Bloat Emergency!

Dutchess really scared the crap out of me last night! I went out to check on her and the pups before bed (around 11pm). I noticed that her belly was a little swollen...I listened to her stomach and heard normal gut sounds. Plus, when she walked, I could hear water sloshing. She acted alright, but I didn't feel right. I searched through the First Aid info for information on bloat. Within 30 minutes, I heard Dutchess start to whine and she tried retching, but only foam came out. I knew she was bloating and according to all of the literature on bloat, it says that you have to get the dog to the vet within minutes, or relieve the pressure. Tubing was recommended, but that was out, as I didn't have the equipment. The other steps were to administer simethicone (vet recommends 1mg per pound of body weight), and relieve some of the pressure with a syringe. So, that's what I did, though I didn't use a large gauge needle, as I was worried about perforating the stomach wall, allowing fluid to leak out, causing more problems. I did get some liquid and then air out, which seemed to help Dutchess a little and bought some time. At that point, I was on the phone to the After Hours Vet and we were in the car.

Upon arrival, Dutchess's stomach had bloated so big, that it looked like someone had inflated a ballon in her abdomen. It was really hard and sounded like a drum when you tapped it. The vet went over the possible outcomes, from a simple bloating/air to torsion and dead tissue/damaged organs. Luckily, there is a blood test that indicates if there is dead tissue, or if a tube might relieve the pressure. Her blood work looked good, which meant that she probably didn't have a twisted gut. The vet and vet techs were AWESOME! I was able to assist and stay with Dutchess the entire time. We tubed her, and she immediately belched. They flushed her stomach a couple of times and discovered some gravel. Dr. Lane figures that Dutchess spilled her food on the ground and inadvertently ate some gravel with the food, which irritated her stomach, causing her to drink a LOT of water. She's not a rock eater and never had a problem before this. Dutchess recovered nicely and is doing fine now. She had her oatmeal with her kibble this morning, her antibiotic and a dose of simethicone. I’ll be keeping a close eye on her. Dr. Lane suggested feeding her oatmeal for the next 2 days with her kibble to help clear out any remaining gravel, put her on Amoxicillin for a week, and simethicone at least for today, if not tomorrow, too.

That was very scary! I hadn’t ever had a dog bloat before…I’m just glad I checked on her before bed and recognized the symptoms. Dutchess has been such an amazing leader for us and gave us 3 beautiful pups; it would have been heart wrenching to lose this girl (not that it's ever easy to lose any of them). Make sure you know the signs and symptoms of bloat and what to do if it happens to one of your fur kids. Hug your fur kids (and all your loved ones), as you never know what could happen.

-Tammi