Ridley was Negative for Bloat but had some symptoms . . .

[smdaigle]

We had a little scare last night which I am trying to understand. Last night about an hour to an hour and a half after his dinner Ridley started gagging and trying to throw up. The only thing that came up was a little clear foamy mucus. He was restless and kept moving around. I had read the symptoms of bloat and quickly checked the other symptoms and even though his belly was not distended, everything I read said if the dog has multiple symptoms don’t wait, go to the vet. After I confirmed all of this I also learned that Ridley wolfed his food down last night – something he hasn’t done in a long time so I was just sure he was starting to bloat. We went to the E-vet . . . and after X-rays the Vet said there was no bloat. Prior to x-rays he did a physical assessment and noted some tenderness in Ridley's belly but it wasn't firm or distended (which I already knew).

We went home with x-rays and instructions to come back if the gagging continued or the belly became distended. He gagged and had a few non-productive vomit attempts right after we got home but it did not continue and thankfully he seems to be fine now. It was a restless night but that was more from me being worried than anything else.

I feel like I did the right thing in taking him to the vet so no questions there. What I don’t understand is what else could cause this type of non-productive vomiting. Every other time one of our dogs has gagged like that something comes up whether it’s undigested food or yellow stomach bile (yucky - sorry!). This was strange. The E-Vet didn’t seem to have any ideas so I wanted to see if you all have seen other conditions that present like this without being bloat.

Thanks . . . and again, I’m not questioning my decision to go the vet and would do it again under the same circumstances. Hopefully this is one-time occurrence!

[cta]

i cannot offer you any suggestions, but i'm glad to hear he is ok. i live in fear of bloat! i hope that some of the more experienced people can offer some possibilities.

[onyx'girl]

Keep GasX thin strips on hand in case you see this again.
What are you feeding? There was a thread about 4-health/bloating
2 Bloats in 10 Days... 4HEALTH dog Food Warning

[smdaigle]

Originally Posted by onyx'girl

Keep GasX thin strips on hand in case you see this again.
What are you feeding? There was a thread about 4-health/bloating
2 Bloats in 10 Days... 4HEALTH dog Food Warning

Taste of the Wild - High Prairie Formula. I do have gas-x on hand but it's the gel-caps . . . I gave him one before we left for the vet. Most of it came back up. I haven't seen the strips but will look for them.

[smdaigle]

Originally Posted by cta

i cannot offer you any suggestions, but i'm glad to hear he is ok. i live in fear of bloat! i hope that some of the more experienced people can offer some possibilities.

Thank you - I am too but I still feel a bit unsettled about the whole thing - like something really was going on but I don't know what. My DH is not happy with the vet bill and is doing the whole "you over-reacted" thing - only without words so that's another little kicker. But as I told him I was not going to sit and watch my dog die if he was bloating.

I've watched a dog die rather suddenly and it was awful. We lost Rex to an unknown ailment that hit quickly and killed him within hours.

I've read quite a bit on bloat and a year or so ago made sure I had the phone number and address of the nearest e-vet saved on my phone. I also bought Gas-X for just in case because Ridley started out as a very fast eater which is thought to be a contributing factor to bloat. I think the best we can do is to know the signs, avoid contributing factors as much as possible and know where to go if there is a problem.

[Angelina03]

Could he have eaten something that his body was trying to reject? I know this happens to my cats often and they are fine right after.

I know what you mean about the fear of bloat. I'm really scared of it too; and am always consciencious about it. I'm considering having Rocco's stomach tacked.

[cta]

Originally Posted by smdaigle

Thank you - I am too but I still feel a bit unsettled about the whole thing - like something really was going on but I don't know what. My DH is not happy with the vet bill and is doing the whole "you over-reacted" thing - only without words so that's another little kicker. But as I told him I was not going to sit and watch my dog die if he was bloating.

i can't blame you. last night, mine tried to throw up and it was unproductive and my first thought was omg please don't let this be bloat! it's so hard to not be hypervigilant about it.

I've watched a dog die rather suddenly and it was awful. We lost Rex to an unknown ailment that hit quickly and killed him within hours.

i'm sorry for your loss

I've read quite a bit on bloat and a year or so ago made sure I had the phone number and address of the nearest e-vet saved on my phone. I also bought Gas-X for just in case because Ridley started out as a very fast eater which is thought to be a contributing factor to bloat. I think the best we can do is to know the signs, avoid contributing factors as much as possible and know where to go if there is a problem.

you are exactly right. all you can do is be prepared because even if you take all the precautions in the world, it can still happen. i've read about a lot of GSDs bloating in the middle of the night hours after their last meal. it's so scary. i also have the e-vet number in my phone...you never know when you will need it.

[smdaigle]

Originally Posted by Angelina03

Could he have eaten something that his body was trying to reject? I know this happens to my cats often and they are fine right after.

I can't rule that out . . . He's crated during the morning but DH is determined to let him stay out of the crate half of the day and he may have found something to chew and swallow that didn't belong in his belly.

Originally Posted by Angelina03

I know what you mean about the fear of bloat. I'm really scared of it too; and am always consciencious about it. I'm considering having Rocco's stomach tacked.

I don't dwell on it too much but last night I was sure worried about it!

[Midnight12]

I also took my shepard in for beind sick like this. turned out hers was caused by the Rimadyl was on for her joint pain

[jetscarbie]

I'm don't have any answers...just wanted to tell you that I am glad it wasn't bloat.

I know my dog use to puke foam when I only fed him once a day. I had to start spliting his food up 2x's a day.