With the holiday season right around the corner, the thought of eating oversized, high-calorie meals is probably on a lot of people’s minds (for better or worse). But for most dogs, eating a large meal is probably on their mind all the time, holiday season or not. Yes, dogs love to get into food, beyond what’s given to them in their doggie dishes, and recently Greenbrier Emergency Animal Hospital has seen an above-average number of dogs that have done just that. From getting into the cat’s free feeder, to eating human party food left on a counter, to breaking into a cabinet where 8 pounds of dog food was stored, to entering a neighbor’s doggie door and gobbling up another pup’s food, we have seen quite a variety of overeaters lately. And while for people, apart from a bit of indigestion, eating a big feast might not seem that much of a problem, going on a food binge can become very serious very quickly for our canine counterparts.
When a dog has overeaten, many owners will notice their dogs acting restless and unable to lie down in a comfortable position. They may also start panting, drooling or even acting like they want to vomit (including frequent retching, with little to no food being brought up). The most telltale sign, however, is a distended abdomen that is hard to the touch. If you observe any of these symptoms, act quickly and bring your dog to your regular veterinarian during the day or Greenbrier Emergency Animal Hospital after hours. These symptoms can also be signs of an even more serious problem called GDV, in which the stomach can twist in your pet’s abdomen.
Overeating causes the pain receptors in a dog’s stomach to stretch, which in turn causes the discomfort they experience. The majority of ingested food is usually very dry in the stomach, so fluids from other parts of the body are often absorbed into the stomach, potentially causing your pet to become dehydrated quickly. The GI tract is also considered a shock organ, so any compromise to blood flow or fluid volumes is a serious concern.
In an overeating situation, when your pet arrives at our Charlottesville vet hospital, baseline radiographs are taken to see the size of the stomach, and additional radiographs are usually taken at 12 hours and 24 hours after presentation. An IV catheter is placed, and your dog is started on IV fluids and pain medications. We also tape-measure your dog’s abdomen to monitor changes in size and walk them every hour to help increase blood flow to the GI tract. Your dog’s heart rate and pulse are also monitored every hour. Inducing your dog to vomit when their abdomen is distended is usually contraindicated, as it could potentially rupture the stomach. In addition, with the stomach so distended, it can be difficult for them to vomit.
In more severe cases, depending on how your pet is doing, he/she may be sedated to have the stomach lavaged (which is sort of like stomach pumping) to help remove food. If foreign material is suspected or the food cannot be removed with tubing, surgery may be warranted. Thankfully, with aggressive fluid therapy and support care, most dogs do well after 24 hours.
In any case, be sure to take appropriate measures to keep your dog from getting into unintended food sources, and take caution the next time your pet overeats — as a “food bloat” can be far more serious than it looks.
© 2011 Greenbrier Emergency Animal Hospital. All rights reserved.
Hi I was Curious if you can tell me or give me a website of a list of healthy human food that I can give my dog please so I can cook her a homemade dog food recently I been looking into my dog’s food and treats and seeing how horrible some of the ingredients are and I been browsing all over the web for what’s healthy for her but still unsure cause some people add garlic powder and other ingredients to their dog’s meals and I read that onions and garlic are not healthy for animals down to it I would rather hear a professionals opinion about it or is there one safe dog food you know of cause it is driving me crazy trying to figure out what I can do to make my baby girl be healthy
Good questions, but I actually do not know any. You can try http://www.acvn.org/ which is the American Society for Veterinary Nutrition and start there. Good luck! I never have the time to cook for my pets and so I use high quality commercial food. Your local vet can help you too.
It’s pretty easy: spinach, rice. Carrots, peas green beans boiled chicken, lean ground beef/turkey or chicken. Salmon…. sweet potatoes….
Good list…
We add extra protein in our pups diet ground turkey or chicken. There is a book out on homemade dog food and treats
Thanks
sir,i have a pug dog.only40 days old.today, i was feeding my dog..suddenly dog fell down and crying.immediately,dogs legs shrinks,tongue out of mouth,stomach stiff and eyes becomes steady… what was the problem..i take my dog in my hand..do some streching to legs… massage on the stomach… i 2-3 min …dog becomes normal… but now little weak…
my dog is suffered from.ovrereating..and not went to leturn.
please tell me..what to do
That sounds like something else??? See a local vet. If the dog is 40 days old then it might be something serious. It could be that the dog was choking, but I can not tell. Sorry I can not be more help. I do not know.
