BLOAT

Bloat, or gastric torsion, is the acute dilation of the stomach, caused when the
stomach fills with gas and air and, as a result, swells. This swelling prevents the
dog from vomiting or passing gas. Consequently, the pressure builds, cutting off
blood from the heart and to other parts of the body. This causes shock or heart
failure, either of which can cause death. Bloat can also cause torsion, where the
stomach turns on its long axis, again causing death.
The first symptoms of bloat are obvious. The dog will be pacing or panting,
showing signs of distress. The dog’s sides will begin to distend. To be successful,
treatment should begin at once—
there is no time to waste. If the pressure
is not immediately relieved,
death can follow within an hour.
Get your dog to the nearest veterinary
emergency clinic.
To prevent bloat, do not allow
your Lab to drink large quantities of
water after exercising or after eating.
Feed two smaller meals each day
instead of one large meal, and limit
exercise after eating until a couple
of hours have passed. Feed a good quality
food, preferably one that
does not expand significantly when
wet and does not produce large
quantities of gas.
To see how much your dog’s food
expands, or to see how much gas the
food produces, take a handful of the
kibble and drop it in a bowl of warm water. After fifteen minutes, look at
the food. Some foods will be wet but
will not enlarge. This is good. Other
foods will triple their size when wet.
This can be dangerous if it happens
in your dog’s stomach. Some foods
will be producing gas bubbles,
almost as if they were carbonated.
Again, this can be bad news in your
dog’s stomach.