The term stomach twisting may be a bit strange to you, but the probability of it happening to a dog is not low. In daily life, many people feed their dogs first and then take them out for exercise. Or the weather is hot, and the dog will immediately...
The term stomach twisting may be a bit strange to you, but the probability of it happening to a dog is not low. In daily life, many people feed their dogs first and then take them out for exercise. Or the weather is hot, and the dog will immediately drink water after exercising. These behaviors have a high chance of gastric torsion in the dog!
1. What is gastric torsion in the stomach?
The stomach is flipped due to a huge impact of external force. There are ligaments connected between the spleen and stomach, so generally speaking, the spleen and stomach will be twisted together.
Symptoms of dogs with colds
After gastric twisting, blood cannot pass through, other internal organs will be injured, and necrosis will eventually lead to shock and death. Once a stomach twist occurs, the dog's physical condition will take a sharp turn for the worse, his life will be critical, and he may even die within a few hours. Even with treatment dogs, the mortality rate is as high as 25-33%, and 50% of survivors may not be fully recovered.
2. Causes of gastric torsion
Generally speaking, this is related to the motility of the stomach, and variety and genetics are also closely related to this disease.
1. When the dog's stomach is empty, it will not shake and flip. Once the stomach has weight (for example, drink a lot of water after eating, and then quickly pants, causing a lot of air in the stomach), and there is also great external force that shakes the stomach, it may cause stomach twisting.
2. Huge psychological pressure can also cause stomach torsion, such as: dog competition, mating, giving birth to puppies, boarding, just arrived at a new home, etc.
3. Other factors that are prone to gastric torsion
1) Age. Older dogs are prone to occurrence, and dogs over 7 years old have twice the chance of stomach torsion than dogs aged 2-4.
2) Gender. Male dogs are more likely to experience stomach torsion.
3) Body type. Slimming dogs are more likely to have stomach twisting.
4) Nature. Dogs with more anxiety and nervousness and fear tend to have stomach twisting.
3. Symptoms of gastric torsion
Irritability; dry retching (I have been wanting to vomit but can't spit out); whitening of the mouth gums; hardening, swollen and painful abdomen; heavy drooling; back; enlargement of spleen; rapid or difficult breathing; shock, etc.
4. Gastric torsion is prone to dog breeds
generally occur in large and huge deep-breasted dogs, and rarely in small dogs and cats. Because large dogs have strong strength, the stomach has more room for movement in the abdominal cavity. When there is food or moisture in the stomach, it is easy to cause large shaking of the stomach during intense exercise.
Among the prone dog breeds, there are Great Dane, German Shepherd, Golden Retriever, etc.
5. Treatment of gastric torsion. Treatment
When a dog has stomach torsion, do not hesitate and send it to the hospital immediately.
6. Methods to avoid gastric torsion
Gastric torsion is not a chronic disease and has no precursors. However, paying attention to the following points can prevent the dog's stomach torsion as much as possible.
1. Feed the dog regularly and regularly, and do not let the dog eat too much. Especially for large dogs, don’t be hungry for a long time and then let them eat wildly. This feeding method is very unhealthy for the dog’s stomach and intestines and will also increase the probability of stomach twisting of the dog.
2. Avoid letting your dog eat too fast.
3. Give the dog plenty of water, but avoid drinking a lot of water after a meal. Drinking water will swell the food, increase the burden on the dog's stomach, and increase the possibility of stomach torsion.
4. Avoid letting the dog exercise vigorously one hour before or two hours after the meal, or doing something that will make the dog feel nervous.
5. Avoid feeding foods that may produce gases, such as soybeans, peas, etc.
6. If you want to change the type of feed, you can use it slowly for 3-5 days to make the dog adapt.
7. Do not feed too much food at once, it is best to divide it into 2-3 meals.
8. It is best to eat alone and in a quiet place when it may occur.
Finally, I will summarize it. Pay attention to the healthy diet and healthy feeding of dogs. The possibility of stomach twisting of dogs is still very low. If unfortunately, an accident occurs, please send it to the hospital as quickly as possible. The earlier you are diagnosed and treated in the hospital, the higher the chance of recovery.
