bloat and twisted stomach

[Kathie]

My sister's beloved dog just passed away.  Sadie was a 6 yr old St Bernard/lab/GSD mix.  When they took her in they told them that she had a twisted stomach and needed emergency surgery.  The vet called after surgery and said everything looked good, they were getting ready to take her outside and they could probably come get her within a day.  A short time after that they called back and said that her heart rate was way up and that she wasn't going to make it and she didn't.  Needless to say everyone is heartbroken...that dog was truely a part of their family.  I have heard of bloat/twisted stomach before but is there anything you can do to lessen the odds of it happening?  I always thought using a raised dog feeder would help but someone told me that is not true.   I am really kinda worried about Wyatt my boyfriend's Berner...he has that deep chest.

[Louisa]

I'm so sorry to hear about your loss, this is a really frightening thing, I know first-hand. A  very good friend about 5 years ago lost her male weimaraner to bloat. He was only 3 years old I believe and in the prime of his life. I still remember getting the calls on his progress.. a very similar situation.. they thought he was going to make it for awhile and things took a turn downhill very fast. So sad.

All I have ever heard on preventing it is to never put a huge bowl of food down and let the dog just go at it... they can eat way too fast (as a lot of labs and breeds like this do that are chowhounds).  Feed them a couple small meals and make sure they take a break. I also heard something about putting a tennis ball in their bowl (or another object, I would think something more weighty) so they have to nudge it around and its supposed to make them eat a bit slower.   

Thats all I have really heard concerning it and i havent owned a large deep-chested breed in quite a few years now so its not been on the top of my concern list, but I certainly empathize with those it is... again, so sorry to hear about this, it really is tragic. :-(

[TherapyGolden]

I am so sorry to hear about your sister's dog. Heart issues after surgery for bloat are a possibility. My Golden Ginger bloated at the beginning of last year, she was 11 years old. She also had a twisted stomach (torsion) and needed emergency surgery. She had to stay at the vet for the next day, and after I took her home I had to monitor her, my vet said that there is a danger of heart problems for 48 hours after the surgery. I had to bring her back in the next day for an EKG to make sure her heart was ok. There are some risk factors for bloat but they are not absolutes. They say that feeding large meals or exercise before/after eating can increase the chance of bloat. Many dogs bloat after eating. When my dog bloated she had not eaten that day...

[Jillian]

Oh that is so sad, tell your sister I truely understand her pain right now.  That bloat is such a scary thing and I think for
deep chested dogs it can happen at any time.  We used a raised bowl for Nicki cause she was a much larger golden than
normal.  I have heard dogs that eat really fast splitting their meals so they don't suck in so much air when the eat, not playing
with them or letting them run around after eating. There are books out there that can help give some information on signs
and preventatives. Although I think any dog can bloat, I remember when Nicki was having her lazer surgery for her eyes in
Milwaukee there was a sheltie/collie mix that bloated out on christmas day that was coming in for a check up. She got into the food and over ate and bloated out.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I've thought if you suspect bloat (other than the other noticable symptoms) you can put your ear to their belly normally after they eat their tummy makes gurggling noises but with bloat its completely silent.