| Paula,
I'm so pleased to hear Gambler is feeling better. A plan sounds like the best way to handle this situation. Thanks for sharing your experience and suggestion. |
| Thank you for sharing this experience. It has made me realize that we too need to have a plan in place in the event that it strikes one of out Danes too. Glad to hear he's back to normal. |
| I can't imagine the nightmare but am thankful for the stories and suggestions. I'm also impressed by the vet that cared for Gambler. I'm most interested in suggestions to help prevent bloat because I'm afraid the cost would be too much and I cannot imagine parting with my beloved. |
| Thank you for the story on Gambler. This past January, our 5 year old Harlequin, Ada, developed bloat. As in this story, it was very quick and you immediately know it was bloat. Luckily, we too had an excellent vet, who met my husband and I as we pulled into her office. Thankfully, Ada is still a part of our family. Thank you for sharing Gambler's story. |
| Paula,
I am so happy to hear that Gambler made it through this horrible experience. The same thing happened to Addy, my female mantle dane on St. Patrick's Day in 2002. She made it through, but her stomach/spleen had torsioned. They tacked and she has been fine ever since, but I will never forget that day! I don't have any children and the thought of loosing her was too much to bear. Best of luck for Gambler's full recovery and hopes that you never have to experience that again! Catherine |
| This story was really something. I live in the city and can not beleive that vets like this exist. If anyone could let me know where such a vet could be found in Philadlephia, I would switch in a second. Thanks for the great advice and Minne, my Boston Merle, thanks you too. |
| I know exactly how you felt Paula. Our almost 9 year old Dane, Festus, torsioned & bloated on July 4, 2001. We had the surgery, but in hindsight, we wish we wouldn't have put him through all that because of his age & other health issues. $800 later, he was feeling great for about 2 months, then we ended up having to put him down the following January due to his arthritis, bladder/bowel control problems. I loved my Dane dearly & am looking forward to having another after our 2 year old daughter is old enough to handle a dog. |
| what a touching story .isnt horrible the things dogs have to go through.How do you prevent this bloat ?I have a 2 yr. old brindle (j.d.) and we have had some problems with people who dont like him trying to poison him and catching that in time but i am really interesed to hear more about this bloat .............. |
| Thanks for sharing your story. My Sparky bloated in 12/00 and we did surgery to untwist her stomach. She had two subsequent incidents of fluid building up around her heart which we think were a side effect of the toxins you mention in your email affecting her heart. The vet drained the fluid the first time but we dedicted to send her across the bridge the second time (6 weeks after the surgery, she was hyperventilating badly) since she also had bone cancer and the vet gave her less than a month to live because of that. It really is importatnt to un-torsion the stomach asap because of the toxins that can damage the heart . That''s what I learned from Sparky. |
| Paula,
I am so please to her that Gambler made it through ok. I have two Danes, Eischer and Marilyn, and I too, have the emergency plan. We are both very lucky to have a very caring vet. Not a day goes by when I don't think about the seriousness of bloat. My Danes have not experienced it and truely hope they don't. Stories like Gamblers makes every Dane owner more aware. Thanks for sharing it with us. |
| Thanks for the great insights to the terrible Bloats. I have sent customers from our clinic to this site for information. |
| thank you for writing about your experiences and information.. i came across your site here as i was home( on feb.1 2004) waiting for my 1 year old dane to come out of surgery from bloat and torsion. Luckily my family and i knew the signs and symptoms and got her to the emergency room right away. i am pleased to say that so far she is making a great recovery.. hopefully we wont have any setbacks from the toxins and/or damage. the vet says everything looks to be in good condition so far.. we are keeping our fingers crossed. I thank you for sharing your experiences.. its alway good to know that there are people who know what you're going through out there.. good luck to everyone in the future! |
