Bloat

I have a Great Dane...and an equally big fear of bloat!  Here is what I do.
YES I FEED FROM ELEVATED BOWLS!  For those people that argue that the Purdue Study on bloat said to not feed with elevated dishes.. read this link from The Great Dane Lady...no one in the world has a bigger  interest in bloat than she does. Here is the link to read. [linkhttp://www.greatdanelady.com/articles/on_my_soap_box_purdue_bloat_study.htm]http://www.greatdanelady.com/articles/on_my_soap_box_purdue_bloat_study.htm[/link]
I do not let my Dane run around a lot before she eats, and I keep her as quiet as I can  for a couple hours after.
I add a probiotic supplement to her food at all meals and feed her a quality meat based food...Eagle Pack.  I also add more real meat on top of her kibble...or eggs in the morning. I also double up on that supplement if I know she will be stressed.
They are beginning to believe that stress plays a big part in bloat...I sure try to keep her from getting stressed out.  That is part of the reason for elevated bowls,,,it has to be much less stressful for her to eat without having to bend all the way to the floor to eat her meals.
I have Rescue Remedy on hand to give her if she does have problems....to keep her calm. I also have straight simethicone to give her if I feel she is bloating,,,and I hope both that and the Rescue Remedy will buy us some time to get her to the vet in a hurry. You could also have Phazyme (spelling) ready to help get rid of the gas,,,, on the way to ER.
I am very protective of her, I do not want her to spend time in a case barking at a groomers or vet,,,, I feel that it would stress her out way too much,,,and thus help her to bloat.
You need to know the symptoms of bloat (and remember that they might not show any of them) and the best way to get to the emergency vet in a hurry.  
I feel that I am leaving something or two out of what I do,,,I can't think.
There are a lot of opinions out there,,, but truthfully, I don't think any one has much of a clue what causes or could prevent bloat. 

There has been some studies that suggest that elevated food bowls may increase risk. Activity before and after eating should be restricted.
If she isn`t spayed yet she can have he stomach tacked to keep her from getting gastric torsion if in fact she ever does bloat. Gastric torsion as a result of bloat is the killer.

a couple sites that mayhelp
 
 
[linkhttp://www.globalspan.net/bloat.htm[/link]>http://www.globalspan.net/bloat.htm]http://www.globalspan.net/bloat.htm[/link]
 
>[link>http://devinefarm.net/rp/rpbloat4.htm]http://devinefarm.net/rp/rpbloat4.htm[/link]
 

Repeat after me... Prophylactic Gastropexy

[font=arial]And perhaps most importantly, know your dog well so you'll know when your dog just isn't acting normally.

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Boy isn't THIS correct!!!!
 
About the surgery to tack the stomach to keep it from turning... I really meant to look into that if I ever had a Dane before she was spayed,,,and I got Bubblegum before she was spayed but she went into surgery kind of in emergancy as we thought she had pyometra... (which she did NOT thank goodness , so who thought about anything else at the time. BUT I had read that while that surgery does help, that there are also dangers in it, as the stomach tries to turn it tears away from the wall its tacked on to, causing more problems.
 
There is a website that I copied a long time ago...it was from a Dane owner that did have a dog that bloated and bloated many times.    That site is the first place that I had read about simethicone.... BUT she did say when she switched her dog to MEAT BASED food (the dog must have been fed cheaper grain based kibble)
that he never bloated again. 
 
I have also read many times that many dogs that tend to bloat come from families that had bloat problems.. might be a question to ask when picking out your dog from the breeder.    I remember Bubblegums breeder saying that she never had a dog that bloated... I sure hope Bubby remembers that.  lol!!!

Repeat after me... Prophylactic Gastropexy

Hey misskiwi, do they do these open? I can do them endoscopically on people with a EGD scope which requires no incisions and is quick. If they don't do it this way you should totally do it as a project or something, you could be famous, the misskiwi gastropexy!!

My SIL's Bull Mastiff had bloat last year, thankfully they live moments from a vet facility and were able to get him into surgery right away. The vet did tack his stomach but I thought she told me that the vet warned it could still happen again (bloat).

