Golden Retriever Bloat (GDV)

Bloat is a stomach that fills with gas and food and swells. GDV, short for gastric dilatation and volvulus, is when that swollen stomach also twists on itself. The American College of Veterinary Surgeons calls GDV a rapidly progressive, life-threatening condition that needs immediate medical attention. The swollen stomach presses on the big veins that return blood to the heart and on the diaphragm, so the dog goes into shock and struggles to breathe. The twist can cut off blood to the stomach and spleen.

Golden Retrievers are large, deep-chested dogs, and VCA Animal Hospitals says GDV is most common in large, deep-chested breeds, though any dog can bloat. Goldens are not on the ACVS, VCA, or Merck lists of high-risk breeds, but they share the large, deep-chested build, and any dog can bloat. Every Golden owner should know the signs on sight.

Read the signs in front of you

ACVS says the first signs usually come from belly pain: an anxious look or looking at the belly, standing and stretching, drooling, a belly that is getting bigger, and retching without producing anything. As it gets worse, the dog pants, the belly swells, and the dog becomes weak, collapses, and lies down. VCA adds trouble breathing and says the swelling is usually most obvious on the left side, where tapping just behind the last rib can sound hollow, like a drum. The Merck Veterinary Manual lists nonproductive retching, heavy salivation, and restlessness as the main signs, with weak pulses, a fast heart rate, and pale gums once shock sets in.

A thick coat can hide a swelling belly on a Golden. Do not rely on seeing it. Retching with nothing coming up, in a restless dog, is enough to go.

What to do right now

1. 🐾Get in the car. Go to the nearest clinic that can do emergency surgery, usually a 24-hour emergency hospital. If your regular vet is open and close, call them, but do not lose time if they will send you on anyway.
2. 🐾Call ahead. On the way, have a passenger call, or use hands-free if you are alone, and say, "I think my Golden Retriever has bloat." The team can prepare fluids and equipment before you arrive.
3. 🐾Move your dog gently. Let your dog stand or lie in whatever position is most comfortable. Lift a collapsed dog with a blanket used as a stretcher, with help.
4. 🐾Do not give anything by mouth. No food, water, gas remedies, or human medicine, and do not try to make your dog vomit.
5. 🐾Bring what you know. When your dog last ate, how much, and when the signs started. Timing matters to the team.

Save the address of your nearest 24-hour emergency hospital in your phone today, before you need it. The AVMA's first aid tips say to call your veterinarian or emergency hospital so they can be ready when you arrive, and to keep their phone numbers in your pet first aid kit. First aid is not a substitute for veterinary care.

What happens at the hospital

ACVS says most dogs need fluids by IV and oxygen before anesthesia, because they are in shock. The team then lets the gas out of the stomach, usually with a tube passed down the throat, or with a needle or catheter through the skin if the twist blocks the tube. Blood work and X-rays confirm the diagnosis. VCA notes that plain bloat and GDV usually cannot be told apart without X-rays.

If the stomach has twisted, surgery is needed. The surgeon turns the stomach back into place, checks the stomach wall and spleen, and removes any tissue that has died. Then the stomach is stitched to the body wall. That stitch is called a gastropexy, and ACVS says it is done to stop the stomach from twisting again. Most dogs stay in the hospital for several days with heart monitoring, because irregular heartbeats are common after GDV.

GDV is serious even with fast care. ACVS reports a death rate of about 15 percent. VCA gives 10 to 45 percent even in relatively uncomplicated cases, and Merck gives figures from about 20 to 45 percent in treated dogs. ACVS and Merck say the odds get worse when signs have lasted more than 6 hours or when part of the stomach or the spleen has to be removed. ACVS and VCA add heart rhythm problems found before surgery. That is why speed matters more than anything you do at home.

Who is at higher risk

The exact cause of GDV is not known. The factors the sources agree on:

• 🐾Body shape. ACVS lists a deep chest. Merck calls a deep, narrow chest a proven genetic risk factor.
• 🐾Family history. ACVS, VCA, and Merck all list a parent or sibling who had GDV. VCA says dogs with a first-degree relative who had GDV should not be bred.
• 🐾Age. VCA calls middle-aged to older dogs the highest risk group, and Merck says risk rises with age.
• 🐾One large meal a day. All three list once-daily feeding. ACVS says GDV is commonly linked to eating large meals quickly.
• 🐾Eating fast. VCA and Merck both list rapid eating.
• 🐾Temperament and stress. VCA says calm, relaxed dogs were at lower risk than dogs described as hyper or fearful, and Merck lists stress and fearful behavior.
• 🐾Being thin. VCA and Merck list a lean or underweight body.
• 🐾Raised bowls. ACVS says elevated feeding has been suggested as a risk, and Merck's advice for high-risk breeds includes avoiding elevated bowls.
• 🐾Food. ACVS cites a 2006 study that found dry foods listing oils or fat among the first four ingredients raised the risk in high-risk dogs. Merck lists feeding only dry kibble.
• 🐾Exercise around meals. VCA says exercise after a large meal or drinking a large amount of water may increase risk.

Lowering the risk at home

The Merck Veterinary Manual's advice for owners of high-risk dogs is to feed several small meals instead of one large one, limit exercise before and after meals, keep mealtimes low-stress, avoid raised bowls, and not breed dogs whose close relatives had GDV. ACVS recommends two to three meals a day for dogs after GDV surgery. For most adult Goldens, two measured meals a day is a simple routine to keep. The feeding chart covers timing and amounts.