That sounds more like a seizure to me. I have epilepsy myself and had a Yorkies who suffered from seizures for a couple years before he passed away (not seizure related death though) but I’m hoping that since its been a few months since you posted this comment, you’ve found your answer and I hope for your and you die baby’s sake that it wasn’t something a serious as a seizure.
My comment had some typos (autocorrect doesn’t like me lol) so I wanted to fix those for you. I was saying that sounds like a seizure to me, I suffer from epilepsy and had a Yorkie who suffered from seizures before he passed away (not seizures related death though) but I’m hoping that since i’ts been a few months since you posted your comment, that you’ve found your answer and for you and your fur babie’s sake, it’s not something as serious as a seizure disorder. Seeing your fur baby have seizures is such a scary thing and can make you feel so incredibly helpless. Good luck to you both!
I’m sure your yorkie was having sugar shock not seizures . I have had many yorkies snd they all get low blood sugar . They get stiff , jaws lock with teeth clinched like you would see in a seizure . I always keep some nutrical around . It is a high calorie supplement for dogs snd cats . Put a little in your finger and rub inside of their gums . Some white table sugar will do in a pinch . Their blood sugar will come up snd they are back to normal .
My labrador dog have food bloat from 2 years sir. What to do now plz tell
THe dog can not have food bloat for 2 years….. look for another problem.
Yes.
Hi Dr. Stewart,
Over the new year celebrations my do over ate from what seemed to be a week long festivities since Christmas. On New Year’s Day he began whimpering and was lethargic, he also passed a bloody stool therefore, I took him into the vet hospital where he came out with a clean bill of health. He did have inflammation therefore they kept him overnight giving him fluids, anti inflammatory medicine and pain medication. I took him home the next day and have been continuing to give him pain and anti inflammatory medicine, he is eating soft foods that I bought at the vet hospital and has been passin regular stool but does not want to drink water and is still complaining from time to time. Is it normal for him to be in pain even after 3 days being in the hospital?
I’m not really sure what is going on here, but it sounds like your dog ate too many treats over the holidays, had an GI inflammatory problem and is slowly getting better. I would ask he vet that saw him (phone call questions are usually free and expected after a hospitalization) but I would assume if all else is normal a little gas pain might be ok. If your dog is acting really in pain then I would certainly bring him back and have him re-examined. A little late gas pain can be very normal though after this, and it sounds like he is passing normal stool and eating ok.
I have a Yorkie female 11 months old. At first, it was easy to house break her. She had it in only 4 months. But lately she intentionally goes to the bathroom in the house. She sneaks around if I’m not looking and goes in the corner then she hides. She knows it’s wrong. I take her out often. I’m lost!!! I don’t know what to do
Call a behaviour specialist like a local trainer or puppy day care. Maybe ask your vet for a urinalysis to make sure its not a uti. Every dog is different. I would seek behaviour help locally. Dog trainers can come to your house and teach you what to do. Its you that needs to change behavior first.
My dog got into his dog food last night around 8 and he was noticeably bloated so we took him to our local emergency vet and they gave him pain meds and fluids and we took him home…..He has pooped several times and his stomach is no longer bloated and he seems to be fine. It has been over 24 hours now do I still need to worry? What should I be looking for? He hasn’t attempted to vomit and he is drinking water normally.
You should be almost fine with a food bloat after 24 hours and looking better. Still restrict his food for another 12-24 hours with multiple small meals and no large meals and make sure he does not vomit or re-bloat. After that he should be fixed.
Okay thank you so much!
I just want to say thank you so very much for writing this article! I have a 5 week old chihuahua/dachshund mix and have started her on puppy mush (she still drinks her mothers milk too though) and I made her food about 45 minutes ago and sat her down to eat it while I rinsed one pan to get it out of my sink and into the dishwasher so I could bathe her in the sink because her mom used the bathroom in the playpen they stay in. By the time I was done with putting it in the dishwasher (maybe a minute total), her stomach was big and hard to the touch. She isn’t whining but is just kinda laying around (not sure if it’s from eating too much or because she had her first bath and it possibly made her tired). What all should I watch for with a puppy this young? Any help/advice is greatly appreciated! Thank you again! Have a wonderful day!
