The dog is confused about what to do. Bloating in dogs: causes, symptoms and treatment. And then bloating your dog does not threaten

Bloating is especially dangerous for large dogs.

Etiology of the pathological condition

It is impossible to unequivocally answer the question of why bloating develops in animals.. According to veterinarians, the main provocateurs of this dangerous condition should be considered:

abrupt movements;
eating foods that cause fermentation;
active walk immediately after feeding.

Active walking immediately after feeding can cause bloating.

Specific symptoms

In the first few minutes, the stomach swells with food and gases. This is a reversible phenomenon that passes quickly enough.

The torsion causes the stomach to twist around the esophagus. This leads to the formation of an airtight container. Gases, continuing to ferment, accumulate in large quantities. This leads to a sharp increase in pressure in the stomach.

Photograph of a stomach torsion in a dog.

In a relatively short period of time, the stomach becomes like a balloon. This leads to the fact that it puts pressure on nearby organs. In this case, the movement of the diaphragm is significantly hindered. All this leads to respiratory failure.

The physical condition of the dog

There is shock, blanching of the mucous membranes.
A weakened, rapid pulse is felt.
Sometimes you can feel the enlarged spleen. This is due to the stagnation of blood.

When the dog is bloated, there is a rapid pulse.

If help is not provided in time, the stomach ruptures.

This leads to the disappearance of swelling. For a few minutes the animal gets better. Over time, against the background of shock, it is observed.

The main signs and symptoms of bloating

Specific features should include:

change in the behavior of the animal;
the appearance of frequent urge to vomit;
weakness.

Weakness is one of the signs of bloating.

The animal becomes restless can't find a place . It may whine or moan. Vomiting is not observed. Rapid breathing becomes shallow.

Other underlying diseases

One of the most common causes of bloating in dogs is worm infestation. This is especially true for those animals that were taken home from the street.

A helminth infestation can cause bloating.

To avoid unpleasant consequences, deworming should be carried out every 3 months.

Other pathological causes of bloating include:

With ascites Fluid has accumulated in the dog's abdomen. It is a tissue effusion. Dogs suffering from chronic hepatic, pulmonary, renal or cardiac pathologies are susceptible to the development of ascites. This is a dangerous condition that can lead to death.

Under peritonitis refers to the development of acute inflammation, which is accompanied by the release of pus or blood into the abdominal cavity.

pyometra occurs only in unsterilized bitches. This disease is characterized by the development of a purulent inflammatory process. With a false estrus, the cervix opens. Against this background, the infection easily penetrates the body of the animal.

How can you help

With swelling and simultaneous volvulus of the stomach, it is necessary immediately Seek help from a qualified veterinarian.

In case of swelling, you should contact your veterinarian as soon as possible.

From the appearance of the first signs to surgery, the real survival limit is about 9 hours.

What is prohibited!!!

give your dog activated charcoal
to massage the abdomen;
give laxatives;

Activated charcoal should not be given to a bloated dog.

All this only contributes to the deterioration of the clinical picture.

Diagnosis

The veterinarian conducts the necessary research and eliminates the lack of digestive enzymes, as well as the development of intestinal pathologies.
After that, blood is taken for analysis, as well as the feces of the dog.
If necessary, the animal is sent for x-rays.

A blood test is taken to make a diagnosis.

Helping a dog

The main task in the treatment of bloating is the relief of gastric bloating. The specialist flushes the organ with a special probe. After that, sorbents are introduced into the dog's stomach.

Piercing the abdominal wall with a special needle promotes the rapid removal of gases.

To help the dog, gases are removed from the body.

If the dog is admitted in a very serious condition, a decision is made regarding intensive treatment. It is carried out by means of peristalsis stimulants, as well as by maintaining the vascular and cardiac systems.

Implementation of surgical intervention

Infusion therapy is carried out, intravenous anesthesia is administered. After that, within 2-3 minutes, surgical intervention is carried out.
The abdominal cavity is opened for 5–10 minutes. After that, the stomach is put in place and a special probe is inserted. This is necessary for a successful emptying.
The most important moment of surgical intervention is gastropexy. Carrying out this manipulation stops the recurrence.

