Time for Follow-up Friday. The blog hop that:
Let’s you wrap up your week and leads you right into the weekend.
Thank you to Jodi from Heart Like A Dog and co-host Kari from Hound Girl for hosting the hop!
This is a bit of a different Follow-up.
Yesterday marked the two-year anniversary of the day that we almost lost Thunder to GDV (more commonly referred to as bloat with torsion). We were very lucky because we recognized the symptoms and took him to an ER vet who had a lot of experience treating this condition.
That Spring we were training toward running Thunder in Seasoned and Senior hunt tests. We had been out training that evening and all seemed well until later that night when we realized something was very wrong. We rushed Thunder to the ER vet who confirmed our fears of bloat with torsion. Immediately we had to decide whether to do surgery or not. The alternative to surgery was euthanasia. We had moments to decide because time is of the essence when you are treating this condition. The problem with the surgery was that there were no guarantees it was extremely expensive. After talking to the vet and her assurance that he was a good candidate for surgery, we agreed.
The surgery went well. We thought the vet was going to have to remove his spleen, but that turned out not to be necessary. His vitals were all really good so immediately after surgery he had a positive prognosis, provided there were no complications. Again, there were no guarantees. Thunder had to stay in the hospital for a few days. He did so well that the staff there called him “Thunder the Wonder Dog”. He also became a favorite because despite being a big intact Chessie, he was never surly or nasty.
Once he was home he was pretty out of it. It was a couple of weeks before I saw the light return to his eyes and then there was no stopping him. The vet ordered limited activity for 4 weeks and after that he could run a bit, but as far as hard training, that was a no-no for 6 weeks. Once he felt better, it was hard to make him sit out, but we followed to the vet’s orders as she wrote them.
After his training layoff was over, he bounced right back and ran his first Seasoned test 63 days after surgery. He didn’t pass that test, but he passed the test the next day and went on to earn both his Seasoned and Senior titles that summer, going 3 for 4 in Seasoned and 4 for 5 in Senior.
Despite what you might read, they still do not know what causes this condition. There are suspicions, so we take precautions such as limiting water consumption before, during and after exercise and not feeding 2 hours before and 1 hour after exercise. We also use a slow feeder bowl for Thunder and he gets a Gas-x with each meal, (all of our dogs do). (Always consult you vet before adding medications to your dog’s diet.)
There is a preventative surgery they can do to tack the stomach to prevent it from twisting which we will seriously consider for Freighter although his body style is a bit different from Thunder’s. Thunder is very narrow and deep-chested. Freighter is not as narrow or deep, but he is not yet full-grown. We will wait until he is a bit older to do any surgery because if you tack too young, it may not last the dog’s entire lifetime.
The most important thing that I hope you take away from this post is to familiarize yourself with the symptoms and if you suspect your dog may be bloating, act immediately and take your dog to the ER vet or vet hospital. Do not wait because waiting may make the difference between your dog living or dying.
Thunder did not have all the typical symptoms. He did not appear to bloat. His abdomen did not have the hollow drum sound. He was not salivating excessively. The vet said that he did not have the foamy air bubbles in his stomach that usually happen with bloat. But he was very restless and was standing roach backed and trying to vomit. All dogs do not present the same way according to the ER vet. I am posting a chart which describes symptoms. (I am not sure who originally made this chart to give credit.)
We are so thankful that Thunder had a gifted surgeon and staff to take care of him. Incredibly, they told us that they do 2-3 surgeries a week for this condition. Two years later Thunder shows no ill effects from his brush with death. He loves to train and lives to go hunting. Of course there is a possibility that he could bloat again so we watch for signs and continue to take precautions, but we have not tried to slow him down nor has he really slowed down despite turning 7 last March.
Thanks for reading my long-winded post. There were some great questions this past week and I hope to answer them next week, so stay tuned. I will also be having a really cool give-away in the next week or two so check back for that.
Thanks again to Jodi from Heart Like A Dog and co-host Kari from Hound Girl for hosting the hop.
The weather is supposed to be nice tomorrow and we plan to get some training in. Have a nice weekend!
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Related articles
- This is the post I wrote about it back in 2011. There Are No Words
- Bloat ~ By Linda Eggert (officialakitaworld.wordpress.com)
Wow that’s really scary. Your post gave me chills. Thanks so much for make us all aware of this horrible condition. And give Thunder an extra hug from Daisy, he sure went through a lot (as did you).
No that was not long winded at all. We are so glad it all worked out OK. What a fright you must have had and all the worry. So glad Thunder is well and happy. You post was very informative too as we did not know much about the condition until Ann from Pawsitively Pets did a post a while back so it was good to refresh. Have a fabulous Friday.
Best wishes Molly
This was an excellent summary of GDV or bloat! My daughter’s German Shepard developed this last weekend and despite being rushed to the Emergency Vet Clinic and two surgeries he passed away..
I have a 3 year old Chesapeake who is training with me now and I will have to watch for this as she runs and swims daily and drinks lots of water.
Thanks for sharing your experience.
Marie Olson
I am so sorry to hear about your daughter’s dog. Sadly, many times the result is not good. As I said, we were very lucky. We know it could have gone the other way.