Interesting. It sounds like it might be too much food or liquid and walking her on a leash slowly for a while might help work it out or at least let her burp or pass gas. If it gets worse or does not get better in the next few hours I would see a vet ASAP for bloat torsion. It is very very rare for a puppy that age to have either of those but you never know. No more food or water for a little and slow leash walks should be the start.
Hi someone please help! My dog got into a whole bag of his food and now his stomach is swelled, but he isn’t in pain or vomiting or drooling. But he is tired and less active. Do I need to take him to the vet?
This is a food bloat and the vet will make sure he is fine. Some dogs can got over this without IV fluids and vet care, but it is much better and safer and faster to have IV fluids overnight and be monitored. Good luck!
Hi. I have a question!! Similar to the information you talked about above. My puppy is 5 weeks old and is eating so much food daily!! Her stomach is very big but she still plays around & is very active. What can this be?? Should I take her to the vet asap?
Impossible to say. If it concerns you then bring her to a vet. She is due for 6 weeks shots anyway and a deworming.
CAN A DOG BE BLOATED DUE TO OBSTRUCTION IN THE STOMACH BY SOME FIBERS? MY PUPPY’S ABDOMEN IS BLOATED, SO I IMMEDIATELY GAVE HER SIMETHICONE THEN RIGHT AFTER, SHE VOMITED A BALL OF FIBERS AND BURPED. SHE IS NOT PALE AND SHE STILL EATS, ALTHOUGH ONLY A LITTLE, THE ONLY PROBLEM IS THE BLOAT. WHAT MUST I DO? INDUCE VOMIT? THANKS.
The puppy needs an xray. What if the fibers went past the stomach and into the intestines? There could be an obstruction farther along and vomiting will only help the stomach. Your puppy might need surgery to relieve the obstruction. I would have her checked out by a vet asap. Otherwise there is not too much you can do. After vomiting one session, more vomiting will not help.
Hello there, tonight my 3 month old puppy got into his bag of food, and his stomach is quite hard and I can’t tell if he is in pain. What should I do?
This can be very serious if he ate too much and is constipated or bloated. See the blog on food bloat and follow the instructions. Usually these dog do well with water and maybe IV fluids if they need it. Time is usually the fix but if the bloat is very bad then IV fluids. If you can bring him to a vet that would be ideal, but if not then you need to stop feeding him for a day and offer a lot of water. Make sure he drinks and can pass the food. A vet visit is needed if he will not eat, or starts acting lethargic or funny. Good luck.
My brother in law has a 2 month old chihuahua and gave him rice, it was a big portion. And now the pups abdomen is very hard and cant walk. He seems to be having seizures. What can we do at home ? We are too far away from a vet.
not much, except walk him and try to get him to a vet. Seizures are most likely pain, so walking and trying to move the rice through would be the best. I would normally say have him drink water but not with rice. Sorry I cant help more.
my dog got in to a bag of dog food he is just over a year old. i came to you blog and read over it i don’t know how much he had but he is drinking lots of water and i have been walking him since i read that’s what y’all do. out side he is more like him self wanting to move around a lot inside he just wants to lay down. he through up once shortly after he ate.
That is the right thing to do but if you are concerned or he starts acting more lethargic or dry heaving then bring him to a vet immediately.
My puppy’s about 5 -6 weeks old she was found in a dumpster and i told them i would keep her. Ai have had her for about a week and i noticed that today her tummy is hard and looks big. She is playful still and bites when we walk us that something to b concerned with? The bitting part also
yes, have you brought her to a vet? She probably has worms and she is now due for her vaccines. The biting you need to train her to stop.
Hi, my puppy maltese eats 1/3 of his dog food 3 times a day. Today we decided to give him homemade food, mashed meat and potatoes. He surprisingly ate a whole 3/3 of that. Now he is shaking a little. What should I do?
Bring him to a vet. He might have pancreatitis, or a food bloat or just a GI issue. If he gets worse be very concerned. You gave him 3x the normal amount he eats and increased the calories and richness. His body can not take a jump that fast.
Dr. Stewart, I’ve read your blog and comments. My dog accidentally ate more food. She belly is distended. She dry heaved vomited twice pooped 4x over several hrs. She was taken to the vet, no obstruction was given SQ fluids, IM antiemetic and antacid. Overall she looks good .She has been extremely thirsty. Based on previously post it seems this is ok for her to keep drinking. My concern is obviously adding more volume in her GI tract would stress her stomach more? Giving her small aliquots. Is my reasoning good? Or what is your general oral fluid recommendations?
