Do you know what's in your dog's food? Many commercial pet foods may contain ingredients like animal by-products and preservatives that may be harmful to your beloved pet. Combined with filler products like grains, many of which don't benefit a dog's health, and provide only empty calories, and artificial colorings and flavorings, these are then processed at high temperatures, effectively destroying any nutritional value the food may have had.

Unsurprisingly, canine obesity and diabetes, as well as a whole host of other health problems have been on the rise, many of them attributed to poor diet and nutrition. The preservatives and chemical ingredients found in many commercial dog foods have even been linked to such health issues as digestive problems and even cancers.

Today, many brands of premium and natural dog foods have entered the market, giving dog owners literally hundreds of choices for dog food, kibble and dog treats, each with it's own claims of superiority and quality. What is a pet owner to do in order to ensure that his dog gets only the best nutrition?

One of the most important things for all pet owners to learn is how to read the labels of a good pet food. In order to familiarize himself with the labels on pet products, a conscientious pet owner must know which ingredients a healthy pet food should and should not contain.

For example, animal by-products listed in the ingredients mean that the food uses, as a source of protein any by-products from the processing of animals – including hooves and hair, stomach contents, slaughterhouse waste, manure, meat from diseased animals and sometimes even euthanized pets. These highly undesireable ingredients are used in many brands of dog food and dog treats.

The order in which the ingredients appear is also an important factor. It is important to pay attention to the order that ingredients are listed – the first on the list comprises the biggest part of the food. One sure indication of a low quality pet food is one that lists corn, corn meal or other corn based products as its first ingredient. This is usually used by pet food companies in order to keep costs down, but provide little nutritional benefit, and can cause health problems like allergies in cats and dogs.

Pet owners should also take care not to overfeed their pets with dog treats like table scraps, which might contain ingredients that are harmful to their canine companions. High quality dog treats like flint river ranch dog food contains the same ingredients as their pet food, ensuring that what your dog gets is not junk and fillers, but a nutritious and rewarding treat.

Melinda Smith lives with her three dogs and veterinarian husband by lake Michigan. An advocate of healthy and natural diets for her own pets, she has seen the difference that a high quality diet can make. High quality pet foods and dog treats like Flint River Ranch dog food have improved her dogs' health, happiness and even their coats and breath. She regularly writes advice about dog care, and dog food online.

- Melinda Smith

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I have just posted the story of my Rottweiler, Kara, now aged 14, and her brush with death earlier this year when she suffered from GDV – Gastric Dilitation Volvulus.  Read that story here.

A large number of pet owners (probably a large majority, actually) have no idea about this life threatening condition.

And sadly, by the time some pet owners learn about it, it is too late, and they have lost their dog to GDV.

So what causes GDV, and what is this condition exactly?

So what are the risk factors for GDV?

What should you do if you see symptoms in your dog suggestive of GDV?

What exactly is GDV, and what causes it?

Gastric Dilitation and Volvulus basically means stomach dilation (also often called "Bloat"), and a twisting of the stomach – this twisting causes the ends of the stomach to be closed off from the openings leading in from the esophagus and out to the intestines.

Gastric Dilitation on its own is not a serious condition, but it is the Volvulus – the twisting that makes this condition life threatening.

If the stomach twists far enough, the spleen and major blood vessels in the area twist as well. It is the twisted blood vessels that cause a loss of blood flow (ischemia) to the stomach and other abdominal organs which can cause considerable tissue damage, and ultimately necrosis (tissue death).

If the blood flow is simply allowed to return, the damaged cellular material from the traumatized tissues is released into the blood and can be harmful to other organs, which can be a cause of death during or immediately following surgery.  When the blood supply in the abdomen's major arteries is cut off, blood flow to the heart and cardiac output decrease, leading to low blood pressure.  This can also be a cause of death during or after surgery.

Risk Factors:

Large chested dogs are more prone to GDV than smaller dogs.  In particular, if you have a German Shepherd or Great Dane, or any large breed of dog, you should be more concerned about the condition than if you have a small dog (although they are not immune from suffering GDV).

Feeding once per day.

Drinking a large amount of water after eating.

Exercising after eating.

Rolling on back after eating.

What should you do if you see symptoms in your dog suggestive of GDV?

If your dog has any of the following symptoms (and particularly if there are several of these symptoms in combination:

- Retching (unproductive vomiting)

- Disorientation

- Abdomen feels hard

- Abdomen looks swollen

- Excessive panting

- Unexplained lethargy

- Restlessness

- Excessive salivation

- Pale gums

call your vet immediately.  Do not delay for a moment.  Every minute can count.  Dogs who suffer this condition can die in hours, sometimes less.  And by the time you notice any symptoms, the condition can be well advanced.

If your veterinary surgery is closed, call the emergency vet, or take your dog to the emergency pet hospital in your area, but do not do nothing.

This is an emergency.  In fact, many vetinerary commentators refer to it as the mother of all emergencies.

Important Notes:

Please note that this is not to be construed as medical advice whatsoever.  It is an account of my personal experience with a dog with GDV, and a summary of the information I have subsequently learned about the condition.

While I often advocate making informed decisions after conferring with your vet, but not necessarily following every piece of advice your vet gives you unquestioningly, in this particular instance, it is life threatening for your dog to do anything but take your dog to your vet immediately.

Do NOT delay – I just can't stress that enough.  I so nearly lost my beautiful Kara, simply because I thought she was affected by the heat that day, and nothing more, when it was oh, so much more serious than that.

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Gastric Dilitation and Volvulus – GDV.