Practical steps:

• 🐾Two meals, not one. Split the daily amount into a morning and an evening meal.
• 🐾Quiet rest around meals. Skip fetch, running, and rough play for a while before and after eating. Ask your veterinarian how long for your dog.
• 🐾Calm, separate feeding. If you have more than one dog, feed them apart so no one gulps to beat the others.
• 🐾Floor-level bowl. Do not buy a raised feeder to prevent bloat. The sources point the other way.
• 🐾Slow down a gulper. A slow-feeder bowl makes a fast eater work for each bite. It addresses one risk factor, fast eating. It has not been shown to prevent GDV, so the signs above still mean an emergency visit.

Outward Hound Fun Feeder Slo Bowl, large, 4 cups

A floor-level slow-feeder bowl with a maze pattern that holds a full meal for a Golden. It is for a dog who inhales food, since fast eating is one of the risk factors VCA and Merck list. It does not prevent bloat or GDV, and it does not replace knowing the signs or a gastropexy if your veterinarian recommends one. Check the bowl for chew marks and replace it if your dog starts chewing the plastic.

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Preventive gastropexy: ask your vet

VCA calls gastropexy the most effective way to prevent GDV, and says some veterinarians recommend doing it at the time of spay or neuter in high-risk dogs. ACVS says many veterinary surgeons recommend a preventive gastropexy for at-risk breeds and dogs with affected relatives, and that minimally invasive versions, such as laparoscopic-assisted gastropexy, are available. Merck says the same.

Gastropexy does not stop the stomach from filling with gas. VCA says it prevents the twist in most cases. A dog who has had one can still bloat, and still needs a vet if the signs appear. In dogs that have already had bloat, VCA says it can come back in as many as 75 percent of those who did not have a gastropexy. Merck adds that dogs treated by letting the gas out without surgery have an extremely high recurrence rate.

Goldens are not on the high-risk breed lists, so for most Goldens this is a case-by-case talk with your veterinarian, mainly when there is family history. Whether it makes sense for your dog depends on family history, temperament, and your veterinarian's view. If your dog's parent or sibling had GDV, bring it up before the spay or neuter appointment.

When to see a vet

• 🐾Now, at an emergency clinic: retching with nothing coming up, a swollen or tight belly, restlessness with drooling, trouble breathing, pale gums, weakness, or collapse.
• 🐾Call today: a single ordinary vomit followed by a dog who seems fine, but who is older, has a family history of bloat, or is not quite right.
• 🐾At the next routine visit: ask whether a preventive gastropexy suits your dog, especially before a spay or neuter, and whether the feeding routine is right.

Questions owners ask

How fast does bloat kill a dog?

It can become fatal within hours. VCA says veterinary care is needed within minutes to a few hours, and ACVS and Merck both say signs lasting more than 6 hours raise the risk of death. Do not wait for it to get worse.

Can a dog with bloat still burp or pass gas?

Burping or passing gas does not rule out bloat. The sign to act on is retching with nothing coming up, along with restlessness or a swelling belly.

Is bloat the same as GDV?

Bloat is the stomach filling and swelling. GDV is bloat plus a twist. VCA says they often look the same from outside, so treat any sign of bloat as possible GDV.

Does a raised food bowl prevent bloat?

There is no evidence it does, and ACVS lists elevated feeding as a suggested risk factor, and Merck's advice for at-risk dogs includes avoiding raised bowls. Feed from the floor unless your veterinarian advises otherwise for another reason.

Does a slow feeder prevent bloat?

It has not been shown to. It slows a fast eater, and fast eating is one of the listed risk factors. It does not replace knowing the signs.

Should my Golden get a preventive gastropexy?

Ask your veterinarian. ACVS and Merck say many surgeons recommend it for at-risk breeds and for dogs with affected relatives, and it can often be done during spay or neuter.

Sources

GDV as a rapidly progressive, life-threatening condition, how the swollen stomach affects blood flow and breathing, risk factors including a deep chest, once-daily large meals, age, affected relatives, elevated feeding, stress, and oil-heavy dry food, the early and later signs, stabilization, decompression, surgery and gastropexy, a death rate of about 15 percent, factors that raise mortality including signs for more than 6 hours, two to three meals a day after surgery, and preventive gastropexy: American College of Veterinary Surgeons, gastric dilatation-volvulus.

Large, deep-chested dogs most affected, exercise after large meals or water, anxious temperament, the risk factors list, the signs including left-side swelling, care needed within minutes to a few hours, plain bloat and GDV looking identical without X-rays, treatment and surgery, a 10 to 45 percent death rate, gastropexy as the most effective prevention, and a bloat recurrence rate as high as 75 percent without it in dogs who have already bloated: VCA Animal Hospitals, bloat: gastric dilatation and volvulus in dogs.

Genetic risk factors including a deep, narrow chest and affected relatives, increasing risk with age, lean body, stress, once-daily feeding, dry kibble, and fast eating, the clinical signs and shock, death rates of about 20 to 45 percent in treated dogs, risk factors for death, owner recommendations including small meals, rest around meals, calm mealtimes, and avoiding raised bowls, and preventive gastropexy: Merck Veterinary Manual, gastric dilation and volvulus in small animals.

Calling ahead so the clinic is ready, keeping emergency numbers on hand, and first aid as no substitute for veterinary care: AVMA, first aid tips for pet owners.