When I learned about this in vet tech school, I was shocked and enraged that i had never heard of it before.

I had heard the term before, and i vaguely knew what it was. BUT NO ONE—no clinic, no veterinarian, no website, no books, no friend or family member, NO ONE—had ever exposed or enlightened me to the—

1. SUDDEN ON-SET

2. OFTEN FATAL

3. EASY TO MISS

GASTRIC UPSET THAT MANY DOGS EXPERIENCE AND WIND UP DEAD IN A MATTER OF HOURS. IT IS OFTEN TOO LATE WHEN A HUMAN NOTICES THE DOG IS EXPERIENCING A PROBLEM.

Check This Out for Weird Timing + Thank God i’ve always been hyperanalytical/micro-analytical, and have had a gift of noticing when things aren’t quite right. So many times no one else noticed or agreed, because of that, i have single-handedly saved so many animals. So Crazy Timing + My Hyperanalyis:

• Shortly After I learned about this issue; our little old Boston Terrier GOT IT!

  • she was acting totally normal, hyper, active, happy

  • everyone kept saying “what are you talking about shes fine!

  • i grabbed her and ran down the street in the middle of the night to a veterinarian that lived near by. i rang his door. and sure enough, he sent my ass to the ER where my dog spent 5 days, and thank god made it out okay.

  • If i wasn’t there that night, Mazy, whom many people loved, would have DIED, PAINFULLY for no real reason…oh my gosh…you know?

I don’t know how this canine acute situation slipped past me into adulthood. Maybe it has to do with where I live? Maybe there are areas where the risk is higher. Maybe it is more known in cities, where a larger fraction of pet owners consider there pets family (out here a lot of dogs are still “property”), also information spreads better in cities..hmm.

I DONT KNOW! I WOULD REALLY LOVE AND APPRECIATE IF ANYONE WOULD CHIME IN ON THIS SUBJECT. ITS HARD FOR ME TO ACCEPT OR BELIEVE THAT THIS HUGE DEAL IS SO UNKNOWN

i will now layout the sinister problem that can take your healthy dog away from you in the blink of an eye

Dogs at High Risk:

1. Large Deep Chested Breeds

2. Top 3 Breeds: Great Dane, Weimerainer, St. Bernard

3. Though keep in mind ANY DOG is at risk—our little round Boston Terrier doesnt fit the profile above

4. Other dogs mentioned in medical literature:

   • Great Danes, Saint Bernards, Weimaraners, Irish Setters, Gordon Setters, Standard Poodles, Basset Hounds, Doberman Pinschers, and Old English Sheepdogs

5. Dogs that weigh over 100 lbs = 20% increase of chance

6. Common in elderly small dogs (hence Mazy)

Factors that increase risk:

1. Hereditary

2. Eating one meal a day (instead of parced out)

3. Eating Quickly

4. Being thin or underweight

5. fearful, anxious, nervous temperament

6. history of aggression toward humans and/or dogs

7. Male dogs are at higher risk than female

8. Older dogs, 9 and up, are at an increased risk

9. Moistening DRY dog food

   • I did this the night Mazy went to the hospital, her kibbles had become sponges.

   • AND she ate the other dogs whole bowl right after her bowl

The Picture is Starting to Form

Factors that decrease risk:

1. Eating 2 or more meals a day

2. Using and mixing in wet canned dog food

   • no more kibble+water

3. Having a relaxed content attitude

   • Work on zen-ing out your dog. Get him or her in a nice chill head space

   • Remember…this could save his/her life

4. Look for a dry dog food that has calcium-rich meat meal listed within the first four ingredients on the label

   • such as meat/lamb meal, fish meal, chicken by-product meal, meat meal, or bone meal

***In the best case scenario; the mortality rate is 15 to 40%. So your dog needs to be seen—NOW NOW NOW***

First Hand experience w the symptoms

• I could tell her belly was pot-belly looking.

• And then I took into account that I had moistened the kibble.

• And then my friend told me that his dog Mazy ate her food AND my dog Dylan’s food. He was 4 times her size, but silent, shy, and submissive. She ate all his food after she finished her bowl.

• So basically she gulped up 4 thanksgiving dinners worth of those foam toys that come in pills and expand in the tub or sink. Shrinky Dinks?

• She was so hyper, oddly hyper, and began to retch fruitlessly (symptom)

• Even though my mom and my boyfriend were telling me “oh Ashley, shes fine! Youre being your typical catastrophist self!” NOPE!

When I ran to the doctor, he showed me this trick:

Flick their sides or anywhere on their abdomen. It will sound and feel taught, similar to a basketball.

Actually to be safe—if your dogs belly is distended, and especially if it is TAUGHT & there is no room to push the dogs guts or tummy, then just go to the vet ER—the fact that this can kill a dog in an hour; you’d rather be wrong with a bill you know?

Another tip the doctor taught me:

• if you have a stethoscope (available at any pharmacy and anywhere online)

  • a Good Tool to Own, btw. We buy thermometers like its normal. Please get yourself a stethoscope. You’ll be surprised by how often it will come in handy. And you’ll end up learning all kinds of things and have fun doing it. Its kind of like a spy glass or butterfly kit for kids. You play around with it, and end up with tons of knowledge and experience.

    • Just Get A Stethoscope :-)

• hold your scope up to the dogs stomach.

  • You SHOULD be hearing typical tummy sounds, like squishes and farts;the sound of digestion.

    • Hearing this is a good sign, but it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re out of the woods yet. It may just mean, you still have a chance to save your dog.

  • If you hear nothing,or can barely hear anything,consider yourself in trouble.

Mazy was lucky,she was taken to the ER right away, they had her hooked up to in-going and out-going tubes. it was an intense ordeal, she was there all week.

After that, I became the most mindful dog feeder ever 😊

You ready to hear what it is? I bet you’ve guessed it.

IT IS CALLED BLOAT! BLOAT GOSH DARNIT! AND IT IS SERIOUS SERIOUS SERIOUS SHIT.

SOME DOGS HAVE BETTER ODDS SURVIVING GETTING HIT BY A CAR AND I’M NOT BEING COMEDIC OR DRAMATIC, IT IS A FACT!

BLOAT = EVIL

lack of oxygen to the tummy then to other organs, tissue starts to die almost immediately, becoming basically a poison to the animal’s body, septicemia (blood toxicity) is one stage, organs begin to fail. it happens quick.

There Are Many More, But Here Are Two Trustworthy Sites/Cites on the subject (the titles are linked). Please Look into BLOAT & GVS and PLEASE Spread The Word!

VCA Hospital Bloat

Is this (GVS) Serious? Yes. This is probably one of the most serious non-traumatic conditions seen in dogs. Immediate (within minutes to a few hours) veterinary attention is required to save the dog's life.

ACVS-American College of Veterinary Science-Bloat-more detailed symptoms

This Information MUST BE SPREAD! THIS IS A MUST-SPREADER!

TELL EVERYONE YOU KNOW! PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.

I’m so glad this came across my mind—i used to practically be an unofficial BLOAT PR Representative :-)

I needed EVERYONE TO KNOW…AND I STILL DO!

SPREAD THIS LIKE WILD FIRE PLEASE!

***LOVE, ASH