The Dreaded Bloat/Torsion

[shirley walsh]

Just joined this forum with a hope of finding some answers/solutions regarding the dreaded GDV in one of my setters. I have had setters for over 30 yrs and have never had a problem until now. My previous pair lived to 15yrs. I have 2  girls who are now 5yrs old (sisters) Sophie and Missy. Sophie is the larger of the two .I also have a 2yr old yorkshire terrier called Lucy. Last June Sophie started wretching, became unsettled, Lucy started barking at her and wouldn't stop.. Next thing her abdomen became bloated. Rushed her to the vets, which thankfully was about 3 mins in the car. She was operated on right away noting that she had torsion as well. The vet had decided not to do a gastropexy as he was quite confident it would not recur!.....Sophie made a speedy recovery..I changed her feeding to 3 times a day with kibble and a little tinned dog food and changed to feeding bowl from elevated to floor level. All was well until I took my girls on a trip in my motorhome (they love being in the motorhome) with my sister who also has a motorhome. This was in October. Same thing happened again, so got her to a vet within an hour. Again the stomach had torsion again and the vet also carried out a gastropexy....Again Sophie recovered amazingly well.

Then just over a week again it happened again!..( 11th Feb) .Poor Sophie has had 3 major abdominal operations in the space of 8 months. I am at my wits end !!!. I have stopped feeding her kibble and put her on Chappie with some lightly cooked fresh mince. I do know that she burps quite a lot (has always done this) and when she is settled in the evening has her paw in her mouth like a comforter...

I don't know what else I can do to prevent this happening again..

 

Shirl

[Kimberly Simmons]

Thank goodness you got her to the vet quickly Shirley. I'm glad Sophie is feeling better, poor girl. Here's to a speedy recovery and to the "Luck of the Irish"! xx Kim

[Fran Griffin]

My three were insured by NFU, but last year they hiked my premiums up to £157 per month. This is probably as much as I am spending in veterinary treatments in a year at the moment, as only Tallulah has been for her monitoring and tablets. The other two haven't seen the inside of a vets for about a year.  I changed to another company, but I have been told they aren't any good.  Better than nothing I guess, because I cannot afford £157 per month :-/

[Catherine Carter]

Kirstie,
You should join the raw feeding group on ES to get all the info.

[Trish Haill]

I found it really easy to get cover for Bess.  I'm with LV and am currently paying £15 a month!  I know it will go up (and up!!) but at the moment it's very reasonable.  I didn't have any trouble because she's an IS.

[Fran Griffin]

Prayers for Sophie.

[Dianne cook]

Glad to hear Sophie is home and doing well, although quite. And.... Yes thank goodness for insurance!!
Keep us updated on how she is.
Dianne.

[Ann Carter]

Shirley what a dreadful thing to have to go through.   have you ever thought of changing her diet from kibble to a more natural way of feeding? Raw Meat.  Dogs digestive systems are not designed to eat grain, we have changed their appearance and behaviour, but their digestive system remains the same, they are carnivores they do not need carbs.  Given time they can and do revert successfully to natural feeding, kibble and canned  benefits the human, it makes feeding easy. Takes more effort but the dog ends up far more healthy.  

[Trish Haill]

I agree with the sentiment here, as I have already written, and have been doing more thinking on this.  People think we've changed a dogs digestive system, but in actual fact, kibble has only been around for what - 50, 60 years?  Before that dogs would have scavenged for bones and pieces of meat that we would throw away (lungs for example).  Well fed 'posh' dogs probably got their meat direct from the butcher.  I'm sure no cooking was involved.  Just think back to the 'white dog poo' of the 60's and 70's which used to crumble away on the pavement, and compare that to the faeces of a raw fed dog.

What persuaded me that I was on the right path feeding Bess was the small amount of waste material being produced.  I can tell a 'Bakers' fed dog a mile off when I come across the pile it's left behind on the pavement.  If all the nutrients are being used by the body, with very little waste, that must be a healthier solution. 

I also feel important to a dog that could bloat is the reduction in the water intake seen in raw fed dogs.  Before changing her diet last year Bess would drink for England on return from a walk, and I felt very guilty taking her bowl away.  Now she just has a small amount of water and seems quite satisfied with that.  Most of her liquid intake is from her food. 

I've yet to find out what my vet thinks of raw feeding, but am prepared to be told I'm killing my dog - I know of very many people who've had to change vets or put up with a fight on their hands as vets receive a lot of their nutritional education courtesy of the dog food manufacturers.  I was pleasantly surprised by a vet nurse at the practice who, having asked me what Bess was fed, simply exclaimed 'oh, please let me look at her teeth!  I've always wanted to see the teeth of a raw fed dog!'  Which leads me to think that a) it's not common around here, but b) at least the vet nurse knew what she was talking about.  Just a shame that another advised at Bess's puppy party that all large breeds should be fed from raised bowls to avoid bloat!!  Still, can't win 'em all.

 

[Ann Carter]

Agree with everything you have writtenTrish, pleased you had the time to do so...

[Kimberly Simmons]

Sooo I 'm waiting with bated breath ...what does poo from a raw feeding look like?!......

[Trish Haill]

Very small! If I don't poo pick the garden for a couple of days (in bad weather!) I can't find it at all! In the sun it dries and goes white and crumbly like poos of old.

I'm afraid raw feeders get very excited when their delivery of raw food arrives as its so much fun deciding what to feed to their dog each day. And also very ashamed to admit that you learn to study the poo! Too crumbly = too much bone. Too soft = too little bone!

Very sad! :0)

[Kimberly Simmons]

I know all about "dry and crumbly", one Thanksgiving I sat the Turkey carcass out on the patio to get it out of the way, and our black lab stole it! She pooped saw dust for days! And I had to always check it for blood since they were cooked bones and could have caused damage, but no food ever bothered her! She stole the kids Easter baskets one year while we were at church too! You think you have food put up out of reach but where there's a will, there's a way!!!