| PAULA, YOUR STORY IS SO FAMILIAR I AM HAPPY FOR YOU THAT YOU WERE HAVE SUCH A WODERFUL VET THAT IS SOMETHING THAT IS HARD TO FIND WE HAD A 3 YEAR OLD FAWN NAMED WRIGLEY A.K.A "BIGGIE" WHO HAD THE SAME THING HAPPEN TOHIM... I TRIED FOR OVER 1 1/2 MONTHS TO SAVE HIM.. HE HAD THE EMERGENCY SURGERY & THEN HAD TO BE "DRAINED" EVERYOTHER DAY DUE TO THE BUILD UP OF CHYLOTHORAX FLUID THAT WOULD BUILD UP IN HIS CHEST & MAKE IT HARD FOR HIM TO BREATHE... LOOSING HIM WAS THE HARDEST THING IN THE WORLD & TRYING TO EXPLAIN TO MY 8 YEAR OLD WHY HER BEST BUDDY WAS GONE WAS UNBEARABLE.. I AM FORWARDING YOUR STORY ON TO MY VET WHO DID THIS ASA CASE STUDY IN SCHOOL SO THAT OTHER DANES WILL BE ABLE TO HAVE A GREAT SUCCESS STORY JUST LIKE YOURS I AM GLAD TO SEE GAMBLER IS DOING SO WELL HE LOOKS JUST LIKE OUR WRIGLEY & IT DOES MY HEART GOOD TO SEE ANOTHER BEAUITFUL "GENTLE GIANT" MAKING SOMEONE ELSE'S LIFE COMPLETE... THANK YOU FOR YOUR STORY.... |
| my 7 year old great dane Athena died yesterday morning. i am so sad. i miss the sound of her thumping around the house, the jingles of her collar and the sweet demands for attention. my children are so sad. i found this story as i was looking for a great dane rescue website. after reading you story, i think that Athena had bloat. i am so sorry i didn't recognize it for what it was. should i own another dane in the future, i will definitely be prepared for this disorder. i'm glad Gambler is okay. |
| thank you for sharing your story, 1 month ago my 15 month old Dane Titan died of Bloat. I wish I had knew what to look for and maybe I could have saved him in time. Now I know and my next dane I will have a plan in effect. Thanks again |
| Thant you for your story. It gives me hope that all will be ok with my Dane, Jake. Yesterday afeternoon he started showing the syptoms of bloat. I knew of the disease and right away rushed him into the emergency vet. His stomache had already torsioned. Jake is ten, I kind of thought that he was already through the risky years and couldn't belives it happened to him. They performed the surgery yesterday, it took four hours. I was a wreck the entire time. He is still at the hospital but recovering well and I can't wait to bring him home tomorrow. It really helps me to see that other people have made it through this ok. I will be having the gastroplexy done on my other dane puppy when she is old enough. I can't imagine having to see either of them in this much paint again. Thank you so much and I hope your continue to be healthy.
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| I am so happy that your gambler is ok. He is beautiful! We have a 12 month old black dane-Nala! Our vet warned us about bloat, but we didn't dream it was so common. My sister just lost her beautiful stud collie to bloat yesterday and is devastated! In researching the condition I found a Purdue Univ. site that said you increase the risk of bloat by 110% if you use a raised feeding bowl and I noticed in the picture that you had one. Thought I would just pass that on. I am terrified about the possibilit of going through the ordeal and thank you for sharing your experience! |
| thanks for your story and for the description of gambler's care after the operation. my six year old dane, fezzik, bloated yesterday and thank god they saved him. in his case, however, he had been acting strangely for two days beforehand. he was extremely restless and uncomfortable, did not want to lie down and wasn't eating or pooping very much. in hindsite it seems he had some early symptoms before the torsion. i am trying to get the word out that sometimes a dog may give some signs before it gets full-blown bloat. also, he had just recovered from general anesthesia (from a dental cleaning) before he started acting this way. it may not be related, but maybe it slowed his system enough to aggravate a predisposition to bloat. don't know. but if your dane goes under with a general, you may want to watch for early bloat signs during the next several days. good luck with gambler and thanks again. |