Gas pains or Bloat?????????

[kildeskennel]

i ALSO HAVE READ THAT BLOAT OCCURS VERY QUICKLY AND ON AN EMPTY STOMACH WHEN THE DOGS EAT VERY FAST AND SWALLOW AIR, GULPING FOOD AND WATER ETC. i ALSO FREE FEED, MY BABIES EAT EASY AND SLOW, I HAVE A G-TUBE AT THE HOUSE JUST IN CASE IT EVER HAPPENS.  YOU CAN SOMETIMES GET A TUBE DOWN INTO THEIR STOMACH AND RELIEVE THE BUILD UP OD PRESSURE/AIR/GAS.  I THINK EVENTUALLY THE STOMACH DOES TWIST BUT I THOUGHT THAT WAS A TORRSION OF THE INTESTINE, NOT BLOAT???  I WILL HAVE TO DO SOME MORE RESEARCH! 

[poofynewfy]

Thanks for all of the information.

[DixieSugarBear]

Do you know of a sorce for the g-tube. I would love to have one for during the middle of the night. I would have the vet teach me how to use it.  Anything that could give you a little more time to get to the vet could very well save the life of one of our babies.

Lisa

[mastiffmommy]

Kildes...... Bload I guess has different stages. But the last stage is that the stomach actually turns, twists around itself and that is horribly painful. The scary part is that, if you are totally out of luck, it can go from normal dog to a twisted stomach in 10 min.

Marit

[mastiffmommy]

Also, I am sooo glad to hear that Sugar Bear is feeling better. Him wanting a cookie is sure a good sign. I feel for him though, feeling better and no treats, horrible horrible thought hehe

Keep us updated

Marit

[lins_saving_grace]

Sounds like a grooling experience.   

[DixieSugarBear]

Happy Dance Sugar Bear is playing rope tug-of-war with Dixie.  I am so happy to have my big boy playing, it has been a long three days.

[kildeskennel]

Thanks for the info saves me more research, I do recall the intestines twisting in the late, fatal stages.  Sugar Bear as far as a G tube goes, I have access to them myself and just asked my vet the correct size for my breed.  They are easy to insert if you know how, I do it frequently on humans, dogs are not much different, the measuring for placement is different on the four legged variety!  Your vet could show you how, and probably supply the tube.

[DixieSugarBear]

I will ask my vet.  When you have very little time it may just save a life.

Lisa

[mastiffmommy]

Your welcome kindels, glad I could save you some time on here...... More time for BPO 

Me too will have to look into the G tube. Hmmmm do you think I can find a human to practice on first. Ill pay them with doggy cookies

Marit

[moonlitcroatia]

Sugar Bear if feeling much better. He has been playing some with Dixie, which makes her very happy. He even found some cookies he had hidden.  He is on plain rice for the next two days. Not getting treat is making him crazy so I know he is feeling better.  I think it was the gas-x that did the trick.  The vet did tell me that is good to give them some gas-x any time you can tell that they are having tummy problems.

Lisa

Good!  I am very glad there are other opinions, from qualified professionals, to back up the "Gas-X" useage.  The first time Greta developed bloat it was frightening.  She was squirting water diarrhea out one end and throwing up undigested dog food out the other.  Her tummy was rock solid and she was restless.  It was X-mas eve and we took her to the vet and it was $395 for all of these tests.  Later, I found out from a guy I worked with that it is OK to give her "Gas-X" at the first sign of trouble.  From then on, that is what I've done with complete success.  I think it has saved her life and thousands of dollars time and again.  Such a simple, inexpensive way to prevent their suffering, and/or eventual death.

[Jason]

Hey everyone. I wanted to pass this link on to everyone concerned about bloat and torsion.

http://www.great-dane-rescue.org/bloatbook.html

As some of you know, Oreo had emergency surgery a few years back for Bloat and Torsion, and I credit the info in this article for saving his life. Print it out and keep in nearby. Make sure anyone who has a hand in taking care of your big dog (dog walkers, sitters, spouse, etc) knows the symptoms.

Now, Oreo has a 14 inch scar to impress the ladies and a tacked tummy to prevent bloat from happening again.

-Jason

[fuzzywzhe]

It is my understanding that it can happen with in just a few hours and some times less. So getting them to the vet A.S.A.P is a must. 

Actually, it's often less than a few hours.

What bloat is, is when the stomache, or intestines, or some part of the digestive tract loses it's blood supply.  When this happens, the organs are cut off from their oxygen supply, and quickly die.  If you ever suspect bloat, rush your dog to the vet.

A common cause of it, is feeding your dog too much water at once.  The weight of the water can cause the stomach to twist and cut off the blood supply.  this happens mostly with deep chested breeds.  I'm careful not to over-feed my dog water, even if they are obviously thirsty.  I re-hydrate them at 30 minute intervals after long hikes.

[Kermit]

Bloat is very scary. My experience with it was with a pony. We came out to my friend's stable and noticed Suzie (the pony) was laying down. We thought, oh how cute. But then we realized she didn't look so good, and she wouldn't stand up. And we realized how FAT her belly looked, unnaturally large to the point that two 13 year-old kids like us even not knowing a thing about bloat could see that there was an emergency before us. We got my friend's mom to call the vet out and meanwhile he said to get her up and keep her moving. He got there pretty fast and down her throat with the tube. But her gut was so twisted he couldn't get the tube down. Poor Suzie was so scared and we were so scared and knew she was in horrible pain. But unfortunately it was too late to save her, and she was in so much pain that the vet had to put her down right there. My friend and I took off running because we were way too young to see that. I am sick to my stomach even thinking about it now. It is a serious and fast problem. We never really knew what caused it for Suzie, but the vet suspected she has been rolling around after drinking some water, and the stomach turned over trapping gases in there, leading her to become completely bloated.
I have deep sympathy for anyone who has had to experience this with any of their animals, it affected me so deeply even though it wasn't my pony that it happened to. I'm glad everyone is sharing information and that website posted by Oreo's dad is something we should all read.

[mastiffmommy]

Jason, Thanks a lot for that link. I read it carefully and it is such a great article. When my dane had it, I was lucky enough to catch it in time and get her to a vet in time. I knew the signs and bunches of reasons to why, but it was pretty much luck that I made it to the vet before she got real bad.

The scar Oreo is impressing ladies with, is that canine or human ladies 

Marit