Moderate but ample water. Let her drink more water in smaller amounts. Like a very regulated constant amount of water. She really needs the water but I would also not want to stress out her stomach. It is probably fine now, as it has been many hours but just so you know the water is good. Hope she feels better. It would be unlikely to push the food bloat worse with drinking water if she looks comfortable.
Hello Dr. Stewart, my dogs belly seems to be getting bigger however it’s been like this for a couple of weeks. She eats and drinks fine also uses the bathroom ok. When I touch her stomach she does not cry or move away. However I am still worries about her stomach. Could this still be bloat?
Unlikley to be a week long bloat. Might be worms, or cancer or something else. Maybe cushings disease (drinking a lot of water, bad hair coat…?) I would have her checked by your local vet. I doubt it is an emergency or boat, but you should have it checked.
Hi Dr. Stewart. I have a 13 year old Corgi. She has a metal hip from being hit by a car before we adopted her. She was limping yesterday so I gave her one of her pain pills , carprofin 75mg, with PB. She threw up a small amount of white, mucus last night, after dinner tonight and two more times. They are a small amount but each time is white mucus. Tonight she ate all of her food and pushed our other dog out of the way and finished off his food before I found it.
Could this be because of the pain pill and it’s been awhile since I’ve given one to her?
Her behavior is normal, she is not forceably vomiting, it’s just coming out.
Thanks for your help.
This does not sound like something the carprofen would cause. The vomiting from carprofen is usually limited and after one pill would stop after a few hours.(unless there is an ulcer or something more serious) She sounds pretty normal except for these small changes. I would have her checked up by your vet for a senior exam and maybe some simple bloodwork. The pain pill should not do this. Good luck.
My dog (9 yr old, 7 lb pug/chihuahua mix) and I are staying with my grandma for a few days and she got into a bag of car food and now her stomach is quite firm and round. She able to drink water and apparently hasn’t lost her appetite as she tried to get to the other dog when he was being fed. No drooling or dry heaving and she’s drinking a decent amount of water. However her breathing seems rather fast and sort of shallow. It’s 1am and the vet isn’t open until 9am. What can I do?
Not too much, withhold more food, give her plenty of water and very frequent small walks to help move the food through her system (like every hour or 2). I would seriously monitor for pancreatitis and see your local vet at 9am for further advice. You should not induce vomiting at home.
What can you do for pancreatis? We were at the vet today and they gave her some fluids but not from a drip. My dogs phosphates are wxtremely high as well as her kidney enzymes. She hasnt eaten all day. And is it okay to give her meds on an empty stomach. Internist put her on 3 meds the same day so I suspect that is the issue, but she did overeat and does overdrink due to cushings and the appetite enhancer. I do remember helping her get off tge couch last night and the bottom half of her body got twisted a bit. She judt looked at me. She has been lethargic, vomiting 2-3 times a day for the past two days. She is laying down most of tge time feeling miserable. I gave her pain meds and had to force feed her anti-seizure and phosphate blockers. Trying to give her the minimum. Just worried I should take her to emergency tomoght or see if she feels better tomorrow. Also while at the Vet today, she made a noise when the vet was feeling her stomach on the sides when feeling around. Her stomach is usually rounded and hard from the Cushings. She is not drooling, just laying still. Sometimes wants me to give her a belly rub by coming upnto me with her sad eyes. Otherwise, she is just laying around. Frustrated. Inknow her end of life is in the future as she is 12 and has a brain tumor (diagnosed a month ago). The vet wants her on renal diet but gives her meds that make her sick so she wont eat it. She will eat chicken and rice, ground turjry and rice and spaghetti. She’s got some issues, but plan is to take her off the three meds ghe internist put her on and get her to feel better. Just worried tonight that I should have her in for an iv. Thoughts? suggestions? Waiting for prescription dirt fron Balanceit.com via internist. Most likely chicken and rice with supplements and Welactin. Help
Wow. If I follow you have a 12 year old dog with cushings, renal failure, brain tumor, seizures, abdominal pain and weakness that will not eat and is seeing a vet and an internist? I am sorry but there is very little I can recommend from a blog point of view. I would have a conversation with your internist as soon as possible and if you are concerned about her tonight, then go to the ER for sure. Good luck, sounds like you have your hands full, but do not hesitate to go to the ER if needed.
