Over the weekend, our gorgeous Great Dane had symptoms of bloat. When we first bought Doogle, we educated ourselves on this scary condition that is very common with Great Danes and several other breeds. We knew that you had to act fast and get him to an animal hospital. Luckily, where we live we have one 24-hour emergency Vet clinic that can handle this type of situation. We weren’t sure if we caught it soon enough, because Doogle had been acting lethargic and not his usual self for at least an hour. But our alarm really went off when he started dry heaving and had a protruding stomach and seemed to be restless and uncomfortable. We called the clinic to let them know we were coming and as soon as we walked through the doors they took him back immediately. They confirmed within ten minutes that it was Bloat and that his stomach had twisted (Torsion).
We fortunately made it to the hospital in time and there was no major damage to his stomach or other organs, this is a very serious condition and is a very painful death if not handled properly. They had to do emergency surgery and physically untwist his stomach and decompress it to remove all the gas that had built up inside. We always knew this could happen to our dog, but we were completely surprised when they first confirmed his condition. I thank God that we just happened to be at home yesterday with Doogle when this happened, I cannot imagine what would have happened if not.
I found several links that we found very helpful and if you have a breed that is susceptible to this, please inform yourself! Even smaller dog breeds like Dachshunds can have Bloat and/or Torsion. Please be aware of any 24 hour clinics that are prepared to handle this type of emergency and also be informed that this procedure is not cheap. We paid up front $1,700 and that does not include the entire bill. The choice was simple though, we love our Dane and saving his life was worth every cent if not more. We were very lucky as Bloat goes and I would not want any Dog Owner to be faced with this condition and not know how to handle it. God bless.
* We visited Doogle last night after his surgery and just a few hours ago today and he is doing remarkably well! Of course he does miss his own bed, but will hopefully get to go home tomorrow. Thank you for all the prayers and I hope that our situation will help other Dane owners if, God forbid, they are ever faced with this situation.
Creature of Comfort 