Question:
I have a great dane, and no one seems to be able to answer this question for me.
In regards to Bloating in Great Danes. Some say it's a huge worry, and you have to go so far to having an emergency bloating kit in your home, others say, its not the common and if a Dane is to start to suffer from this immediately take him to the vets, don't even think about using a bloating kit.
Now my concern is, how common is this? Personally I would take my dog to the vet immediately anyways. I have been having a hard time finding a vet familiar with Great Danes.
Hope you can answer my question.

Thank you
Faith

Answer:
I know alot of dane owners...and about half of them have lost their beloved danes to bloat. I have read (I will try to find my reference) that danes are the number one breed that have a disposition to bloat. My vet and I decided that it was best to have a gastropexy performed when she was spayed. I feel that i made the best decision for my pet.

Answer:
Just to side track a bit if thats ok, what is bloat? what causes it? I have never heard of it before.

Answer:
Bloat is when the stomach fills with air and then it can twist causing death if not seen to right away. This happened to my BMD X GSD when he was 5, thankfully I had read about it in a vet book and knew that it was life threating got him to the emerg vet asap and stoped it before his stomach twisted. The emerg vet passed a stomach tube in through the rectum and put warm water into the stomach and passed the gas. If his stomach had twisted it would have been imediate surgery to save him. We had his stomach stiched to his abdoman wall a few days later at his own vet to prevent it happening again which is quite often with dogs that has bloated before. If you are familiar with cattle it is the same thing that happens to dairy cows. Not all vets preform this surgery either. Check out this web site http://www.globalspan.net/bloat.htm#...atest%20Riskou

Answer:
also if your dog has 1st-generation relatives who bloated, their own risk is greatly increased. An at-home emergency bloating kit is only a good idea if you know how to use it properly and can remain calm in the process, otherwise it could cause more harm than good. I've seen the one my breeder has at home, heck i'm not sure i could handle using it but if you live far from a vet, it would be a good idea, it could save the life of the bloating dog...

Answer:
If you have a good 24 hour vet clinic close by, IMO, they'd be your best bet (rather than attempting to treat the dog yourself). If you have a dane, you'd better get really acquainted with the risk factors and the symptoms. The faster you see it, the better chance of recovery.

You should be well aware of things like not exercising the dog for at least 1 hour before and after eating, and not allowing the dog to consume large amounts of water in one drink. There are also little things, like citric acid in dog food that can cause excess gas that you need to avoid (if you do have citric acid in the food, avoid adding water to it). Also newer information says that raised bowls can cause bloat (older info said the opposite).

I just think you need to search the net to death about bloat so you can be as aware as you can.

Answer:
Here are a couple of threads about bloat from here:


Answer:
Bloat is more common in dogs fed a kibble diet, it is much rarer in those that are fed barf (raw diets)


Some tips to prevent if using kibble
Feed small meals 2 or 3 times a day, pick high quality kibbles that are low in grains, stay away from foods the contain soy, soy tends to cause gassiness in dogs. Keep the dog from running around or playing for 2hours after meals, a quiet leash walk is okay.

http://www.jaaha.org/cgi/content/abstract/40/3/192

http://www.vin.com/proceedings/Proce...5091&O=Generic

THis great dane breeder does argue against the perdue bloat studies

http://www.greatdanelady.com/article...loat_study.htm

Answer: