Bloat chart

[Jo Ellen]

Originally Posted by mm03gn

Wow thank you for that - I have read it carefully and will have my hubby do the same! I am curious though, about Phase III - it says that "death is imminent" but in the treatment section it says that the dr. will remove part of the stomach and spleen, but then it also says that "it is no longer possible to save the dogs life" - Which is it? Can the dog be saved with surgery in this phase, or will the dog die no matter what?

There's phases within phases. Daisy was in early Phase 1, not the later Phase 1 where the stomach twists.

In the latter part of Phase III, there's nothing that can be done. When shock becomes irreversible, death is certain.

It doesn't take very long to go from Phase 1 to Phase III. Even if you only suspect bloat, you need to go to the vet immediately.

[inge]

Thanks Kimm, I'll ask Rose to show me that pressurepoint.

[BeauShel]

I would say that Beau was a early phase 2 or very last phase 1. He had to have the surgery to untwist his stomach and the vet said it was in time to not cause any long lasting damage.

I have made this a sticky

[Joanne & Asia]

Thanks so much for posting this. I just printed it off too. Bloat scares me so much.

[honeysmum]

Thank you for posting this I hope everyone reads it.
Jo Ellen no way did you fail Daisy and you both certainly saved Jades life by posting about it.
Jade was led on her bed 10.30 at night when she got it (I thank god I hadn't gone to bed) The vet came and got her no way that I could get her there on my own thankfully they are only about half a mile down the road.
I think Jade was between phase 2 and 3 her surgery lasted about 3 1/2 hours and I was told to prepare myself for the worst.
Flipping heck I have palpitations even writing it.

[Karen519]

Snobear was in whatever phase they have to do the surgery and we had the surgery where they sewed or tacked the stomach so it can never happen again.
Prior to surgery, vet said she MIGHT have to remove the spleen if there was damage, but there wasn't.

I just want to STRESS THE SIGNS I noticed prior to Snobear Bloating Friday Night.
Ancy-Anxiety
Pacing
Didn't want to lay or sit.
Wretching-trying to vomit over and over-nothing coming out.
Or trying to poop with nothing coming or both.
Distended stomach or Ken felt a lump in his stomach.
Won't/Can't eat or drink.

[tippykayak]

Originally Posted by Jennifer

I had never seen this chart before. Thanks for posting.

It makes me think that this is what happened to my last dog, Payton. He passed away on the way to the emergency vet. He had all the symptoms mentioned. We didn't have an autopsy done, but were told that his spleen ruptured. The emergency vet said that he most likely had an underlying condition such as a tumor. Would he have had similar symptoms? It was so out of nowhere. He was fine that night when he went to bed and then woke up in the middle of the night and deteriorated quickly. My sister still blames herself because she is positive that it was caused by a rawhide (very thin small piece) she gave him. I wish we had known more. I feel like I let him down.

Bloat would not be caused by a small rawhide, and if the rawhide somehow did cause an obstruction, it wouldn't have caused a ruptured spleen.

More likely is that your dog had hemangiosarcoma, a cancer of the blood vessel lining that often affects the spleen and causes a rupture. In that case, there is no treatment that could have saved the dog.

[tippykayak]

As far as causes of bloat, it's usually because the stomach becomes too full and the contents can't be expelled. Air is the biggest culprit. Even in cases where drinking too much water triggered it, it's probably the air that got gulped with the water that's the problem.

Dogs have to be predisposed to develop it. There are some breeds that simply can't because of the way they're built. There's also a surgery they can do now where they tack the stomach in place, so if a dog is a repeated bloater, they can help prevent it in the future.

The most key sign is nonproductive vomiting. If a dog vomits more than a couple of times, and if nothing's coming up, head straight to the vet. If the dog is vomiting food or bile, a trip to the vet may be necessary if it's happing over and over, but it's not bloat if what's coming up has food or bile in it.

[Penny & Maggie's Mom]

Dogs can still bloat after the surgery, but the stomach cannot twist so there is no danger of the torsion. Gives you more time to get to the vet. http://www.vetinfo.com/dbloat.html

[Jo Ellen]

Bloat (dilation), even by itself, is a very dangerous condition, it is an emergency. It can be fatal (though rare), even without the twist (torsion).

Also, bloat causes damage, though it's difficult to know the extent. It stretches the lining of the stomach and weakens the muscle fibers and can make recurrences more likely. Thankfully Daisy seems to be okay now though I am over the top careful with her water intake

Honeysmum, I know, it's hard to go back there, it makes me physically ill still, even after a year. I wish more than anything that I could get some of the images of that weekend out of my memory.