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The Weimaraner is basically a long-lived healthy dog averaging 10 to 13 years with some healthy Weims going on to be 14 years and beyond. They do however share one serious condition with many other deep-chested breeds. An immediate medical emergency with the breed is gastric torsion, more commonly referred to as “Bloat”.
What is Bloat ?
Gastric dilatation is a condition that is commonly associate with large meals and that causes the stomach to dilate because of food and gas get to a point where neither can be expelled. The stomach begins to dilate and expand; the pressure in the stomach begins to increase. The increased pressure and size of the stomach may have several severe consequences; including preventing adequate blood return to the heart from the abdomen, loss of blood flow to the lining of the stomach, and the rupture of the stomach wall. As the stomach expands, It may also put pressure on the diaphragm preventing the lungs from adequately expanding, which leads to decreased ability to maintain normal breathing. Without immediate medical care, the dog will go into shock and will die.
The entire body suffers from the poor ventilation leading to the death of cells in many tissues. Additionally the stomach can become dilated enough to rotate 180 to 360 degrees in the abdomen, a condition call calculus. The rotation can lead to blockage to the blood supply to the spleen and the stomach wall requiring surgical removal of the dead tissues. Most of these animals are in shock due to the effects on the entire body, The treatment of this condition involves stabilization of the patient, decompression of the stomach and surgery to return the stomach to the normal position permanently and evaluate abdominal organs for damage and treat them appropriately as determined at the time of surgery.
Causes
Several studies have been published that have evaluated risk factors and causes for gastric dilation and volvulus in dogs. This condition is not completely understood; however we know that there is an associations in dogs that have a deep chest (increased thoracic height to width ratios), dogs that are fed a single large meal once a day or are open fed (food always in a bowl available to them). Also it is believed that exercising your dog before meals and immediately after meals put the dog at risk. There are also many theories that suggest that soybean meal, abrupt changes in diet, the lack of bulk and gulping of food, but nothing has been proven. It is also suspected that stress may result in an increased incidence of this condition. To be safe, it is recommended that the dog should be fed 2 or 3 small meals a day, rather than one large and dogs should be exercised before meal and given time to settle down before being fed. Open feeding is NOT recommended.
It is essential in owning a Weimaraner to have a Vet who can be reached 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and to familiarize yourself with the symptoms. Since symptoms can vary from case to case, is you suspect bloat, take your dog to the Vet immediately. It’s much better to pay for an unnecessary visit than to assume simple indigestion and lose your dog.
Symptoms of Bloat – generally in progression:
Initial sign are often associated with abdominal pain. These can include but are not limited to:
- An anxious look or glaring at the abdomen. Haggard expression.
- Unusual restlessness – dog paces, sits, stands, lies down, can’t get comfortable, wants to go out, want to come in, want to go out again.
- Stiffed leg stance, sometimes with their back roached. Standing and stretching a lot or lethargic.
- Futile attempts to vomit and/or defecate. The dog may throw up foam or green bile.
- Drooling, pale lips and gums indicating the onset of shock, lethargic.
- Distention of the stomach; abdomen feels hard and drum like
As the disease progresses, the animal may begin to pant, have abdominal distension or be weak and collapse and be recumbent. On physical examination, the dogs may have an elevated heart and respiratory rates, have poor purse quality, and have poor capillary refill times. One way to test this is if you think the dogs gums look pale, push in the gum and count the seconds it takes to return to the same color. If longer than 2-3 seconds, the dogs should be taken to the vet immediately.
Some advice to help in reducing the chances of Bloat are:
- Avoid highly stressful situations. If you can’t avoid them, try to minimize the stress as much as possible. Be extra watchful. (Bloat can be brought on by dogs shows, mating, whelping, boarding, new dog in the house and changes in routine.)
- Do not use elevated food bowls. Do not permit rapid eating. Makes meals a peaceful, stress free time. Feed two or three times a day, not once.
- Avoid foods that contain citric acid or fat as one of the first four ingredients. Avoid foods that contain brewers yeast. alfalfa and soybean products.
- Always keep an anti-gas product containing Simethicone on hand such as Mylanta Gas (not regular Mylanta) Phazyme, Gas-X or Papaya. (Some recommend giving your dog simethicone immediately if your dog burps more than once or shows other signs of gas)
- Feed a high quality diet.
- Promote “friendly” bacteria into your dogs system such as yogurt or supplemental acidophilus. (Avoids fermentation of carbohydrates, which can cause gas quickly. This is especially a concern when antibiotics are given since they tend to reduce levels of "friendly" bacteria.)
For the latest information, please visit the (WCA) Weimaraner Club of America’s website
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