Energy surges after eating and avoiding bloat

[Snazy]

Whats bloat? Ive not heard of it before - is it something I should be watching for?

It's when the stomach fills with gas and then twists on itself (torsion) trapping the gas, and the belly keeps expanding.

It can happen in any dog but more common in larger breeds and those with deep chests.

If you ever watched the James Herriot program, it is the same thing when he'd stick a big needle into the sheep stomach.

[riiseni]

I have to say though that I would think it requires a bit more than 5 minutes of fun after dinners
to get a bloat.
Five minutes of fun is hardly going to fill their stomach with gas.
Maybe I let my dogs have a bit too much fun, who knows (question) Chasing rabbits and playing with balls, lots of fun (cool)

[Snazy]

Stress can also bring it on.

[riiseni]

Stress can also bring it on.

In that case I'm much more likely to get the bloat than my dogs!

[pastylover]

Although gulping food, excessive drinking and/or strenuous exercise after (and immediately before) eating are the most common reasons for gastric torsion, it can happen for no obvious reason, especially in older dogs. Our old Giant had it when she was about 11 and had done nothing out of the ordinary. Having always had deep chested dogs we knew what to look for and she survived the emergency operation.

If you have a susceptible breed and at any point after eating, even an hour or so later, the dog is listless, dry retching (trying to vomit but nothing happening), excessively salivating and the abdomen feels taut call your vet immediately to tell them you are coming and get to them as quickly as possible. Don't accept any suggestion to 'wait and see'. Minutes count as even with prompt treatment the mortality rate can be as high as 30% and without it, almost certainly 100%, so even if it's a false alarm the risk isn't worth taking.

[murphygrowl]

after we lost murphy with bloat i looked into it and when i read about it scares the crap out of you.you should not feed your dog after they have a good walk let them settle down first dont walk them for a least 1to 2 hours after meal.what happens more so with dry food has it passes through the body the dry food is still swelling and it can overload the bowl intestine.and if to much exercise is done the stomach can twist this results into bloat. i will not go into to far it is not very nice just read what it does and you will watch your dog all the time for the symptons some person has already said time is every thing a few mins could mean death or living

[riiseni]

I feed mine at night and Barf, so a minimum risk here.
When I fed kibble, I always fed two meals and never straight after exercise or exercise straight after. The amount of kibble that an adult Giant needs, swells into a HUGE amount of food in their bellies afterr a drink, so no wonder if they get bloat.
Again, common sense. Would you go for a hike after sunday dinner?

[murphygrowl]

what you say riiseni is spot on, i do not wish to see another of my dogs die of this again. please read how to try and prevent it happening to your dog. i thought most giant owners would of read up on this bloat thing some people call it bowel torsion also. you can never be 100% sure it will not happen but if you follow a few guide lines you just could of prevented your dog getting bloat.

[black beard]

I am very careful, even though Heidi is a standard and rarely has kibble, she still has a deep chest and having lost an Irish Wolfhound to bloat it really is a terrible thing to see. We just have to restrict madam's access to outside and ignore her when she gets these energy surges after eating, but boy what a pain she can be!

[black beard]

I have edited the title as it may prove useful reading for others to read about bloat (gastric torsion) in the future. Would it be worth moving the thread to the health section?

[Caramomo]

This may be a mad idea, and might make it worse as making it into several short episodes rather than one long one but what about giving Heidi her food a little bit at a time over a few hours in the late afternoon/evening rather than one big meal to reduce the energy highs/lows? Or what about giving it to her in a kong or scattered over your lawn so she has to work at getting her dinner so she has a mental work out whilst eating helping to wear her out?

[black beard]

Actually Elaine I think that's a great idea if she only has a small amount of food it isn't quite as bad. She usually has breakfast after her morning walk (pest level not too bad after this one) then a kong in the afternoon (settles straight away after that one) and then her evening meal (mega pain in the butt time) so maybe I will split up her evening meal over the afternoon period and see if her reaction improves.

[Snazy]

or you could work on a 'settle' command.

[murphygrowl]

i dont know feeding all day would help. would that mean food is still in the gut and intestine all day. one post said you can get this even without food which is right i still believe what i have read is no exercise for at least 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours after feeding. i dont think there is a fool proof way in stoppng this thing apart from trying to stop them running around like headless chickens after food i know easy said then done but you must try and stop them. when we lost murphy a few years ago a women from america told me do not feed your pet on dry biscuit because that was one of the main reason of bloat i dont know what other people feel about this more so with people who have lost there pets with bloat.i just watch our dog at all times and i worry if he starts getting hyper and do my best to calm him down.

[riiseni]

Actually Elaine I think that's a great idea if she only has a small amount of food it isn't quite as bad. She usually has breakfast after her morning walk (pest level not too bad after this one) then a kong in the afternoon (settles straight away after that one) and then her evening meal (mega pain in the butt time) so maybe I will split up her evening meal over the afternoon period and see if her reaction improves.

Don't work yourself up about it Donna. What you're doing at the moment is fine!
Bloat happens, but then again s--t happens and if we started worrying about everything that could happen, the worse thing would be to go to bed at night.
More people die in their own beds than anywhere else!
Have you got a crate? If you're that worried out Heidi, put her in a crate after dinner for half an hour.
I have to say that I've never worried about the 5 minute play after dinner, but then again I don't really worry about many things (cool)