[Dailydrool] Bloat

[Wendie L Prince]

Our first basset, Bess, bloated 4-5 times while we had her.  I can clearly remember 4,  but think there was a fifth in there.  I will tell you about those, and whether a couple of them were true bloats,  I don't know.

The first time,  we had no experience, or ever heard of bloat,   our neighbor was watching the 2 hounds for the day while we went to Disney.  We got home and the water bowl was empty...neighbor had not filled it for them,  and Bess drank  and drank and drank.  I didn't think to stop her as I figured she would stop like a reasonable dog would.   Wrong. I finally realized she was not stopping after her belly was the size of a basketball.   She sat there, and me not knowing there could be a problem,  watch her as the water pretty much made its way back up and out her mouth,  not throwing up,  just oozing out as there was no room in her belly.   Fortunately, after about an hour,  she was back to normal.   I never thought it was bloat until she bloated a second time.  Our first waddle was the BHRG Bash in Atlanta,  back in 2001 or 2?  Bessie bloated big time,  her stomach twisted and she spent the entire weekend at the ER vet.   They tacked her stomach and assured me she would never twist again, but also said that once a dog bloats, they are prone to it.   I guess that is true as she bloated 2 more times.  One of those times, On the way to the ER,  I had the radio off so I could listen to her,  and about half way there, I heard a sound that was like the air being released from a balloon.   I pulled over and her belly had gone down,  she seemed fine and we turned around and headed back home. Once home, I found she had thrown up in between the seats,  it was all grass and foam.    The last time I remember, we were on the way to a play, when it was apparent she was bloating and I ended up heading her to the ER, where they did keep her and watch her.  I ended up going to the play and picked her up later.  I probably would not have done this, but at the ER,  one of our vets was on duty who I really like,  (they have a coop here for the ER clinics)  so felt fine leaving her there with Dr Cassidy.  They gave her some meds and she was fine.   
I always thought her eating fast had a lot to do with her bouts.  We changed eating habits to feeding 3x a day,  and a few snacks in between.  And also,  we tried some different methods to get her to eat slower.....nothing much worked unless we fed her by hand.  

Sorry for this being so long.  

drool to all in need,  we have plenty here.

wen and the Bounders
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