He is the 12 year old Bull Mastiff with '9 lives' this dog. He's something else, God bless him.

ORIGINAL: ottoluv

Repeat after me... Prophylactic Gastropexy

Hey misskiwi, do they do these open? I can do them endoscopically on people with a EGD scope which requires no incisions and is quick. If they don't do it this way you should totally do it as a project or something, you could be famous, the misskiwi gastropexy!!

They're just now starting to do the endoscopic gastropexy in canines. Its supposedly about 300 dollars cheaper because of the amount of time and supplies that are saved. I know of a couple clinics that are doing it, and I talked to Dr. Reimer yesterday (I did my first regular gastropexy in surgery lab) and he just finished his 15th or so here at the teaching hospital. They're doing a study on it, so I should be able to perform 1 or 2 before I graduate.

Now I just have to find a clinic that has the tools to do them when I start job hunting!

Just a question on the Prophylactic Gastropexy is it hard to find a vet that will do it and i was wondering if you knew a cost estimate. The Bloodhound is already spayed so would i do it as soon as possible or would i wait til she gets into the risk age of getting bloat

I also have a quewtion on gastroplexy, via endoscopy....is it done on all large breed, large chested dog as a prophy procedure or do you give the dog one chance.....I know one chance can be fatal but at the same time doing hundreds of these things I think maybe  dsomewhat on the unethical side....

I would feel similarly dvet. Any invasive procedure runs the risk of infection, anesthesia complications, drug adverse reactions. One really has to weigh the risks and consider if the danger is imminent and strong enough to go forth with these risks.  I wonder if surgeons are considered unethical when they remove healthy breasts as an elective surgery. I once had a dentist tell me she considered it unethical to ground down healthy teeth to perfect them with crowns, she said that the risks could be averted with bonding and the tooth stays intact.
Maybe I have too much time on my hands, pondering all of this stuff!

I wonder if surgeons are considered unethical when they remove  healthy breasts as an elective surgery.

I do it all the time and no it's not generally thought of to be unethical. In the right high risk patients, piece of mine is worth a lot (imagine if you had several 1st degree relatives with ovarian/breast CA where their risk is greater then 70% by age 70 with some gene mutations) Even with aggressive screening, things can be missed. Some people want to KNOW they are not at risk.

It would be unethical however to do mastectomies in someone without increased risk (just the normal 12% risk), just because they were worried.... The benefit must justify the risk of the operation.

As for the dogs, it would depend on what their actual risk was, if the actual risk is like 10% then clearly this wouldn't be worth it, but 20+ it would start to be a more attractive option.

Endoscopic procedures are very, very low risk remember...

For breeds that are at higher risk, such as danes or weimeraners, and other deep chested breeds, then I think its recommended to do it before they bloat. We try to educate the owners and get it done at the same time as a spay. It makes for a really big incision line, but its peace of mind for some, particularly people who have lost dogs to bloat before.

For all the other breeds, I'd just say wait, especially if you know what to watch for. Unfortunately not very many people know what bloat is, and don't know what to watch for, so a lot of dogs die, or get irreversible internal injuries, before they see a vet.

As for price, I have no idea. We only did a couple this summer, and I didn't run charges for them. I know the dog that bloated and came in on emergency spent a week in the hospital and ran up a bill of over 2500 dollars. She died of secondary complications a week after going home. Bloat is serious stuff, I don't know why you wouldn't pexy them if you have a high risk breed. If you can find a vet that does the endoscopic procedure in your area, that would be ideal. I'd drive several hours for the safer, faster, less invasive procedure.

I would agree doing it at time of spay is  l;ogical and making a much larger incision I don;t think is required..I am saying this as never having done it but I can do small incisions for diaphragmatic hernias, spleenectomys etc...again I am saying with out haveing done it....but I can do great surgery in my mind...I susppect in my mind I caould take tonsils out during a spay and also doing a spay while doing a tonscilectomey----Hey::: i:m only kidding....honest