Sorry for typos. Fyi plan is to do STS radiation on the tumor, but the Oncologist wants her BUN level loser than 65. Currently over 132. She also has proteinuria. The med they all want her on for that tends to ekevate her kidney enzymes and it diesnt reduce the protein in the urine. So I took her off it again for the 2nd time this month. She is patheticlly ill on that med.
BUN of 132, is very high. She likely has renal failure as well, and the proteinurea is not a good sign. I would be very cautious about going off too many meds. I have no idea what the meds are but she is very sick. Fixing one problem at another problems expense is not a good idea.
Hi, my dog killed and ate a groundhog while he was in the yard today. The whole thing except the fur and intestines and head. (I think it was too bony for him to chew through) His belly is very full and he looked uncomfortable for about 30 minutes, but currently (about 2 hours later) he is laying down peacefully. He drank a lot of water when he came in and soon after threw up just a tiny bit of foam, then maybe 10 minutes later tried to retch but nothing came out. He seems to be ok, resting. I read your blog and will take him out on leash and walk him around the yard every hour or so and he has a full bowl of water available. Should I be extremely worried? It is 5 pm Saturday afternoon here and no vets until Monday unless I take him to the e-vet, which I cannot afford. Thank you for this blog!
Sounds like he should be fine. I dont see why it would be a big problem, assuming he is vaccinated and there are no wounds on him. Just keep watching him for the next day or so.
That is helpful in easing my worried pet parent mind. Thank you! He has been drinking a fair amount of water but otherwise is resting comfortably. I’ve walked him once and he tried to roll in the grass (which he loves to do when it is hot out) but I did not allow it for fear of torsion while he is so full.
I wish I had known about this. My dog died a few hours ago, as the result of getting into the closet where her favorite dog biscuits were kept.
Our dog was diagnosed with food bloat. He got into a bunch of food and after treatment at the vet, x-rays show its slowly starting to pass. He has no problem urinating and is taking smaller poops. One this morning was a lot more loose with Mucus in it. He still seems to have no relief. Should we give the medication and nature more time or bring him back in. He is a 3 year old Black Lab.
It takes time, but usually we recommend keeping them on IV fluids because it speeds the process and the stomach can take a lot of fluids before it begins to empty. Try a little longer with multiple walks (slow walks on a leash) and encourage water drinking. If he is not better soon take him back in.
I have a 10 year old beagle mix, and a 3 year old german shepherd. The beagle’s stomach was slightly distended and harder than usual this morning; I assume he got into his brother’s dinner last night. If that is the case, he wouldn’t have over eaten a massive amount, however, their serving sizes do differ so it would definitely be more than he is used to. He acts normal, no labored breathing, no signs of discomfort, nothing out of the usual. He hasn’t “vomited” but he has spit up a few times, and the spit up contained some food. Some of the tightness has decreased. What further advice besides easy walks, water, and monitoring can you offer? Thank you.
You are doing what I would advise. Walks water and close monitoring. If he continues to vomit or gets painful then he needs to see a vet. Do not let him roll over or play at all for fear of a torsion, but gentle walks and small multiple drinks of water are ideal. Good luck hopefully it passes without incident. You are doing the right thing.
Sir my puppy stomach is swollen I touch her abdominal no pain is she overeat tell me what to how to cure her swollen stomach
You need to see a local vet, this could be anything.
My four-month old puppy ate too much and too quick earlier (we didn’t know she wasn’t supposed to play right after), few minutes after, she pooped, then began acting anxious then vomited her dog food that was still undigested. She has also pooped 3x since then and her stomach is less distended and she is more comfortable now. She seems to want to drink a lot of water, should we give it to her? Do we still need to be concerned?
Sounds like it is resolving but hard to assess without an exam. If you are concerned bring her to a vet. Food bloat can be very serious. Seems like she is on the road to getting better though.
