Anxious Dogs May Be Prone To Bloat

Losing my Great Dane/black lab mix recently to
bloat was devastating for me. Regrettably,
because she was a mixed breed, I didn't realize
that she might be at risk for bloat, nor did the
early warning signs register as an impending
disaster. I have done some research since and
would like to share my findings in order to help
others prevent bloat, especially in overly
anxious dogs.

With this problem, your best hope is preventing
it from ever occuring in the first place. Once
you recognize the sypmtoms of bloat, it may be
too late to successfully treat and save your
dog. I'll talk a little about the mechanics of
bloat to explain what happens, but I mainly want
to stress the importance of the steps you can
take to prevent bloat, especially if you have an
anxious dog to begin with.

Bloat occurs when the sphincter between the
esophagus and the stomach malfunctions and there
is an obstruction of the outflow through the
pylorus. The pylorus is a small opening at the
base of the stomach, which allows partially
digested food to flow out to the duodenum. When
this gets clogged for whatever reason, the food
can't pass through. With the plugged sphincter
closing off the other end, the stomach fills up
with air.

At this time the stomach may twist on its axis
up to 360 degrees, causing total blockage and
there is no way the dog can relieve the
condition. The only hope of flipping the stomach
back over is through aggressive surgery, and even
then the outcome is not very promising.
Prevention is your best chance of survival.

Something I didn't know is that easily stressed
dogs are at a higher risk of developing bloat
than calm happy dogs. My dog Zoey was rescued
from a very abusive situation and pretty much
lived at a high level of fear and anxiety if
there was any activity going on at all.

That tendency, coupled with the fact that she
was 9 or 10 years old and had the deep chest of
a Great Dane, made her highly susceptible to
bloat. Not all dogs are at high risk to develop
this condition. It is mainly seen in dogs with
deep chests who may be underweight, older,
fearful, or overly anxious.

Here are 14 steps you can initiate for
prevention of bloat, especially for overly
fearful dogs:

1. Don't allow your dog to drink water for an
hour before or after a meal, but at all other
times have fresh water available.

2. Restrict how much water your dog drinks on
hot days. Dogs don't know that they shouldn't
drink too much too fast. Only let them have a
small amount at a time every few minutes.

3. Give your dog multiple small meals a day
rather than one or two large ones.

4. Control rapid eating by putting a medium to
large sized rock in with the food so your dog
has to eat around it, but be sure the object is
large enough that it is not eaten as well.

5. Instead of only feeding dry dog food, add
raw meat when possible.

6. If you feed dry food, look for a brand that
does not have fat as one of its first few
components and does not contain citric acid. If
citric acid is unavoidable, don't put water on
the food.

7. Also if you feed dry food, look for one that
has rendered meat meal with bone product as one
of the first 4 ingredients.

8. Use a high quality diet.

9. Do not elevate the food bowl. This is
something I would have never thought of, but it
could be that this causes more air intake in
dogs that are candidates for developing bloat.

10. Avoid brewer's yeast, alfalfa, or soybean
products.

11. Promote good bacteria in your dog's
intestinal tract by supplementing with
probiotics such as acidophilus.

12. Some people also believe it helps to give a
bloat-susceptible dog 1Tbs of apple cider
vinegar after each meal as a digestion aid.

13. Keep your overly anxious dog away from
highly stressful situations if at all possible.
If this can't be avoided due to needing to make
a trip to the vet,etc, try to make it as calm
and stress-free as possible. One method of
calming your overly anxious dog is to try using
the Original Anxiety Wrap or Thundershirt during
stressful situations.

14. Always have on hand a product containing
simethicone to give to your dog at the first
sign of gas such as belching more than twice.
This would be a product like Gas-X, Phazyme or
Mylanta Gas (must be for gas, not regular
Mylanta).

These are several things to consider if you have
a deep-chested dog of the breeds of Doberman
Pinscher, German Shepherd, Great Dane,
Rottweiler, Weimaraner, Irish and Gordon Setters
or even the Basset Hound.

I don't want to create a sense of fear among dog
owners, but rather a sense of awareness. Although
these deep-chested breeds are of a higher risk
than other purebred or mixed breeds, any fearful
or anxious individuals among these breeds are
even more susceptible to developing bloat. All
of these precautions should be taken for these
dogs if at all possible. For any dog, it is
always best to create a peaceful, calm
environment whenever possible to establish a
well-balanced, healthy and happy life for your
pet.

Remember, we are the caretakers of these
wonderful creatures who love us absolutely.
Prevention of bloat in easily stressed dogs of
these high-risk breeds is far better than hoping
to cure it when it may be too late.

----------------------------------------------------
Karleen Lindsey has worked with dogs for many
years. In her work as a foster care giver for
rescue dogs and in her grooming career, she has
observed many behavior problems. Her goal is to
help each dog break through the barriers of
irrational anxiety and anti-social behavior,
with patience being the main key to success. To
find out how you can help your anxious dog,
visit http://www.anxietywrapreviews.com

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