The Twisting Of The Stomach: A Mortal Risk For The Dog

Sometimes, excess gases, liquids and food cause a knot in the belly of the dog, which can die in a matter of hours. One reason may be the twisting of the stomach.

This dilation and subsequent torsion of the dog’s stomach is diagnosed when there is an excessive accumulation of gases, liquids and food and the dog’s stomach does not empty correctly.

It is a pathology among the various canine diseases that can be fatal and cause the death of the pet. For this reason, it is very important to know the symptoms that the torsion of the stomach has occurred and the method to avoid it. In this way we can save our friend’s life.

Stomach twisting occurs especially in large breeds, such as the Great Dane, who are more vulnerable to this dangerous ailment.

The dog’s stomach is not emptied

As we can see, gastric torsion is the result of a large amount of gases and liquids inside the dog’s stomach. This large volume of substances prevents the pet’s digestive system from emptying properly.

In its process, the normal thing is that the food ingested by our friend continues its journey through the digestive system towards the intestine. The dog’s stomach has its mechanisms to empty itself when it needs to. Flatulence, vomiting and belching are common tools used by pets to take care of their stomach health. However, these processes do not always perform their function adequately.

Gases, food and excess water can cause a very strong pressure on the pet’s digestive system. This will cause that over time this push can cause a twisting of the stomach. The twisting worsens the process: it works like a knot, making it increasingly difficult for the affected dog to dislodge the gases and food that occupy its stomach.

How to recognize the torsion of the stomach?

Stomach twisting is painful and dangerous, as the dog’s life will be in danger and the animal could pass away in a short time. This exaggerated dilation will cause great abdominal pain in the dog. In turn, the twisting of the stomach causes a strangulation of many important blood vessels and compression of the surrounding organs. Therefore, without due urgent veterinary attention, the dog can suffer a collapse ( shock ) and die in a matter of hours.

Visually, the animal’s abdomen swells and if we give it a light touch, it will sound hollow because it is full of air.

Other symptoms of stomach torsion are:

• Restlessness and anxiety, continuous nervousness in the animal.
• The dog looks continuously at its stomach and down at the ground.
• Pain symptoms will be evident in your abdominal area.
• Gagging, wanting to vomit and can not, or only expels foamy saliva.
• Fast and labored breathing.

How to avoid dilation?

It is important to watch that our pet takes his food in a calm and leisurely way. An anxious dog introduces large amounts of food into its digestive system without chewing it properly: this slows down digestion and the rations remain in the stomach for longer, where they take up space.

The origin of this dilation can be in eating very quickly, not resting after meals or ingesting large amounts of food.

Other precautionary measures can be carried out by preventing our pet from exercising after meals, and also by distributing the food rations in three doses distributed throughout the day. Preventing binge drinking after meals is another effective way to take care of your stomach.

Treatment

In the event of any suspicion that it may be a gastric torsion, it is vitally important to go immediately to a veterinary clinic. As soon as the dog arrives and is diagnosed, it will be given a course of fluids and antibiotics through an IV.

The following will be sedation of the animal and the introduction of a tube through the mouth into the stomach (orogastric intubation) to release gases and decompress the stomach. If this is not possible, the abdominal wall is pierced with a needle.

After decompression of the stomach, gastric lavage and surgery are performed. With it, the aim is to fix the stomach to the costal wall with a method called gastropexy, in this way the risk of it happening again is reduced.