Bloat of Chinese Shar-Pei
A very real emergency situation is bloat (gastric dilatation volvulus or GDV). This is a condition that is all too familiar to me, as I have lost five Shar-Pei to bloat Bloat is the accumulation of gas bubbles in the stomach, causing the distention of the stomach. The first symptoms usually occur after the evening meal, but can occur after any meal. The dog will appear uncomfortable, will pace and salivate, attempt to drink water, then perhaps lick the floor or carpet. He may try to he down, only to get up again and continue pacing. Gradually the stomach will begin to distend as if something is “blowing him up” like a balloon. He will try to vomit and if he can, this is a good sign. It means the stomach has not rotated on itself as yet.
With any of these symptoms, treatment must be sought immediately! If the condition persists, the stomach will turn, rotating on itself (called volvus) so that surgery becomes the only alternative if the animal recovers at all. Eventually the torsion, or twisting, cuts off the blood supply, blocking blood flow to the stomach and spleen; pressure builds on the heart, and the dog goes into shock. The pain is excruciating. Though theories exist, no one really knows what causes bloat. It is believed that large meals of dry food continually cause the stomach to expand then contract so that muscle tone is lost, or that exercise after a meal is a contributing factor. None of these caused my Shar-Pei to bloat, and my personal experience tells me stress can be an important contributing factor.
Bloat does not seem to follow a pattern or occur under the same circumstances; this is one life-threatening situation about which you cannot generalize. You must become aware of the symptoms. Feeding two or three smaller meals a day makes more sense than feeding one large one, and soaking your dog’s food in an equal amount of water one-half hour before feeding makes sense. Warn your veterinarian that bloat is a problem in Shar-Pei and to monitor your dog carefully if he is recovering from anesthesia. Shar-Pei from the age of eleven weeks to fifteen years have bloated, so don’t ever let anyone tell you that it cannot happen to a puppy!
There are apparently two types or degrees of bloat, one involves only the stomach, and the other involves both the stomach and small intestine. This latter type is the type that affected my Shar-Pei. My vet attempted to save each of these dogs, but there was no hope. (All five were related.) I was able to get each of them to the vet’s clinic within fifteen to thirty minutes, even that was too late, so apparently this condition had been coming on for some time. The only symptoms we had noticed were that from time to time, each of these dogs would attempt to lick the floor or carpet, even chew threads from the carpet (much like dogs will try to eat grass); then they would vomit a thick, foamy, white matter that is apparently the same matter which fills the stomach during bloat. After they threw up this matter, they seemed fine.
I have yet two more Shar-Pei who from time to time exhibited the same symptoms as those who died from bloat That is past tense! About a year ago, I began giving both these Shar-Pei digestive enzymes twice daily before feeding them. The symptoms of licking the floor and vomiting white froth have disappeared and to date have not recurred. Please understand that this is not a scientific study and by no means is proof that digestive enzymes help prevent bloat I am merely passing this information on because I believe it has helped to eliminate some of the digestive upsets in my dogs and may prove helpful to others. Talk with your veterinarian about possible measures to prevent bloat.