Anesthesia is administered prior to surgery.

The success of surgery depends on how quickly the animal was delivered to the veterinary clinic.

With any delay, the dog may die on the operating table even before anesthesia is administered.

Features of the postoperative period

The most important stage in the treatment of the animal is the passage of the postoperative period.

The owner of the animal undertakes:

Treat seams every day.
Every 3-6 days put a dropper.
Do not give water for 24 hours.
Do not give food for 48-72 hours.
Give antibiotics.
Give antacids.

After the operation, the dog is put on a drip every three days.

Medicines are given as a course. Its duration varies from 5 to 9 days.. Additional appointments depend on how well the four-legged patient feels.

Feeding is done in batches . The consistency of food should be semi-liquid. It is allowed to give ground meat or boiled rice. For 1 reception, you can give no more than 120 ml. such food.
Give food every hour . Gradually, the time interval between meals can be increased. The same goes for portion sizes.
You can not feed the dog with carrots, "milk", cabbage, bread and flour products .
It is forbidden to give cheap
easily fermenting feed
To prevent the development of flatulence is quite simple. To do this, you need to give your dog quality food. This is especially true for Molossians and other large dogs.
- The diet of an animal at risk should consist of easily digestible foods.
- Food should be divided into small pieces. This helps to avoid swallowing air masses.
- It is desirable to give food after the street, 3 times a day.
- You can not water the dog immediately after active games.
- Food experiments are highly discouraged.
- The transition to a new diet should be gradual.
Proper nutrition is a preventive measure.

Video about gastric torsion in dogs

Gas formation during digestion is a natural process that indicates healthy gut bacteria. Most often, flatulence in dogs is an aesthetic problem and does not cause discomfort to the animal. A pet who regularly suffers from belching, gas emission and other "antisocial habits" needs to adjust the diet, less often, in treatment.

Depending on the size of the dog, the length of its intestines is from 5 to 7.5 meters. In a perfectly healthy pet, the small intestine is inhabited by exceptionally friendly bacteria that help extract all the beneficial substances from the food. The large intestine is also inhabited by beneficial bacteria, but their job is to "clean up" - processing undigested food to a soft state.

The vital activity of bacteria is the process of eating carbohydrates and releasing gases that are excreted from the intestines naturally. If the gases are not removed, they rise into the small intestine, which causes. Intestinal flatulence in dogs, followed by accumulation of gases, occurs for a number of reasons that may be interrelated:

Violation of the intestinal microflora leads to the fact that there are more “cleaning bacteria”, and food, instead of being digested, rots.

Eating food that the animal cannot digest.

Swallowing air along with food is the wrong position of the feeder, “greedy grasping” of food. In parallel, belching is observed.

Feeding a pet food that is supersaturated with carbohydrates or foods that the dog does not absorb.

Pathology of the gastrointestinal tract (gastrointestinal tract), weak peristalsis or its absence.

Read also: Paresis in dogs: causes, symptoms, treatment

The course of the disease is divided into 4 types, which are combined:

Chronic or widespread.

Easy or complicated.

Under the complications understand the presence of heartburn, mucous discharge from the rectum, blood in the feces, overexertion of the abdominal wall, soreness, vomiting, diarrhea. Serious, life-threatening complications are rare, but require urgent care, most often, stimulation of intestinal motility or puncture of the peritoneum.

Important! Mucous discharge from the rectum black or green, vomiting of feces, excessive pain in the peritoneum indicate either an acute recurrence of flatulence, or a more serious disorder, such as volvulus.

Treatment and prevention of flatulence in dogs

The method of stopping bloating depends on the clinical picture, more precisely, on whether the dog is in pain. If the discomfort is tolerable, they act with “soft” methods:

The source of gas formation is removed from the stomach and intestines - absorbents (Atoxil, Enterosgel, activated carbon), intestinal lavage.

Reduce pressure on the abdominal cavity - the so-called carminative drugs, for example, children's Espumizan from colic in the abdomen.

Relieve irritation of the mucous membranes - Almagel, Smecta, dissolved in warm water, decoctions of herbs that envelop the intestinal walls.

