Delt with at home with vet on telephone thankfully but still very scary and makes me really paranoid. I think anything you can do to attempt at preventing is a must.

I am intrested to hear about raised feeders as ive had one since she was a puppy but vet has told me not to use it. Have to be honest it has slowed her eating down as she gets a bit of kibble then stands back up to eat it then down for a bit more ect.
What are your thoughts on raised feeding?

jeff,im so sorry for your loss,and its a big fear for me as well, iv got deep chested dogos,not really much i can add.i do pay attention to the dosand donts.there no gaurentees,iv lost one dog years ago to this,i learned from it.oe thing i did change was there feeding habits,more smaller meals and water 1 hour after.i try not to let they lie down as well,after they eat..im shocked and hope you are doing ok.run free run forever.respectfully phil