Hello,
It’s currently 2am my time and I am up and worried about my pup. Shes a 8mo doberman and I lost my old dobe to GDV in Dec 2018 so I’m a little worried. Today she got into her dog food around 11am. It dosnt look like she ate too much but she had also just eaten breakfast an hour earlier. Her stomach has been distended most of the day – dosnt seem to have gotten worse or better even though she’s had 4 bowl movements. It’s been rainy here today so I’ve kept her resting other than frequent walks most of the day. Current status is resting fairly easily. Shes had a bout if hiccups, some belching but so far no dry heaving. A belch earlier led to a small amount of food digest coming out. Shes still bloated. She has some strong audible gas movement in her belly and is passing gas very regularly. Shes thirsty and has actually still been interested in food (we arent feeding her) but she was pissed when we fed our other dogs dinner and scoured the floor for crumbs after we are dinner. You can audibly hear her stomach sloshing when she gets above a walk which worried me.
My local vet opens at 9am so if I can monitor her confidently through the night it would really help me financially.
Thoughts?
Thanks!
Sounds like food bloat. Multiple small walks, multiple small amounts of water is all you can do at home now, then IV fluids and xrays at vet in the morning. Good luck! Have her stomach prophylactically tacked when you spay her. This will secure no GDV in the future. Ask your vet about it. If she is already spayed, then you can do this another time. It would we a worthwhile expense.
Hi,
I am very worried about my basset hound,she got in to food bag at night and ate about 2,5kg-3kg of dry kibble . She is very bloated .. we already been to the vet ,they gave her fluids and check heart rate ,vet said everything seems normal and it’s gonna take a while to digest all of that food .she is very lethargic and doesn’t want to go for a walks ,she is struggling to go up the steps and cries when tried to poop out . It’s been 30 hours since she ate the food but she is still very bloated. She is not vomiting and breathing ok ,she just looks in lots of pain ..
my previous basset passed away because of stomach torsion and bloat so I know what symptoms to look out for , but mean while what should I do now ? My dog walking extremely slow and looks in pain ,vet send us home .. what do I need to look out for ,what is bloat is bout gonna go away ? When do I go back to vets I am so worried .
Hard to say, as I have not seen her. We usually keep them on IV fluids until the bloat is much resolved. Frequent walks, oral water and time are the cure if IV fluids are not available. There are pain medications that can be given but some of the best make the dogs more constipated. FLuids, and time are the key. If she is not better in 2 days I would go back to your vet for more fluids and a re-xray to see how the bloat is doing. Hard decisions. Sorry, and I hope she gets better soon.
Hi,
Im so sorry to bother you. Im in the uk and My 15week.old staffy pup got into her food today. Im not sure how much she ate but her stomach was really swollen. Its gone down a little now…10hrs ish later. We took her straight to the vet who advised us to keep an eye on her and avoid getting her excited. She hasnt been fed since, has had 4 poos and is urinating fine. She is very thirsty, on her 5th bowl of the day when she usually only drinks one or two. shes laying on her side and curling in a ball fine..shes not as playful but seems ok in herself. Im just really worried about falling asleep and something happening to her in the night. Do you think she will be ok until morning. Or shall i stay up and moniter her overnight? Any advice would be greatly aporeciated.
VERY HARD TO ADVISE…as you understand…but it sounds like she is doing well with the bloat. I would keep the water coming in small doses, like multiple small dose. Maybe a half bowl every other hour. You do not want her to drink so much she adds to the bloat but the water will help with the digestion. I would walk her every hour or 2, then go to bed and just be alert to any whining or crying or vomiting. I imagine she will be fine. More walking, no more food for a while and more water.
I have a 17 year old toy poodle who is blind . Within the past few months I have noticed that she will constantly look for water .Drinks then throws it up a few minutes later. So I started to giving her small amounts thru out the day. Her stomach bloats up immediately after she drinks. She now wears doggy diapers because she pees constantly anywhere. She has always held herself until outside.This has all started about 3 months ago and is getting worse. Now I have noticed that her back legs shake.
She needs to see a vet. This is not something that can be answered easily without tests. Might be diabetes?
My dog ate a lot of leftovers yesterday. Now his stomach is huge. He acts normal. He is breathing a little hard but he is drinking and everything. Will he be okay. And how long will his stomach be big. His stomach does get big after he eats though
Impossible to say…. depends on how much he ate and so many factors. Left overs are terrible for dogs so please be careful.
