I lost my best friendlast night. My 11 yr. old Golden Retriever died from *bloat*. I had heard of bloat but even after having 5 dogs in my lifetime have never experienced it.

WE had a graduation party this weekend with tons of trash bags filled with food. She got into 3 of these bags and had a feast. What she didn't know it would be her last.

I didn't realize how much she had eaten or there was a problem until I saw her trying to throw up. She threw up about 3 times and starting acting very lethargic. Her gums were white she was in a shock state and her tongue was blue and her stomach distended. By the time we got to the animal hospital(10 min) she was barely alive. Her heart stopped as they were about to do emergency surgery. She was dead within 1 hour of eating all the garbage. This is called bloat, and is very deadly.

Please watch your animals if they show signs I mentioned.

I feel guilty, she had never done anything like this before. She was only out of my sight for about 15 min. It will be awhile to get over this. Hug your pet tonight. 

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Hi im realy sorry to hear about your loss, ive got two retrievers myself and couldnt imagine life without them. I was upset today about my girl not been pregnant but reading your post justs puts things into perspective.  again im truley sorry and thankyou for pointing this out to us all. 

Thank you for your sympathy


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Unfortunately I know only too well what bloat and gastric torsion look like so I know exactly how you feel.

aww  that is awfull

i feel for u .   i had a tear in my eye reading that.

Oh, Debbiek, my heart goes out to you.  The breed I have has an incidence of fatalities due to bloat and gastric torsion, so I'm aware how fast it can strike.  Although you feel guilty, please try not to, as you did the only thing an owner can in these circumstances, which is to seek vet attention quickly.  It is tragic that you lost your beloved girl, but it is not your fault, please believe that. 

My thoughts are with you as you mourn your beloved friend.

Lesley
XXX

You are all very helpful through this tragic time. Thank you.  We all know we will outlive our animals.  I have had to put many down because of cancer and the like.  But this was just so horrific.  I felt so helpless. I watched her suffocate in front of me and there was nothing I could do.

What I didn't mention is that I have her twin brother (chip).  I am very concerned about him.  Thank God the kids are off from school and give him tons of attention.  It hasn't even been i day and he just kepps walking around in circles.  Smelling!!!!

Is ther anything I can do for closure for my boy Chip?  I new this day was going to come. Candy was the Alpha dog,  Chip is lost...

please help!

Hi Debbiek,

Poor Chip :(  I think the best thing you can do for him in this situation is to keep him to his normal routine as much as possible, trying to behave as normally towards him as you can. He will sense that you are all upset, and this will disturb him too, as well as missing his sister, and routine in his life will help to reassure him.  It is very tempting to lavish attention on the surviving dog, in order to provide comfort to them in their distress, but do allow him time to be by himself too if he wants it.

Sorry I can't offer more advice, but I hope this might help a little :)

Lesley

Lesley,

Thank you..   Normal reaction is to baby the survivor...but you are right he needs time to adjust to his new lifestyle and we can't smother him.....It's a mother instinct to want to nurture( me I am talking about).  But they are not humans they are canines.  Thanks for your help

Debbie

I'm so sorry to hear of your loss. I knew a lady who had a young Great Dane that got hold of a loaf of bread and sadly he died of bloat. Its wasnt until then that I became aware of this so now i'm paranoid about not leaving too much food around for my 2 dogs.
Ange

Hi Debbie,
I know exactly how your feeling, i lost my boy Chester to bloat in oct and i worried how his brother Alfie was going to cope without him, they had never been apart...after a week of pineing he seemed to come round, i think having the two girls around did help.
It took me a long time to get over losing Chester and i still go over things in my mind trying to work out what i did or could have done at the time to prevent it happening.
My thought s are with you.
Karen. X

So sorry to hear that, I can't imagine how awful it must have been.  I thought bloat occured when dogs exercised too soon after eating, not just due to an excessive quantity of food.  I obviously need to research this. 

http://www.vet.purdue.edu/epi/bloat.htm

Thank you everyone.

Karen,

It seems we have similar stories.  It helps me to talk.  I would like to hear more from you.  My email  is DKrauszer@shoretechsystems.com. IF you'd like please email me.  My boy Chip is in a bad state. I left him alone for 2 hrs. yesterday and he managed to close himself into a bedroom and proceeded to try and eat his way out.  I can't be with him 24/7. What else can I do?  I also have 2 girls that are helpful and a hubby, but we can't just sit home.  Today is my b-day and I just feel like crying!!!  

Debbie

[linl]http://www.globalspan.net/bloat.htm[/link]

Debbie,

i have sent you a email.
Karen.

Very sad indeed, I nearly lost my boy to Bloat 12 months ago.
If I were you I would get Chip, stitched, It doesn't stop Bloat
but giver you more time.
                                Eulola

very sorry to hear about your dog i know how you feel i lost my darling dobermann storm 6 years ago to gastric torsion

hugs from mollie and ginastarr

How very sad, I really can't imagine how you must be feeling and poor Chip.  My heart goes out to you. 

Thanks everyone for your support.

Almost 1 week later and we are all adjsuting to life without Candy. Thank God the kids are off from school and can give Chip alot of attention.  He will be coming with us on Tuesday for vacation. It should be interesting.  We usually have house sitters, but I can't leave him alone.  The only thing I worry about is that this is a boat trip on our boat.  Hope he has his sealegs.  Wish us well!!!