 |
To raise money to fund critical research into the genetic, communicable and acquired diseases that plague our beloved breed, the Rottweiler. |
|
|
To raise money to fund critical research into the genetic, communicable and acquired diseases that plague our beloved breed, the Rottweiler. |
Our
Rottweiler Bandit - Dealing with Gastric Torsion (Bloat)
submitted by Tiffany O'Hara on September 8, 2011
This is the story of our last few hours with our adopted Rottweiler Bandit. I would do anything to try to help prevent this from happening to anyone else.
About 9:00 p.m. on Saturday August 6, 2011, Bandit started acting strange. He started pacing and picking at grass rather intently (both of our boys have always been grass eaters, but this was distinctly different). Realizing something was up, I took him for a calm walk to see if that would help calm him down. He tried throwing up repeatedly with nothing happening, and I noticed his stomach was getting quite bloated and he was quite foamy around the mouth (I thought this was a result of the failed throwing up). Still, I thought it was nothing *too* concerning, as Bandit has bloated before, and always passed things after a few hours of quiet walks, and relaxing and firm but gentle belly rubs.
By 11:30 p.m., there was still no improvement, I tried manually stimulating his gag reflex, and still.... nothing. By this point, his bloating had gotten worse, and his breathing was now labored, and he was in pain when he tried to lay down. Bandit and I both discovered that if he drank a small amount of water, that it would make him burp, so he started doing that about every 5 minutes for an hour or so. This seemed to help, and I was hopeful again. Shortly after 1:00 a.m., he finally laid down and fell asleep from utter exhaustion. I was hopeful. Being the "worry wart Mommy", I waited awake with him, and monitored him closely. About 45 minutes later, he got up and started pacing again and burping quite profusely. Again, I thought the burping was a good sign that he was starting to pass whatever was bothering him. Within 5 minutes of him getting up however, he completely collapsed. My husband scooped him up and loaded him in the car and we rushed him to the vet. No easy feat considering Bandit was 120 pounds of dead weight at this point and my husband is only 142 pounds. I guess that is when the "super human" strength kicks in...when your "child" is sick.
We got to the vet at approximately 2:45 a.m., and she told us almost instantly what we had feared. Bandit's stomach had bloated and had twisted on itself. He was now in shock. His heart rate was over 200 (a Rottweiler should usually be around 100 BPM), his gums were very pale, his temperature was elevated and he was extremely weak. We were given our options. Surgery, which would involve blood tests, X-rays and then the actual surgery to deflate and untwist his stomach; or letting him go.
At this point he was in such a state of shock, we knew he wouldn't make it even through the blood tests. Naturally, my reaction was "No! This can't be happening to my baby! He was perfectly fine just hours ago! No! No! No!" Bandit sensed my distress and started fighting again for me. He was fighting to get off of the table. I bent down and took his head in my hands to calm him down, and he looked me straight in the eye. I knew. I couldn't put my baby through this. I was being selfish. I had to let him go.
Within 30 seconds of me giving the vet the ok to go ahead with what I dreaded, he gave me one last kiss and laid his head down and was pretty much gone. The vet gave him a sedative to make it faster and easier, but within about 60 seconds, it was over. By 3:00 a.m., we were leaving with him in the worst way possible. It still seems like a horrible nightmare. In my trying to make sense of how it could even be possible for him to be playing and completely normal one minute, and 6 hours later, completely gone from us, I have done a lot of research on this. I have found that sadly, this is quite common in large deep chested dogs (primarily Rottweilers, Dobermans, German Shepherds, Mastiffs and Boxers), but it can happen in literally any breed of dog, or any other animal for that matter, particularly horses.
Looking back, we missed signs that should have been so blatantly obvious to get him help sooner, but we (stupidly) did what many pet owners do and try to wait it out to see if it will pass on its own. Sadly, in this sort of illness, it progresses so quickly that in most cases it is fatal (fatalities from this are as high as 35%).
Bandit showed textbook signs of this, but we did not know what to look for, which is why I think it is important to share this information. Classic signs include:
pacing
foaming at the mouth
attempting to vomit with no production
drinking excessive amounts of water or refusing water
pain when trying to lay down
labored breathing
collapse
very sudden onset of symptoms: burping and visible stomach bloat (although this is NOT always the case)
no stomach noises
pale gums
elevated heart rate and temperature
There are some things that you can do to try to prevent bloat:
Do not exercise your dog within an hour before (or most importantly) after eating.
Do not allow your dog to gobble their food. If they are a fast eater, try adding large marbles or medium sized rubber balls to their food bowl (be sure that they are large enough that your dog CANNOT swallow them), this will make them have to "nose around" for their food so they can't gulp it.
Alternatively, take their food away from them repeatedly while they are eating to slow them down.
Feed your dog small meals 2-3 times a day instead of one large meal a day, this will slow down their eating and will help them digest things easier.
Elevate their food bowls, this prevent them from swallowing air which can cause bloat.
Do not "force roll" your dog. When a dog rolls over on its own, it will contract its abdominal muscles to protect their organs. When you "force roll" them, they will contract part way through the roll and this can cause kinks in the stomach, intestines and other large organs. If it is absolutely necessary to roll your dog over, do it slowly and gently. Give them time to adjust to what you are doing, don't just flip them, make sure you use slow, steady, gentle movements; but try to avoid rolling your dog unless it is *absolutely necessary*
Most importantly, PAY ATTENTION to what your dog is telling you and DO NOT dismiss their symptoms. Act IMMEDIATELY. If medical attention is sought immediately, they may be able to release the pressure with either a gastro tube (a large tube passed down the throat into the stomach) or a large needle inserted directly through the skin into the stomach; and the stomach may untwist itself. If it does not, they will still have time to go in and untwist it. Because this illness progresses so quickly, time is of the essence. When the stomach twists, it cuts off blood supply to the stomach, intestines and other large organs and will start to cause cell death almost immediately.
I would give anything to have my baby Bandit here with me again, but since that isn't possible I want to do what I can to help prevent someone else from going through this horrible experience with their beloved pet. Thank you kindly for allowing us to share Bandit's story, Tiffany & Dale O'Hara
P.S. I've attached one of our engagement pictures of my husband and I, Bandit and his brother Smokey
(above). Our
wedding day was 6 days after we lost our beloved Bandit. Both him and his brother Smokey were supposed to be in our wedding. It was incredibly bittersweet, but we made the decision to keep Smokey in the wedding and have him wear his fallen brother's collar. We had a brief "collar presentation" ceremony (I've attached a photo of this also) before the wedding and Smokey certainly knew the importance of that collar and wore it very humbly with dignity and pride. As with every other day in our lives, Bandit was most definitely there with us that day.
|
Do you have a REAL STORY to share about your Rottweiler? Please email your story, along with photos to the RHF Webmaster . Please indicate your approval to include your email address with your story if you don't mind others contacting you. Your story may help others going through similar circumstances. Thank you for sharing your story. |
Rottweiler
Health Foundation Mission Statement