Ever heard of it?

Neither had I.

It almost cost me my beloved Rottweiler, Kara.

This happened back in February.  I've been too traumatized by the thought of it to write about it until now.

It was a stinking hot day – 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) – almost unbearably hot.

I was just getting ready to go out when I noticed that Kara was stumbling around and seemed a bit disoriented.  Then she started dry retching inside the house – this was really unusual because she always runs outside to be sick.  Nothing was coming up except some frothy white foam.

I guided her outside, and she seemed pretty off color.  She was panting a lot and looked very tired.  I gave her some water but she wouldn't drink.

I was only going out for an hour or two, and I thought it was mainly the heat that was making Kara feel ill, and I almost went.

Thankfully, I decided to call the vet first and describe the symptoms, just in case it might be more serious than I thought.

I am so glad I decided to do that.  If I had gone out as I planned, Kara would not have been alive when I returned.

After describing the retching and the stumbling around, the vet asked me about Kara's stomach.  It was hard.  Kara had had a similar seeming episode of stomach hardness when fluid retention caused a large, hard stomach, several months earlier, so I wasn't all that concerned by that symptom – it was a concern, but not an urgent one. 

How wrong I was.

This time the hardness was not caused by fluid retention.

I was told to bring her down to the veterinary hospital immediately.  By this time, Kara wouldn't get up at all, and I called the vet back and said I wasn't going to be able to get her in the car.  I was advised to come and collect a stretcher for her to lift her into the car (I only live a 4 minute drive from the veterinary hospital).  I started to walk out to the car, and Kara decided to get up.  She was very unsteady on her feet, but I led her out the front door and down the driveway to the car.  My son was there and helped me lift her into the car, as she was completely unable to get in herself.

By the time we arrived at the vet (4 minutes later), Kara truly looked as if she was on her last legs.  Her whole face was drooping.  I can't explain it any other way.  I've never seen her like that, and never want to again.

My son lifted her out of the car and she just collapsed into the gutter.  He ran inside the vet and they came out with a stretcher.

They took her into the surgery and spent several minutes stablising her (I have no idea what was happening but that is what I was told).  Then I was given the option of surgery or euthanizing her.  I was advised that the prospects were "poor".  I actually interpreted this as less than 20%, but apparently that's not what poor means in veterinary terms. There was no choice to make, for me.  I signed whatever paperwork they put in front of me, to authorize them to commence the surgery.

It was explained to me that Kara had GDV which, in layman's terms, meant that her stomach had twisted over on itself.  It is a condition that creates an emergency from which surgery is the only option, and a majority of dogs die from this condition, either before, during or after surgery.

I was told that the surgery was going to take at least an hour and to go home and wait.

About an hour later, the vet called.  She said she was in the middle of the surgery, and that she had untwisted the stomach but that part of the stomach tissue was necrotic (basically was dead tissue due to the blood supply having been cut off to it for too long).  The necrotic tissue needed to be cut out, and it was not clear how much tissue was involved until they started cutting it away. Further, it was always difficult to determine whether all the necrotic tissue had been removed, and if it hadn't, then the dog would die from the effects of the dead tissue inside. The vet advised me that the prognosis had accordingly gone from just under 50% to less than 25%.  (I was surprised by this, as I had understood that "poor" at the beginning would have meant less than 20%, when in fact it meant close to 50%).

The vet asked whether I wanted her to continue with the surgery, or whether I wished to euthanize in these circumstances.  I advised her to continue.  Call it intuition, or whatever you like, but I had a premonition during that phone call that Kara would survive the surgery.

Kara was in surgery for more than 4 hours.  The stomach was also stitched to the abdominal wall, which is done as a precautionary measure to prevent GDV from occurring again.

The vets told me later that they did not expect her to last through that first night.  (Heart problems or other complications are apparently common following this type of surgery.)

But she did!

The following day, I was invited to spend as much time as I wanted with her. And the same for the next 2 days after that.

The vets told me later that they did not expect her to pull through, and thought I should have the opportunity of saying goodbye.

For three days Kara was almost non-responsive to anyone but me.  One of the vets commented on this.  I am convinced that my being there had an impact on the outcome of all of this.  I spent several hours of each of these 3 days with her.

At the end of the second day, she drank a little water from my hand.

Towards the end of the third day, Kara tried to get up.  She tried, and tried and tried, but she couldn't manage it.  She ate some roast chicken breast.

On the fourth day, Kara got up.

I knew she was going to be okay.

On the sixth day, we brough Kara home.  She was very weak, and had lost between 17 and 22 pounds in weight (8 to 10 kilos). She was terribly skinny, and she wasn't allowed to eat much for a couple of weeks more.

But she was oh so happy to be home, as were we!

I am thankful every single day for having her with us.

The vet is amazed that she has done so well.  It took a few months to build her up again, but she is no longer skin and bones as she was when we brought her home.  The vet tells me that Kara is sure to live to 21 now!  (And I'm taking that literally!)

For my layman's summary of GDV – including the symptoms to look out for, and how to hopefully recognize the condition early enough, click here.

Tags: dog, dog health, dog health symptoms, dog medical condition, dog medical emergency, dog recovery from surgery, dog stories, dog story, dog surgical complications, dog surgical emergency, dog-emergency, dog-health, dog-story, dogs, gastric dilitation volvulus, GDV, GDV risk factors, GDV symptoms, necrosis, necrotic stomach, necrotic stomach tissue, necrotic tissue, Rottweiler, sick dog, veterinary emergency

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