Hello doctor,my dogs are eating much less den usual or somedays not at all except drink water.few days ago dere was a wedding feast nearby so they must have overate,later that night they didnt eat anithing nor shits.one puppy belly seems to be expanded but shes very active still and the other puppy looks weak,rapid heart beat,runny nose,shaky,less thinner and smaller abdomen then the other puppy??? Should i be concern about it?
Hard to tell, you probably need to have them visit a vet and check for worms?
Hello, my 11 year old Akita dog ate a piece of cooked bread after about an hour started howling in pain , belthing white fluid couldn’t get hold of the Dr . The next day I took him to the Dr he said he had GDV died by lunch time. Was it the bread that caused this?
No, not the bread. GDV is a physical change that is not reliant on the food. So sorry to hear this.
Please help!
Our breed of choice is Boxer. We have had a boxer 9mnth old that we got from a breeder at 4mnths pass away on us due to something tearing up his entire intestines an we didn’t give him anything…anyway last Sunday both my dogs female 8 and larger make 5 ate 1 cup dog food with a boneless skinless thin pork chop cut up in it…about 30mins later my daughter took the male outside to play in the snow. They played a bit, she said he was eating snow.
We have no pesticides or anything in our yard that he could have gotten. He came inside an was drooling profusely for the rest of the entire day an little into night. He seems a bit off to me. You know losing a dog, now constant fear because that was very devastating for us. Drooling stopped. He is eating an drinking an plays a bit and bathroom trips are normal. Chest is huge. Stomach doesn’t seem hallow or hard or distended. He just seems off to me. We cannot afford ER trip and our vet only going by apts now due to covid and are a week out…
I’m concerned but can’t think of what it could possibly be, especially since he is mostly ok but to me something is off…
IMpossible to say without diagnostics or exam. If he is eating and drinking and all then you are probably ok waiting….but hard to say. The ER probably not that expensive to give you peace of mind. I would go to the ER if you are nervous but expect them to say everything is ok and see your local vet. They might want xrays and blood work and that would be my first step. Good luck.
i have a 13 yr old male Maltese and for the past 3 weeks he shakes and pants after he eats and is uncomfortable. that lasts about an hour then he’s fine. he’s had blood and urine tests that came back fine. had a x-ray that showed he was full of gas and stool. had an enema which helped but symptoms came back after he started eating again. vet put him on prednisone and tylosin tartrate. he is also eating a hydrolyzed protein dog food but symptoms are still there. the vet suggests i do an ultrasound. is an ultrasound a good idea?
Yes an ultrasound is next for sure. You can even do a radio-opaque dye if there is no ultrasound around. You need to figure out the cause. I would look at mouth, neck and throat as much as GI tract if the dog is not vomiting or having diarrhea.
Hi. I have a dog that I took to the vet and they said they believed it was food bloat and gave meds and told us to feed her a small portion after 12 hours. Her belly looked better. So we did that feeding just half of a chicken breast and she is rebloated. What should I do? Not feed her for longer? Feeding her smaller portions than that?
Bring her back to the vet for a re-check. Dogs should not re- bloat without more food or gas causing agents. Its possible it is just not finished. I would wait a day regardless with increased water and multiple small meals. We always recommend IV fluids for these as well as there is a chance to have GI obstruction and dehydration.
My standard poodle suffered food bloat 2 weeks ago. He ate 4x the amount his tummy could hold. He was in hospital for 2 1/2 days on fluids, pain meds, and probiotic. He is now finished with pain meds and probiotic. While he is much better now, he does not act quite himself still. Do you think he is still recovering from this…maybe he is still in pain or his poor digestive system was injured in some way?
We are feeding him 4x a day but just small bits at a time. We do not play with him after either and try to keep him calm after eating. The ER suggested we get the stomach staple surgery next, but we are unsure the best time to do this and worry if he’s not acting himself yet we should continue to wait.
The stomach staple is actually a “pexi” and would not prevent food bloat but would prevent a torsion (usually leads to death if not treated fast). I would give your dog a while to recover before you do a surgery, but I would have suspected he was better by now too. Maybe check with your vet for their opinion, but 2-3 weeks should be plenty of time to be back 100%….. sorry I’m not sure why he is not. The Pexi surgery can even be done laproscopically by surgical specialists for a far far less invasive procedure.
my roommate fed my 10 week old pitbull when i wasn’t home at 6pm and when i got home at 6:15pm her stomach was BULGING out and very hard. she was stressed and whining to use the bathroom at around 7:30pm and pooped quite a bit but hasn’t since. peed a few times. i am stressed because it is now 1 AM and i am monitoring her but her belly is still swollen. how long does food bloat last and is it something i should definitely take her to the vet for?? she is asleep right now on her side and doesn’t seem to me moving around, or whining but still very worried because of how big her stomach was and still is
follow up question-is it okay to give her water?? i don’t want it expanding the dry kibble food. and to add it wasn’t her normal food she eats it was the other dogs food. so could that have upset her stomach??? not throwing up or dry heaving. acting a little sad though.
