Below is an article from our friend Julie in Texas. She wrote this about her Weimaraner’s experience with bloat. We’re sharing it here to help others.
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IF YOU EVEN REMOTELY THINK YOUR DOG MAY HAVE BLOAT, DONT WAIT. Get them to the vet as quickly as possible. I have owned weimaraners for over 20 years now and this is the only dog I’ve ever owned that bloated. Knowing the signs can be critical in saving the life of your dog. The following are some of the symptoms…Karma had 6 of them.
• Restlessness, anxiety
• Discomfort, followed by worsening pain
• Arched back, reluctance to lie down
• Drooling saliva or froth
• Attempts to vomit (retching) with little being brought up
• Swollen abdomen, often feels hard and if tapped feels like a balloon
• Rapid breathing
• Pale coloured gums and tongue
• Collapse
• Shock, possible death
The foam vomit and retching with nothing coming up was what I saw first…..she was panting hard and very restless and drooling, she couldn’t swallow. Her abdomen was vary hard……I loaded her up and called my vet. The vet was waiting to meet us, she was x-rayed to confirm then off to the OR for surgery. My vet was awesome because she was in surgery within 10 minutes of me arriving (this is a very small town vet). They had to make a long incision in order to get the stomach un-flipped to see if there was any damage to the connecting tissue where the flip occurred. The tissue was bright pink but no damage or major inflammation. I am thankful for the many years of animal care and management for providing me with the knowledge so I could respond as quickly as I did. As stated above…….If you think your dog is bloating, get them to the vet, it is a very painful way for a dog to die. Please look at the pictures and notes in the pictures. Please note, I work for a Field Trial team of German Shorthair Pointers and I take my girl to work every day. Sometimes she’s in the kennel area, sometimes she’s in a large turnout area.
– Julianne Books, Brooksburg Weimaraners
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