Twisted intestine is NOT bloat!!!
Twisted intestine is NOT bloat. This is completely different to bloat and should not be confused with bloat.
I have been so angry at myself and how we lost both of our GSD. I wish I knew about GDV before, maybe I could of responded faster. I am in school to become a vet (still on my Associate degree so I have a while to go). I was at work when I received the news so they had to send me home. I still cry when I explain what happen to my 5 month old. My pets are my children. They are the reason for my career choice. @ Germanchick68, I understand how you feel and the emotional rollercoaster you are going through.
I am sorry for your loss.
I also lost my 5 month old GSD to GDV. I lost him 2 days after my birthday. My husband woke me up near midnight on Monday night to let me know he was vomiting. So Tuesday morning I took him out to use the restroom, he used the restroom fine but he got sick 3 times outside, I called the vet to schedule an appointment. When he got there, he was so sick where he could not walk. We had to carry him inside. His gums were so white. The Dr. kept him overnight to get fluids back into him before surgery that next morning. He passed away that night at the vets office. His autopsy verifed that it was GDV, he went into shock before he died.
Before I adpoted him, I lost my 11 month old GSD last year due to a punture in her stomach (she was a bad chewer) This has been the hardest time accepting both their deaths.
Iam sorry about all my misspelling my I pad corrects words and sometimes not the right way. Also, my Kerstin was a healthy active 6 year old German Shepherd on the light side with her weight (75 lbs).
Hi
I just lost my best friend Kerstin a GSD on June 8 2011 due to a twisted intestine.Just one day before she passed we had an awesome day in the dog park ,played ball in the evening and ended the night with our everyday walk around 10 pm. She did threw up during her walk , what happend every so often , because she got in the garbage ect. So I wasn't to worried. Afte we came home she layer down, what is also normal when she had an upset stomach what happend quite often.She never cried and she was abig baby I must tell , she always let me know when something was up but not this time. Around 5 am the next morning I let her go potty she seemed like she was always in the am she didn't wabble or anything else . She layer down in the grass what she does a lot and I took a nap on the couch. At 6:45 am I checked on her she was bidding in one of her spots like always and perked up her head when I called her. She didn't want to come in so I fought she's ok and let her stay in the yard she loved so much. The only od thing was she didn't bark . So I checked on her again less than a hour later and I found her dead in her favorite spot. I cried outlaut I couldn't believe it , she was gone. The vet ashured me it wasn't my fault But I still feal guilty .I am speachless and sad . How could I have known?
I'm sorry to hear about your dog, you must be heartbroken. I would dump your vet and get another one if you have any other animals, I feel he should have examined your dog ASAP.
I am feeling the same way last week my 13yr old cocker spaniel had a stroke wasn't sure what it was at first but her head was tilted and she wasn't walking right it didn't help either that she had both eyes removed last year from retina detachment she was getting better every day then Sunday night she ate and went out and did her business and within an hour her stomach was bloated we thought she was constipated or had to throw up she was moaning and barking like it hurt we called the vet and explained what was going on and he thought it was just stomach indigestion we tried Pepto and didn't do anything he didn't say to bring her in and we waited till morning and took her in and it was already too late her intestines had twisted and there was nothing they could do they put her to sleep morning. I wish we would of taken her in but you don't know if that would of help. I feel your pain
God Bless
This has helped me. I lost my 7 yr old chocolate lab, Gage 1-7-11. He was fine around 4 pm we played ball he acted normal. I left around 6 and when I went to let him in at 10 he was gone. He was lying in his favorite spot. It was just so sudden and unexpected.
I've only just discovered this site. I lost my 10yr old labrador 23.6.10. She was fine up to 10pm and just went downhill. She laid in the garden for an hourand wouldn't come. Her stomach looked slightly swollen but didn't take any notice. By 11pm it looked quite bad so rushed her to veterinary hospital. She was so quiet in the car and didn't move. As soon as the vet saw her he diagnosed twisted gut and said it could be cure with surgery. I said no as she had diabeties for 4 years and had just had a 2nd ear operation to sew the cartlidge together. By the time he came back to put her to sleep, he said it was too late and she had gone and he wouldn't have had time to do surgery. He said it can occur from stress which makes me think she had 2 ops on her ears within 3months. My regular vet said that stress can't caused it. I feel if I got her there quicker I could have saved her. The day before she was fine but had terrible wind and wondered if this was anything related.
I'm so sorry for your loss! I've lost a dog from a similar condition, and its heartbreaking.
I'm very sorry to hear of your loss. Please accept my most sincere condolences.
Gastric torsion/volvulus, commonly known as bloat, is an all-too frequent killer of deep-chested breeds like German Shorthaired Pointers. It can happen in any breed, but occurs much more often in large breeds. The stomach will fill up with food and gasses and flip over on itself, twisting the intestine and cutting off the blood supply to the intestinal tract. If the pressure is not relieved and surgery done to untwist the intestine, death occurs within hours. Sometimes, even when surgery is done, the damage to the intestinal tract is too widespread and it's fatal in spite of the surgery. Please don't feel that there was something you could have done that you didn't do, because with something as insidious as bloat, the surgery is a mammoth undertaking, and in a 10 year old dog, it's likely that just the rigors of the surgery would have been too much to survive because of all the "collateral damage" done by the twisting.
To answer your original question, it happens VERY quickly. A dog can appear perfectly normal in the morning and by dinnertime they can be gone.
While bloat can happen to any individual dog, it does seem to have some sort of genetic connection as well. Some of the breeds that are prone to bloat are Great Danes, Collies, Doberman Pinschers, Greyhounds and any breed that has that deep chest that cuts up to a small waist. That type of structure lends itself to having the stomach flip over on itself. Many studies have been done and continue to be done to determine what, if anything, can be done to prevent bloat, but none of them have been conclusive. Some studies indicated that eating from raised bowls could help prevent it, while other studies showed that raised bowls actually contributed to it. Some studies said that feeding a small amount of canned food with the dry could help, other studies negated that. Some studies suggested that wetting the food and allowing it to swell in the bowl instead of in the stomach would prevent it, but those also proved to have holes in them. It's really hit or miss at this point. The best we can do is keep an eye on them and if we see anything suspicious, do exactly what you did and contact the vet.
Again, my condolences on the loss of your Jake.
Ghilly