Just before Christmas, Snuggy suffered an onset of bloat (Gastric Dilatation-Volvulus" ("GDV"). This poor dog - as if lung cancer is not enough to contend with! What is bloat? Bloat is a very serious health risk for many dogs, yet many dog owners know very little about it. It is the second leading killer of dogs, after cancer. It is frequently reported that deep-chested dogs, such as German Shepherds, Great Danes, and Dobermans are particularly at risk.
The technical name for bloat is "Gastric Dilatation-Volvulus" ("GDV"). Bloating of the stomach is often related to swallowed air (although food and fluid can also be present). It usually happens when there's an abnormal accumulation of air, fluid, and/or foam in the stomach ("gastric dilatation"). Stress can be a significant contributing factor also. Bloat can occur with or without "volvulus" (twisting). As the stomach swells, it may rotate 90° to 360°, twisting between its fixed attachments at the esophagus (food tube) and at the duodenum (the upper intestine). The twisting stomach traps air, food, and water in the stomach. The bloated stomach obstructs veins in the abdomen, leading to low blood pressure, shock, and damage to internal organs. The combined effect can quickly kill a dog.
If you believe your dog is experiencing bloat, please get your dog to a veterinarian immediately! Bloat can kill in less than an hour, so time is of the essence. Notify your vet to alert them you're on your way with a suspected bloat case. Better to be safe than sorry!
We were lucky and recognized the symptoms of bloat quickly in Snuggy after he ate has dinner one evening. We are also fortunate to be in close proximity to a 24 hour emergency veterinary hospital. Once the vet stabalized Snuggy (he was in terrible pain and shock by the time he arrived at the vet - less than 15 minutes after we noticed his enlarged stomach and that he was in pain), the vet performed emergency surgery. She was somewhat reluctant to perform the surgery because she had never done the procedure on a dog on chemotherapy and was concerned his supressed immune system would complicate the surgery and he'd have less of a chance of pulling through. However, given that he would have died from the bloat, we took our chances and with tear-filled eyes said our goodbyes to Snuggy, just in case. Then he went into surgery.
The surgery lasted about 2 hours and went well. Snuggy was back home from the hospital within 2 days. It took about a week or two for him to fully recover. I was marvelling at him yesterday as he raced across a frozed lake like he was just a pup.
Back to Snuggy's cancer...he is now getting an oral chemo drug in addition to the carboplatin infusions every 3 weeks. The drug is called cyclophosphamide and all we do is put a pill in his dog food each day. Easy! We hope to stay ahead of the cancer by changing the chemotherapy regime. As you may know, cancer is smart and can mutate rendering the chemotherapy drug less effective over time.
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