Populate the intestines with new beneficial bacteria -

For young puppies, it is quite normal that after eating their stomach swells a lot. But if the size is greatly increased, it may be necessary to give food more often, but in smaller portions. It may also be beneficial for adult animals to feed two or more smaller meals, especially when dry complete foods are used.

If the puppies have a large belly, thin front and back, and bad hair, then this may be a sign that they are suffering from worms.

The most common causes of an enlarged belly are expansion of the stomach and its twisting. This condition is characterized by sudden swelling of the stomach, which is usually filled with digesting food and gas. This condition is exacerbated when the stomach becomes twisted, blocking entry from the pharynx and exit to the small intestine. Dogs weighing 40 pounds (18 kg) and above are most commonly affected by this ailment.

Symptoms. Sudden enlargement of the abdomen shortly after eating. The stomach becomes swollen, hard and stretched, which is easily observed, as it happens very quickly. The dog shows signs of severe pain as well as difficulty breathing. In addition, there may be an urge to vomit and defecate, but when the stomach is twisted, nothing can come out.

The reasons. The causes of this condition are not yet clearly defined. It is believed that such a condition can be caused by excessive exercise after feeding, drinking plenty of water after eating dry food, blocking the exit from the stomach with indigestible food, excessive fermentation in the stomach and filling the stomach with a single feeding of an animal with a large amount of food.

Actions. This condition requires urgent veterinary care. The first thing that is required is to release gases and empty the stomach. Such an operation must be carried out immediately, since this condition can be fatal in a very short time. So contact your veterinarian right away, whether it's day or night, and be prepared to take your dog to the veterinary immediately.

How to prevent this condition. Your veterinarian will tell you about preventive measures that can help prevent the condition from reappearing.

Other causes of bloating that are not caused by overeating are heart disease, pregnancy and false pregnancy, pyometra (accumulation of pus in the uterine cavity), certain hormonal disorders and other diseases of the abdominal cavity that are accompanied by fluid retention. If you have any doubts, seek veterinary help.

Worms. If you suspect your dog's large belly is due to worms, take a sample of fresh dog feces to your veterinarian.

Bloating. When the dog's abdomen often swells strongly and painfully after feeding, it is necessary to measure the abdominal cavity in its widest part with a measuring tape. This will make it easier to assess whether the belly has grown larger than usual or not, and whether there is a danger of bloating. All this is necessary in order to quickly call for veterinary assistance when necessary.

An increase in the volume of the abdomen (the dog looks bloated, like a balloon).
Soreness of the abdominal cavity: the dog does not allow touching the abdomen and whines.
Forced posture of the dog - the limbs are widely spaced, the neck is extended.
Apathy, refusal to feed.
The dog is breathing hard and fast.
Anemia (pallor) of the mucous membranes.
Inclination to vomit.
Hypersalivation (the dog is salivating).
When colic occurs, the dog falls into convulsions.

Forms

The acute form of the disease is more common, but there is also a chronic one - it is characterized by smoothing of symptoms, but leads to the occurrence of diseases of the internal organs (liver, pancreas), which can be diagnosed on a routine blood donation or ultrasound examination.

The reasons

Irrational feeding - feeding once a day, unbalanced diet (mixing of packaged food and home-made food), feeding with easily fermenting food (pasta, bread, potatoes, fatty and sweet confectionery).
Insufficient activity of the dog with a large amount of food. Hypodynamia (lack of activity of the dog) can cause bloating, so the dog must be walked 2 times a day for at least 30 minutes.
Anatomical and topographic features of the dog - weakness of the ligamentous apparatus of the stomach, its structure and shape.
Violation of the digestion process associated with functional diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.

Diagnostics

To make a diagnosis, it is necessary to take an anamnesis, examine and palpate a sick animal.
Additional methods of research are a survey x-ray of the abdominal cavity or ultrasound.
It is necessary to differentiate gastric bloating from volvulus, because. gastric volvulus in dogs is a surgical emergency.

Treatment for bloating in dogs

The treatment of bloating is complex.

