[PyrNet-L] Re: Health Issues

["Lene Nielsen" <sandybear@intercity.dk>]

Thank god I have never had a dog bloat, as you need to get to a vet really
really fast AND have luck as well to save the dog. 

David wrote:

<<One trainer I know adds warm water to kibble prior to giving it to the
dogs.  >>

I also do that to the dry food I feed, let it soak for 1/4 of an hour to ½
an hour before I feed it, so it won't swell anymore. Also I feed twice a
day, as I believe smaller meals will reduce the risk. And naturally I
recommend puppy buyers to do the same and explain why, especially if the
puppy are going to a home with other dogs, as dogs have a tendency to start
playing right after eating. I walk the dogs before I feed, and as the food
has to soak first, the dogs are more relaxed at the time of the meal.

But I think other thing than eating habits can cause bloat. One of the
puppies I have sold had bloat. The owner told me, that the dog had been to
the groomers all day, when he came home, he drank a lot of water, went out
to play and soon afterwards the problem started. He was one of the lucky
ones, he survived. They believed that he had been tied up too hard and for
too long at the groomers so he had not been able to belch, and thus had a
lot of air trapped inside him. I don't know, but this is some years since
and it has not happened to him again, so it could be true.

But some dogs may be predisposed and others not very likely to bloat. My
first bitch Koko put herself very much at risk several times by breaking
into everything eatable. I have been terrified sometimes when I came home
to find her stuffed with raw rice, raw spagetti, raw potatoes, flour and
worst of all dry kibble. The waterbowl would be empty of course, and I use
rather big ones. There were times when she looked 6 - 7 weeks pregnant, and
nights were she had to go out to poop every hour; she never did bloat, but
I was very afraid.  

Lene Nielsen
Denmark
sandybear@intercity.dk
http://home.intercity.dk/~ic0795/