[shallhb]

This issue of the AKC Gazette has an article on the causes of bloat. Among others, it mentions feeding only dry food, feeding dry food that's been moistened, and feeding from an elevated bowl as CAUSES of bloat. There's actually a big long list of things related to bloat. My question is--has any one out there actually read the original article? Unmoistened food and having the dog eat with its head down are things I've always been told to avoid to prevent bloat. I'm wondering if they just looked at so many different variables that they were bound to find something, and some of the things they found were chance alone.

[ October 18, 2004, 11:33 AM: Message edited by: S. Hall ]

 

[mwfulkerson]

I still wonder if the real cause of bloat is not a colon related problem.That the large intestine has a defect that will not let the food be digested causing a backup.This backup causes stomach spasms that lead to bloat.So is it a rare defective digestive system and all the other variables just don`t matter ?I wonder?

 

[Aruuuu]

I wonder what the real cause of bloat is, too. Don't forget, horses bloat, too -- that's what colic is. I had a huge fear of colic when I had a horse, and now I'm terrified of Charlie bloating. I follow the same rules we had for horses: no chugging huge amounts of water, and very limited (walking only) exercise after eating. Other than that, I don't know what to do to avoid this......

 

[shallhb]

I had one dog bloat, but she also had congestive heart failure, and I always wondered if it was somehow related to that. She bloated one night after eating a pig's ear--it may have had nothing to do with it, but I've never given a dog a pig's ear since.
The business about not moistening the food surprised me--I just can't understand how moistening the food would lead to bloat. Maybe if I have time (ha!), I'll go back to the Gazette and see if I can find the article.

 

[Betsy Iole]

Here's an earlier thread that links to the abstracts.

I don't think I have the full papers in my files, but I'll double check. My impression was similar to yours; that there might have been a fair amount of data mining involved. The finding against moistened foods only applies to foods that have citrate listed as an ingredient, I believe. At a CHF conference that I attended, a significant number of health reps for large breed clubs seemed to feel that the raised bowl finding was spurious, but I can't remember why.

 

[Barbara Winters]

Here's the link to the Purdue Study: http://www.vet.purdue.edu/epi/bloat.htm

I don't recall reading a reason for the raised food bowls actually increasing incidence of bloat.

Here's my other bloat links that I found on a floppy. I'm sure some are no longer active:
http://www.vet.purdue.edu:80/depts/vad/cae/bnaprwb.htm

http://www.vetinfo.com/dbloat.html
http://www.doglogic.com/bloatarndt.htm
http://www.homevet.com/petcare/bloat.html
http://www.medicinegarden.com/Pets/DogBloat.html http://www.canismajor.com/dog/bloat.html
http://www.jersey.net/~mountaindog/berner1/bloat.htm
http://www.newss.ksu.edu/WEB/News/NewsRele...listdog728.html
http://www.vet.purdue.edu/depts/vad/cae/research.htm

http://www.erols.com/gr8rswis/bloat.htm

[ October 18, 2004, 11:21 PM: Message edited by: Barbara Winters ]

 

[bagby039]

I found an article for you all to read. I am going to read it better myself. I hope this helps with this issue. Robbie
http://www.greatdanelady.com/articles/on_m...bloat_study.htm

 

[bagby039]

I found more information on bloat.This link looks so long but it is where i went to find this information. Robbie Here is the link:
http://web.ask.com/redir?bpg=http%3a%2f%2fweb.ask.com%2fweb%3fq%3dwhat%2bis%2bbloat%2bin%2ba%2bdog%26o%3d0%26page%3d1&q=what+is+bloat+in+a+dog&u=http%3a%2f%2ftm.wc.ask.com%2fr%3ft% 3dan%26s%3da%26uid%3d0F15AA430FB06C714%26sid%3d17071B430FB06C714%26qid%3d8234A8A057ABFE4EA58E23C0C72FCA62%26io%3d0%26sv%3dza5cb0dbb%26o%3d0%26ask%3dwhat%2bis%2bbloat%2bin%2ba%2bdog %26uip%3d400c7506%26en%3dte%26eo%3d-100%26pt%3dBloat%2bin%2bDogs%26ac%3d22%26qs%3d0%26pg%3d1%26ep%3d1%26te_par%3d102%26te_id%3d%26u%3dhttp%3a%2f%2fwww.globalspan.net%2fbloat.htm&s= a&bu=http%3a%2f%2fwww.globalspan.net%2fbloat.htm&qte=0&o=0&abs=Bloat+in+Large+Dogs.++Boat+-+-+Treatment+and+Prevention.++Bloat+-+-+Dog+Owner's+Guide.++What+is+Canine+Bloat%3f+Gastr ic+Torsion+in+Dogs...&tit=Bloat+in+Dogs&bin=&cat=wp&purl=http%3a%2f%2ftm.wc.ask.com%2fi%2fb.html%3ft%3dan%26s%3da%26uid%3d0F15AA430FB06C714%26sid%3d17071B430FB06C714%26qid%3d8234A8 A057ABFE4EA58E23C0C72FCA62%26io%3d%26sv%3dza5cb0dbb%26o%3d0%26ask%3dwhat%2bis%2bbloat%2bin%2ba%2bdog%26uip%3d400c7506%26en%3dbm%26eo%3d-100%26pt%3d%26ac%3d22%26qs%3d0%26pg%3d1%26u% 3dhttp%3a%2f%2fmyjeeves.ask.com%2faction%2fsnip&Complete=1://http://web.ask.com/redir?bpg=http%3...snip&Complete=1

 

[bagby039]

Aruuu, i have horses myself. I have had two colics in my 25+ years of owning them. One was a post partum colic when my mare had a foal. The other one was in the dead of winter and my yearling mare didnt drink enough water. Those are the excuses given to me by the vet as to why my horses coliced at the time. All my horses have been on pasture most of the time and have been healthy as a result. They get a small ration of a pelleted feed and do well on this. They have a wonderful pasture to eat from so most of the time, manufactured feed isnt necessary for nutrition. They are well dewormed too.
Could it be with our dogs that they get some kinds of worms in their stomachs, eat too fast (as i have seen one mare do and then choke on the feed), and the like? I am doing research on this topic as i havent heard of this before coming to the basset breed. My husband says that deep chested breeds tend to bloat too. He doesnt know any more on the subject other than to say this about the deep chested breeds. The previous post has a very long link in it but this link works. I use a search engine called www.askjeeves.com to ask this question of and this is what i came up with. Robbie

 

[bagby039]

The great dane site has a wonderful link at the bottom of the page about yeast and its link to bloat. You all should read this. It is quite interesting.
Robbie

 

[shallhb]

Thank you all for the Bloat articles/advice. I have not had a chance to get to them, with Pearl being under survelliance here for awhile due to her digestive problems, and a bunch of unrelated stuff, but do want to do get to them.