As some of you know, I lost my beloved Grace in February of this year to bloat. So it goes without saying that I am super paranoid with my other dogs.

Last night, Vigo was playing with Ayla, the puppy, and suddenly started licking his lips and seeming to gasp a bit. He went outside and vomited bile and some stomach contents. He was desperate to eat grass and drink water - didn't let him do either. His licking slowed, but didn't stop. I dosed him with a product called Bloat Buster, which is Gas-X and other ingredients. Waited 10 minutes and dosed him again. By this point, his abdomen was getting harder and we rushed to the Emergency Vet.

Luckily, he was not bloating, but he did have gas in his intestines pretty much from one end to the other. The vet speculated he was probably about to bloat and the Bloat Buster slowed it and pushed gas to the intestines. We will never know for sure, but I am beyond thankful that he is ok.

Please, please - if you have a large breed dog, keep some type of gas-x on hand. I prefer liquid because it is very hard, if not impossible to get pills/capsules into an actively bloating dog.

This is the first time I've ever had to rush a dog to the ER. I honestly wasn't sure where it was. I'd recommend making a dry run to the closest E-Vet and storing their contact info in your phone. I called ahead and they got us right in.

Also, Vigo is a fearful dog, but I've worked with him extensively on his training and being handled. He is absolutely terrified at the vet, but he is well-behaved and relatively easy to handle. I know this helps him to get better, faster treatment.

Very scary night for us around here last night. He's doing fine this morning, although he is tired from the ordeal.

I'm glad you caught it so quickly and Vigo is ok. I haven't heard of bloat buster, can regular gas-x be used (simethicone)? And do you know what the dose would be?
Happily we have 2 ER's close by but if this medicine can help I'll definitely keep it on hand.

In our area, the local vet clinics do an evet rotation. You need to call and meet them at their clinic. Good reason to get familiar with practices in your area.

I'm glad your boy is OK!

What a scary ordeal for all of you! I'm so happy to hear Vigo is okay and resting comfortably today.

Your post is such an important reminder for all of us to know the route to the 24-hour e-vet by heart and to have appropriate remedies on hand at home.

Jodi - I've always give the dose for an adult human. You really can't overdose it. With Gas-X extra strength, I give 1 or 2 gel capsules. I save the bloat buster for really scary events.

He is peeved with me today because I won't let him play like a maniac with the pup. Still no sign of a poop today...I will feel better when that happens and I can analyze it LOL.

Thanks, hopefully we'll never need it.

 Quote: Melissa Hoyer

As some of you know, I lost my beloved Grace in February of this year to bloat. So it goes without saying that I am super paranoid with my other dogs.

Last night, Vigo was playing with Ayla, the puppy, and suddenly started licking his lips and seeming to gasp a bit. He went outside and vomited bile and some stomach contents. He was desperate to eat grass and drink water - didn't let him do either. His licking slowed, but didn't stop. I dosed him with a product called Bloat Buster, which is Gas-X and other ingredients. Waited 10 minutes and dosed him again. By this point, his abdomen was getting harder and we rushed to the Emergency Vet.

Luckily, he was not bloating, but he did have gas in his intestines pretty much from one end to the other. The vet speculated he was probably about to bloat and the Bloat Buster slowed it and pushed gas to the intestines. We will never know for sure, but I am beyond thankful that he is ok.

Please, please - if you have a large breed dog, keep some type of gas-x on hand. I prefer liquid because it is very hard, if not impossible to get pills/capsules into an actively bloating dog.

This is the first time I've ever had to rush a dog to the ER. I honestly wasn't sure where it was. I'd recommend making a dry run to the closest E-Vet and storing their contact info in your phone. I called ahead and they got us right in.

Also, Vigo is a fearful dog, but I've worked with him extensively on his training and being handled. He is absolutely terrified at the vet, but he is well-behaved and relatively easy to handle. I know this helps him to get better, faster treatment.

Very scary night for us around here last night. He's doing fine this morning, although he is tired from the ordeal.

Wow, I'll bet your heart rate still isn't back to normal!

Very good advice about a dry run to all area ER vets.


Probably a good time to post the "Akita bloating" video again, too: http://leerburg.com/webboard/thread.php?topic_id=33791&page=1#385167

Wow - how scary! So glad he is okay now!

Yesterday taught me:

1. Have gas-x of some kind on hand.
2. Know the signs of bloat - the akita video is very helpful.
3. Know how to get the ER vet.
4. Have the ER vet phone # so you can call ahead and let them know you're coming.
5. Have method of payment ready to go. I have a charge card with lots of space that I keep with me at all times.
6. Train your dog to be used to handling.

I was really pleased with everything I had in place, except for knowing where the E-Vet is! Ugh. I will not make that mistake again.

Thanks for the well wishes!

Geez. I'm glad he's ok. I've been wondering about bloat lately because I just got my new gsd puppy yesterday. I've never had any problem with my rotties with bloat, but I've heard several horror stories from people in our club. It sounds like gsd's are more prone to it. I am soaking his food before I feed it because that's what the breeder and others in our club told me to do to reduce the risk.