Diet therapy. Feeding recommendations are often neglected by owners, so the main ingredient for successful treatment is a diet in the form of commercially prepared feeds or a rationed diet of natural food recommended by the attending physician. The dog should receive food several times a day (2-3 times), in a calm environment, in small portions and strictly by weight.
symptomatic treatment. To alleviate the acute condition, sorbents (Enterosgel), Espumizan, vaseline oil are used. Also, in the first days, sparing feeding is used in the form of soft, easily digestible feeds.

Complications and consequences

A complication is a torsion of the stomach, requiring surgical intervention.
Bloating of the stomach with improper feeding causes damage to all organs of the gastrointestinal tract, as a result, diseases of the liver, pancreas, and intestines can develop.

Prevention of bloating in dogs

Prevention of gastric distention consists in the rational nutrition of the animal, as well as the exclusion of hypodynamia as an unfavorable factor.

Additionally

Often a sharp transition to a new food provokes bloating.
The transition should be carried out gradually, over the course of a week, mixing the new food with the old.
Bloating is provoked by easily fermenting foods: pasta, bread, potatoes, fatty and sweet confectionery - these products are contraindicated for both cats and dogs.

intensive care doctor

Often, owners pay attention to a gradual increase in the volume of the abdomen, but they do not always attach great importance to this, thinking that their animal has simply recovered.
However, a gradual increase in the volume of the abdomen can be a sign of various diseases.
Let's talk about the most common ones.

Enlargement of the abdomen due to the accumulation of free fluid in the abdominal cavity(ascites).
As a rule, ascites is a sign of cardiovascular diseases or diseases of the liver, less often kidneys, gastrointestinal tract. The belly of such animals looks saggy. If you lift the dog by the front paws, then the liquid moves down and the stomach becomes pear-shaped
At oncological diseases organs of the abdominal cavity, an increase in the volume of the abdomen is associated with the growth of the tumor. When examining such an animal, sometimes you can feel a dense formation, and if you look at the animal from above, you can often notice the asymmetry of the abdomen.
It is not uncommon for female dogs to have a disease called pyometra.
With this pathology, the uterine cavity is filled with purulent contents, and its amount can be so significant that it leads to an increase in the shape of the abdomen. This disease occurs, as a rule, in the near future after estrus, and its characteristic feature is increased thirst. Treatment in this case is only surgical, and the sooner this disease is diagnosed and the sooner treatment is started, the more likely the animal is to recover faster after surgery.

All these states for the time being can occur against the background of the relative well-being of the animal. The owner of the dog must clearly know that a gradual increase in the abdomen can be a normal option only in case of pregnancy (obesity is not considered a normal option).
Therefore, if you notice that the volume of your pet's abdomen has increased recently, it is better to visit a veterinary clinic in the near future.

In order to understand why there was an increase in the volume of your dog's abdomen, in addition to the usual examination, the doctor's arsenal has visual diagnostic methods (ultrasound of the abdomen and heart, x-rays) and a well-equipped laboratory.
In addition, to clarify the diagnosis, the doctor uses additional diagnostic methods.
For example, if you have ascites, your doctor must perform a puncture in your abdomen (laparocentesis) to take a sample of the ascites for laboratory testing.
If the dog's condition leaves much to be desired, it is lethargic, it has shortness of breath, the doctor will remove some of the fluid from the abdominal cavity with a puncture of the abdominal wall. This is necessary to alleviate the patient's condition and normalize the functioning of the heart, lungs and other vital organs until the cause of ascites is clarified. It is possible that a consultation with a narrow-profile specialist: a cardiologist, oncologist, surgeon will be required to make a final diagnosis.
In controversial cases, when it is not possible to make an accurate diagnosis (usually this happens with oncological diseases of the abdominal organs), a diagnostic operation may be required. This is most often the case with tumor diseases of the abdominal cavity. The operation is used to surgically cure the patient (if possible), clarify the diagnosis, or take a biopsy.

Remember! The cause of your dog's belly enlargement can be simple or difficult to figure out. But she can't be frivolous. If a dog has an enlarged belly, there is a serious disorder in her body. Do not expect a miracle, seek help as soon as possible. Your dog will be grateful to you, because all of the above diseases are better and more effective to treat in the early stages.

Belyakov Denis Alexandrovich
intensive care doctor