Stomach bloat in large breeds??

I keep getting told to be careful with my pup before and after she eats due to "bloat"...the fact that her stomach can twist and can be potentially deadly...anyone know about this subject? If so what do I need to be aware of and what do and dont I need to do? my pup is a boerboelxpresa mix.

Bloat can occure if dogs eat their food very fast, and if they excercise too close to meal times.

Its reccomended to feed from raised bowls and not feed within at least 1 hour of excersize [before and after]

The latest research suggests that raised bowls do not help and may possibly be implicated in increased risk of bloat.

Re exercise:

Better not to exercise your dog within two hours of eating. So if your dog eats at eight in the morning, don't take it out until ten, for example.

If your dog bolts food down very fast, you can get special food bowls designed to make them slow down a bit; I forget the name but am sure someone will know it


Also - make sure you learn the signs/symptoms of bloat and can recognise it if necessary, since fast action is vital.

Unfortunately I have first hand experience of this.

First of all any breed can suffer this but larger, deep chested breeds appear to be more predisposed to it.

When I say it, there are actually two different conditions.

There is GD (Bloat) where the stomach fills full of gas, this may or may not develop into GDV (Torsion) where the stomach twists and thus cut of circulation at both ends and then tissue dies.

You can have GD without the V and you can have V without the GD and you can have both.

Basic rules are feed at least twice a day.
Do not feed just before exercise or vice versa leave a minimum of at LEAST an hour, preferably more.
Some studies recommend raised food bowls, some say they are contraindicated.
Also types of dog food and their ingredients have been put under suspicion.
There is a stress element to it and a familial one ie there are "lines" which appear to be predisposed to bloat (no direct hereditary link).

http://www.weimaraner-scotland.com/GenInt/Bloat.htm

Purdue university came up with some recommendations.

http://www.mysticalpoodles.com/poodl...article11.html

Its also recommended not to feed from raised bowls, or not to exercise a hour before, and two hours after feeding, nothing to do with the recommendations of bloat are set in stone, generally its deep chested or large dogs who are most at risk, but any dog can get bloat, but there is some thought that certain lines of dogs in breeds can contribute to the chances of getting bloat, tbh I have thought about this before, but thought I was clutching at straws, but others are seeming to think so too, but there are many articles on bloat, some contradict each other, people will contradict each other too, its up to each owner as to what they do to prevent bloat, tbh with my dogs some days they are fed in raised bowls, some days on the floor, it depends what bowls I grab first, the most important thing I think is to keep watch of your dog for any signs that something is wrong.

Read up all you can on bloat but then keep reading as opinions change. One thing I do is check if feeding dried food that itdoesn't swell excessively & quickly if water is added. Also make sure your vet is up on the subject, Have recently had a friend who suspected bloat in her bitch, locum said no & to wait for tests in the morning. Dog died a couple of hours later.
I have sadly had experience of all three things smokeybear lists. The worst was the torsion without a bloat as it just showed as a collapse, my vet was amazed when he xrayed & found a torsion that had caused a ruptured spleen but no gas in the stomach at all.

I stopped using raised feeders after seeing the recent(ish) Purdue University study - a summary of findings here - http://www.crittersitextra.com/petti...loat_Study.pdf I now use brake-fast bowls and feed them off the floor.

I too have first hand experience of bloat. Like GSD-sue my dog showed none of the symptoms. He literally lay down at my feet and went to sleep. He was snoring but when I went to move him to get ready for work 10 minutes later he was unconsicious.

We rushed him to the vets but his heart had stopped. The vet re started it but we decided it would be to much for him to stand the operation and let him sleep.

we lost our golden to bloat it was terrible. they sayed they could operate but he was so sick they were saying most likely not going to make it. putting down a 10 year best freind was the worst. now to make sure our other goldens dont get it dont know if we should change to rasied bowls. reading everything is making me more confussed. help

I have a friend who works in the out-of-hours emergency veterinary sector who has seen bloat and GDV in many breeds including Dachshunds and Schnauzers among others as it tends to strike at unsocial hours.

There also seems to be a familial link to bloat/GDV so some lines of some breeds seem more prone to it. As yet there is no proof but if I was buying a puppy from a breed that can be susceptible I would be asking if any relatives of the parents or grandparents had ever suffered from it.

Horrible horrible thing....