Thanks for joining the blog hop. I first started following your blog right after Thunder bloated. Having deep chested dogs myself this is always a concern for me. I have a info sheet about bloat right inside their medical books but any time I think something could be wrong with my dogs, I prefer to err on the side of caution. You can never be too careful. I too follow the 1 hour before and 2 hour after rule and I do try and limit their water intake and minimize gulping.
Believe it or not, Thunder was the first dog I heard of that survived bloat. I have two friends that both lost dogs to bloat not realizing that their dogs had it. One of them actually had the surgery and the dog died two or three days later. It’s a serious and scary condition.
I’m so glad that you were on top of it and brought him in and had the means to cover the surgery. This is great follow up post!!
Great post! In Germany, mom’s best friend was a vet and she helped her out from time to time with emergencies and operations, etc. Mom had never heard of bloat and the first time she saw it she was shocked. So much pain for the poor dog! She saw 3 cases and in all 3 the dogs did not make it as they did not even come to the vet until it was really bad. One had surgery and they sewed the stomach to keep it from “flipping” but it happened again a week later. Once it happens a dog is often more prone to it and securing the stomach doesn’t always work. After seeing it first hand, mom is adamant about resting after eating,not just eating one large portion once a day and she can get really mean if a guest dog wants to play after a meal, just not allowed! It can happen to any dog but the precautions you list are great ways to prevent it, unfortunately, there is no guarantee. So glad your pup is ok!
I am so glad you shared Thunder’s story AND I’m so glad that he was ok. Bloat is so scary and one of the things I worry about with the Newfs. When Sherman was younger we had a little scare. I though he bloated but after taking x-rays there was just a lot of air in his stomach. We monitored him carefully and thankfully he never went into full bloat, just full of a lot of hot air 🙂
I had never heard of bloat in dogs before I read this post. I have so much
to learn! Thanks for this important information.
Glad Thunder made it through OK! I recently wrote about the gastropexy surgery. I guess I had never heard that the surgery wouldn’t last long if you get it done too young?
The ER vet said that she had treated dogs that had the surgery as young dogs (say before 2) and if failed when they were older, say over 8. Obviously it doesn’t fail in every dog, but it does fail.
Hi Y’all!
What a great post! The chart is a great guide that my Human is saving for reference.
Hey there Thunder, just ’cause we are what the Humans to refer to as “middle aged”, it doesn’t mean we slow down! Go Thunder!
Y’all come back now,
Hawk aka BrownDog
I’ve never really had to worry about bloat, growing up with terriers. But now with Yuki, I constantly watch water in take at the park and beach, and make sure no one eats before we head out. I think I’ve been more of a worrier with Yuki than I have with any other dog. If her eye boogers look off, I’m worrying. lol
Thunder is very lucky to have you guys. I’m sure he is thankful! You can tell, because he won’t even let age keep him down! ^_^
So glad you saw the signs and got Thunder in and that the surgery was a success, GVD is very scary and even scarier is intestinal intasupsession(sp) where the intestine telescopes itself, that is even harder to recognize and very deadly.Thunder looks great 2 years later. Great write up on it and awareness post.
So glad that everything turned out well in Thunder’s case.
Thank you so much for sharing your experience. Especially that chart! So glad that Thunder came through this experience so well and hope you never have to deal with it again.
I can relate to the fear you must have felt. I lost my GSD to bloat. We were camping in upper Wisconsin at the time and i was unable to get her to a vet (and not for lack of trying) and she passed away. It was a horrible experience. Your post today is great and so informative. I know it’s going to help someone who’s faced with this life-threatening situation.
I worry about this all the time with Beary as he’s got such a sensitive tummy and is part retriever … I’ve just saved the chart to my laptop desktop for ease of reference. Thank you so much for sharing it, and I’m so glad Thunder is okay. Gizmo, I can’t imagine how horrific that must have been for you. I’m sorry you lost your girl.
I knew about this condition and even knew people with a Great Dane that had that surgery done before there could even be a problem. I believe that meant they had the stomach stapled so it could not flip. I don’t know if that is common or not. I also had never heard of a dog surviving this so I am so glad that Thunder was able to. I hope you never have to go through that again, I can only imagine how stressful that must have been.
Thanks for sharing this informative information. I know bloat can be very dangerous. I’ve never heard of a preventative surgery before. That is an interesting idea for dog breeds that tend to be prone.
I had forgotten about the GDV incident with Thunder. Now that you mention it though, I Do remember. I think you sharing your experience back them really heightened my awareness of the issue. I have experienced a couple of incidences of bloat with Gretel but no torsion was involved. Even though Dachshunds have deep chest, I was told it was very rare (It came up because I inquired about the tacking surgery you mentioned). It still scares me though.
This is one of those things I worry about, it can happen so fast. Robin Z lost one of her dogs to this several years ago while we were at the Kzoo show, he could not be saved due to his age, very sad situation.
Wow, what a close call. We limit water for our guys or give it to them in small amounts, particularly when its hot. We also feed the Labs in Brake Bowls which slows them down.