It can last hours or even days if the dog has problems or complications. Definitely give her water, in fact encourage her to drink. Water is the best thing usually for a food bloat other than IV fluids or a vet visit.
Hello I think I overfed my seven weeks old Rottweiler. I gave her twice her usual food and her stomach looks swollen but she seems fine and playing. She pooped 3 times few minutes after over feeding and like about five hours later,her stomach seems to be back to normal but I’m still scared . Do I need to worry?
give her more water… she will be fine.
I have a 10 weeks old pug. She had deworm and wont eat so we force feed her using grinder kibble and water with a syringe. What do I do? I think I feed her too much! Her stomach looks really bloated, like comically bloated, except it’s not funny at all?! It doesn’t even help that she has upper respiratory problems. She can’t breath clearly and have to breath through her mouth! Urgent internet help! Can’t even go to the vet cuz there are no nearest open appointments!
You need to go to a vet but sounds like you might be feeding too much? Hard to tell…..
Dr Stewart I just want to say that you must be one awesome person. I honestly don’t know how you do it see animals all day then spend your time to get on and help so many people. I’m a nurse of 20 yrs but also have my own farm and rescue. Animals are my passion but chose to care for humans because I don’t think I could have handled so many people with zero common sense and the irresponsible pet owners like you have to. You are a Saint!
Thank you for all your time and posts to educate God knows how many people see this. You have probably saved many animals lives.
Heather Barrett
Ohio
Thank you.
I’m sorry but why would you force feed that dog? We can go quite some time without food as long as we’re getting fluids and so can they.
Hopefully she is not but 10 week old puppies do need much more food than an adult dog.
I found my new dog on the countertop and a bit later discovered a empty bag of BilJacs! (regular size) 20oz bag. This dog a is 15 pound Coton de Tulear. I also have 2 Goldens and another Coton de Tulear. The black and white Coton has thrown up 4-6 times so far over 4 hours and I have counted 40 treats undigested that came up! I have no idea if any other dog ate some treats but my black and white Coton would not eat dinner. (no surprise there) and the others did. She has not pooped yet but is drinking very well. (Maybe to make herself throw up?) She has been trying to sleep because it is now 10pm. Do I need to take her in to get an exam?
What is a bilJac?
I had another new bag I opened up. There were 250 treats in that BiliJac bag. This is the regular size treats not small. All this has happened over a 4 hour period of time that I can tell.
Hi, when away our pet sitter left the food lid open, our mastiff bull Arab injected up to 20kgs of food, on return we instantly noticed he was unwell. It happed the day before. After a week of vet visits the end outcome was he has steroid reactive meningitis? Can the over eating cause a declin to this severity. Be believe they are linked given there were pre existing issues with our 8 month old puppy.
Very unlikely to be related. The steroids I’m sure made him hungry if he was already on them. If not then the food bloat should be unrelated.
Hi,
I have a 2 year old Dachshund, yesterday around 8am he ate his dry food very quick, after he was crying out in pain kept turning back looking at his stomach and his stomach became noticeably swollen. We took him to the Emergency Vet and they gave him 250ml of SQ fluids, & pain medication. They did an X-Ray that showed his stomach had not flipped. so they sent him home, he has not pooped in over 24 hours and since bringing him home he still seems to be in discomfort. we with held food for 24 hours and he ate a little today and showed us he had an appetite but still shows sign of extreme discomfort. it has been over 24 hours since the food bloat has occurred.. any suggestions? i’m afraid he is getting worse or not improving at all. how long does it usually take for one to recover from this?
SHould be getting better by now… or at least getting better. I would bring him to your vet for more pain meds and SQ fluids if he is not drinking and eating a little more by tomorrow. Let him drink water for sure. Food bloat can take days for sure but usually gets better each day….