# Sticky  Bloat - How to tell if your dog is Bloating



## ames

I have always wondered how to tell if you dog is just tired or might be in distress. Here is a good video that shows you what to look out for in regards to bloat. This video is so short and shows how fast the progression could be. All dogs run the risk of boating, although some more prone than others.

The pup did NOT die in this, he was brought to the vet in time, thank goodness.


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## angelbaby

We went through this with cali when we 1st got her, had no idea what was going on but she was ROUND like a little ball and could barely walk . Was sooo scary cause we had ne isea what was wrong with her never went through this befor. Our vet was out of town on vaccation and he walked us step by step on what to do , ended up doing a midnight run to 7 eleven for pepto bismol and luckly that helped her, if not we would have had to go to the 24hour vet we soooo hate going to. Never knew it was a life and death issue though , maybe our vet didnt want to scare us. We were told most likely was due to the food since the breeder lied about her age and thought we had a 8 week old pup when she was maybe 6 weeks max, wasnt used to the food and bloated up so bad she couldnt move. great video though , hope it helps someone , before we went through it never even heard of it like that before.


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## ames

Wow that is horrible!!! I am so happy things were ok and I could not imagine the worry! Kinda glad u didn't know what might happen that would have been nerve racking. I had never heard of it before until Lisa commented about it when I was asking if dogs knew they have had enough water. I used to let Mel drink and drink and refill his bowl figuring he must need it or he would know. She explained how too much at once or too cold in the heat could cause it. Never seen it happen so glad I finally ran across this, I agree hope it might help someone.


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## cEElint

was reading up on this site here
Bloat in Dogs

and noticed this


> PREVENTION
> Do not use an elevated food bowl


i thought elevated food bowls helped prevent bloat


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## angelbaby

thats interesting clint , I wonder why they say that? We use elevated dishes here


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## EL CUCO

angelbaby said:


> thats interesting clint , I wonder why they say that? We use elevated dishes here


To my understanding, most of the time bloat occurs when an excess of air is swallowed. I would suppose that since the dog has to reach more for the food their is less air being swallowed and not filling the stomach as much

Does anyone know how the vet treats bloat??


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## KMdogs

Elevated feeding is not natural for a dog, always feed with bowl on the floor. Elevation when feeding can cause a dog to eat faster as well as intake higher quantities of air causing coughing and vomiting of food/water right after eating.

We always have to humanize dogs actions, we feel oh the dog is tall so we are helping when in reality its more natural for a dog to eat on the ground... And healthier.


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## EL CUCO

KMdogs said:


> We always have to humanize dogs actions, we feel oh the dog is tall so we are helping when in reality its more natural for a dog to eat on the ground... And healthier.


:goodpost: excellent post. Think I'm going to use that as a quote on my signature...


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## KMdogs

NoWuCmE... said:


> :goodpost: excellent post. Think I'm going to use that as a quote on my signature...


lol go for it bud :thumbsup:


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## angelbaby

We feed elevated for posture reasons with 1 of our dogs as advised by some breeders and it has helped a ton. but will keep an eye him now for this reason. good to know thnks.


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## KMdogs

angelbaby said:


> We feed elevated for posture reasons with 1 of our dogs as advised by some breeders and it has helped a ton. but will keep an eye him now for this reason. good to know thnks.


Theres a lot of bad information out there about feeding elevated vs not just as with anything. Breeds of lower risk for bloat you can get a way with it more than breeds of high risk but either way i personally wouldn't risk it.

I tried it in the past because i was told it can be beneficial, noticed no difference other than occasionally my bulldog at the time would cough up some of his food after eating so i didn't see a point in it.. Few years later did more research after discovering more and more people were telling others about elevation the way to go..lol

If you have no problems just keep an eye out and i would extend the period of done eating to the time exercise is given to about 45 to an hour..


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## angelbaby

KMdogs said:


> Theres a lot of bad information out there about feeding elevated vs not just as with anything. Breeds of lower risk for bloat you can get a way with it more than breeds of high risk but either way i personally wouldn't risk it.
> 
> I tried it in the past because i was told it can be beneficial, noticed no difference other than occasionally my bulldog at the time would cough up some of his food after eating so i didn't see a point in it.. Few years later did more research after discovering more and more people were telling others about elevation the way to go..lol
> 
> If you have no problems just keep an eye out and i would extend the period of done eating to the time exercise is given to about 45 to an hour..


thanks good info , I havent noticed him coughing at all or anything but will deffinately keep and eye out for it. I have noticed a huge change in his posture but since he is young and growing I guess its hard to say if this benefited him or if it was just a growing stage he was going through at the time. Good info though , thank you.


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## KMdogs

angelbaby said:


> thanks good info , I havent noticed him coughing at all or anything but will deffinately keep and eye out for it. I have noticed a huge change in his posture but since he is young and growing I guess its hard to say if this benefited him or if it was just a growing stage he was going through at the time. Good info though , thank you.


Not a problem, i've also heard it helps with posture but from what i've seen i haven't really seen a direct link with eating elevated and posture.. IMO this would be more based on genetics and overall quality of structure more so than just eating at an elevated position. I could be wrong about that but i personally haven't seen where it improves and i don't really see how it could but i guess its possible if starting young.. Either way the risk is generally out weighed by the positive.

If you haven't noticed anything negative and you want to continue as you say just keep an eye out for subtle changes. It may not be night and day but small changes to add up.. If you start to noticed any coughing, spitting up, changes in overall demeanor than you are used to i would stop immediately.


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## ames

Wow I also heard it was good to elevate to help digestion, especially in older dogs but what your are saying KM makes total sense. Thanks for the info!


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## performanceknls

I'm going to make this a sticky! This is a great video that is going around right now and it really shows what to look for.


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## AmStaffyAmy

They say that dogs with bowls that have high rims are 70% more prone to get bloat than low rimmed bowls. Is this true?


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## vedder87

Do you think my puppy is bloated? He is 4 months old. He is not showing any of the signs, except sleeping a lot. He likes to relocate between two places when he lies down. I know puppies sleep a lot, but i just want to make sure that it's just that and not something else.

We have a fairly small yard and he only runs around when i run. He immediately stops and falls to the ground and starts playing on his back. Is he lazy, or just being a puppy?


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## ames

vedder87 said:


> Do you think my puppy is bloated? He is 4 months old. He is not showing any of the signs, except sleeping a lot. He likes to relocate between two places when he lies down. I know puppies sleep a lot, but i just want to make sure that it's just that and not something else.
> 
> We have a fairly small yard and he only runs around when i run. He immediately stops and falls to the ground and starts playing on his back. Is he lazy, or just being a puppy?


well Bloat would be pretty instant. Have you had your dog checked for worms? They go through growth spurts, its tiring and they just eat sleep play poop eat sleep play poop. all day, lol.


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