moved from another topic:

 Quote: Elizabeth Anderson

.... I give keiko one feeding but I am a little worried about bloat, what is it that really causes it and should I be worried?

Here is a study on bloat that I recently posted.

http://www.goldenrescuestlouis.org/Bloat.asp

This study seems to indicate that a lot of the things we thought, exercise after meals, ect, aren't really the risk we thought they were bloat wise.

The biggest indication seems to be the chest size.

Thanks Betty! Good article.

You are welcome! I'm not up on studies but to my uneducated self it seemed like a good sample number wise.

That was a great article.
but I wish they explained a little further about how a dogs stomach can get twisted and cause bloat.
Or did they and I missed it?

I don't think the mechanics of bloat are very well understood. Clearly, when it happens, something has gone wrong and the body isn't working the way it should.

The digestive tract moves around some on its own--the natural movement that churns and moves food through its length. Volvulus (the dangerous twisting/kinking) of the stomach or bowel occurs when things move out of place and get "stuck" in that incorrect position. Then nothing can move in either direction. Gas builds up, and blood supply is cut off from the twisted organ.

I think it's partly congenital. An individual's anatomy (dogs and humans too) might have the position or shape of the organ "off" just enough that it pre-disposes them to volvulus. I think there's also a good dose of bad luck involved.

My GSD, Luca, bloated three years ago. Thankfully, he survived. It was touch and go for several weeks and required surgery and an extended stay in the emergency hospital. Other than his breed, he had none of the usual risk factors. He didn't eat kibble. He ate two smaller meals a day vs. one. Didn't exercise around mealtimes. No family history of bloat. But he bloated. We came home on a Saturday night from the movies and found him that way. I'm just grateful that I knew enough to quickly recognize the signs of it and get him to the emergency clinic in time to save him.

After this happened I was also really surprised at how many people (ordinary dog owners) knew nothing about bloat, had never heard of it. It kills me to think about how many dogs die this way because owners don't recognize the symptoms quickly enough.

This video of a dog bloating, posted before, I know, is something I think we should all watch and pass along.

Please note that the dog is OK, that the narration was added later, that the person filming the dog had no idea what was happening, and that when they did understand that dog was in serious distress, he was rushed to the e-vet and saved. It was very good of the people (brand-new owners) to allow this educational video to be made.

The dog made it to the vet and was deflated before he torsed, thank goodness.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=U1WrT2719yo

Watch to the end, because there's a lot of info here.

The text below the clip:

This video shows a dog in the middle to late middle stages of bloat. This dog, Roscoe, was saved. He had just arrived in a new home. The weather was warm but not hot, actually quite pleasant as this video was being filmed.

Neither the person who brought the dog to this foster home nor the foster home had ever seen bloat and had no idea of what they were seeing. As soon as they realized something was wrong, he was rushed to the emergency vet.

I can tell you from personal experience that we can talk to you about it forever, but until you actually experience it, it is very difficult to recognize. They say a picture is worth a thousand words and in this case the video is priceless for its teaching value.

The person filming this very kindly allowed us to use it as an educational tool so other people can learn to recognize what is happening when a dog bloats. A voiceover was done to point out the various symptoms of bloat to those who may not recognize or understand what they are seeing.

This dog bloated, but did not have gastric torsion. His stomach filled with air, but luckily for him, he made it to the vet in enough time that he had not torsed. They were able to deflate him and he is now home and doing well.

Torsion occurs when the stomach flips over, cutting off the blood supply causing stomach tissue to start dying. Torsion requires very expensive surgery, and even if your dog survives the surgery, they may not survive the aftermath when the toxins from the dying tissue are released causing heart arrhythmias and sepsis.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE take your dog to the vet if you think he may be bloating even if there is no swelling apparent yet. Sometimes there is no obvious swelling in the early stages; your dog just looks "fatter". They can take an x-ray to determine if your dog is in the early stages and treat him immediately. If the vet refuses to take an x-ray, INSIST upon it. This is YOUR dog. YOU know him very well and if the vet still refuses to take an x-ray, go elsewhere. The earlier it is caught, the better your dog's chances of living.

For more info on symptoms go to
http://akitarescue.rescuegroups.org/info/display?PageID=11156
Video by Bill Loewy

Wow. That's the first time I've seen that video . (I've been hit and miss around here lately )
Very informative...
Thanks for posting it again...

ok so that kind of scares me alittle.

The other night I was worried about Tucker as he was pacing quite a bit and would not settle. He would lie down for a few seconds, get up, come to me, move around, come to me, etc. I figured he was going to vomit (there was no retching or drooling at that time) So I took him outside, nothing. Brought him back in and he was still restless, lie down a few seconds, get up, move etc etc..thats when I started to think about bloat.

I was going to start panicking when he threw up, twice. Just a bit at first then a larger amount that contained some of the treats he was given (I had just gotten home about 1/2 an hour before) and the rest was just liquid & foam.
He's throw up before, but I 've never seen the foam before. He was perfectly fine after he threw up, and i haven't seen any signs of him being uncomfortable since then, this was about 4 days ago.

So when i watched that video and he said foam was a sign of bloat its made me wonder. Has anyone else had a dog vomit and it contained foam? Should I be concerned?

And please, before anyone says I should've taken him to the vet, trust me, i was just getting ready to call the emergency vet and tell them the symptons when he threw up. I waited about 6 minutes to see if he would continue the pacing, etc but he didn't. He went about his normal business. If he had continued pacing/restless I would've been out the door!

edit: ok so I read now the "unsuccessful" vomiting is a sign...but geez...the foam thing threw me off!