G.I.A.N.T. Schnauzer Rescue Network, Honey's Rescue Story

Monday, Feb 24,2003
I was able to save my HOney's life in the midst of an ice storm two nights ago because of the Bloat Book©...here is our story

After I fed everyone dinner I noticed HOney was acting oddly so I followed her around to see what she was doing. It took me a while to figure out what was going on because she didn't swell up immediately. She kept going in the closet to lay down then coming back out and pacing around like she couldn't get comfortable ( first clue), although her stomach still wasn't distended. I did feel her stomach and my heart skipped a beat out of fear that she was bloating and I couldn't get her to a vet because of the ice storm. I kept feeling her stomach and thought it did feel a bit full but still wasn't sure. I gave her about 3-4 simethicone (Gas X) caplets and hoped maybe these would relieve some of the pressure. She went out side and tried to vomit and nothing came up, (second clue) she tried to lay down then tried to poop and nothing came out (third clue). I started telling her she was a good girl and would ok and brought her in the house trying to remain calm so I don't upset her. She did belch incredibly loud a couple times and I just knew she was gonna blow when she did, but there was nothing there. I gave her some more simethicone while I was getting my stuff together, hoping and praying that would do the trick and get rid of the pressure.
I grabbed a slip lead and tied her to the chair so I could get my stuff together and keep her where I wanted her. I grabbed a bunch of towels, a big bucket, my tubing and the kong end and anothe slip lead to tie her mouth with once the tubing was in place. I opened her mouth and started pushing the tube down her throat and there was a big smelly whooooooooosh. I grabbed the kong end and slipped it over the live end of the tubing until it was in her mouth. I tied the slip lead around her mouth so she wouldn't bite me or chew the tube up or swallow the kong end.
There was an instant decrease in the size of her stomach, along with some nasty brown liquified dog food coming down the tube. I squeezed her tummy a little and a bit more came out but that was it so I took the tube out. She seemed to feel better and I'm hoping this is over although it didn't seem like enough had come out to make a difference. I put her in her run (in have runs in my house) so I could keep an eye on her while I cleaned up the pail and the tube, etc. She still couldn't get comfortable in her run with her soft beds so I got her back out and this time her stomach was huge! I brought her up the steps and remembered I had the other torbugesic injection so I gave her the injection and tied her back to the chair. Grabbed the bucket,tubing and kong and did the same thing after about 5 minutes so the torb had time to take effect before I did this again.
I got the tube in place and this time a lot of stuff came out all over the place (GAG) I gently used my hands on either side of her stomach and started squeezing to empty the content of her stomach as much as I could. I got about 4-5 inches in the bottom of the pail so I would say about 6-7 cups of the worst smelling, putrid stuff out of her stomach. I did this until nothing else came out. I bent the tube before I pulled it out of her stomach so it wouldn't suck stuff back up in the tube and aspirate her lungs. Her stomach felt soft and almost normal size now. I grabbed the bucket, hose and ran to the sink to pour that junk down the disposal and try to keep from being sick myself. Seeing the stuff didn't bother me but the odor just about did me in. After I got all the junk cleaned up and the floor and my clothes changed I gave HOney some more simethicone and put her in a soft crate with big soft beds to rest. She panted a little while but did lay down and settled in. She went to sleep and slept for several hours while I kept watch to make sure she wasn't going to swell up again or die. She woke up around 2:30 a.m. and wanted outside and wanted a drink so I let her out and she took a major dump so I knew everything was ok again. THANK YOU, GOD! I let her have a little bit of water and then the both of us went to sleep on the sofa.
I kept a close watch on her because Hannah had to have all that done a second time at the ER but fortunately we didn't have to do it again, thank you God!!

I think having the torbugesic on hand is a big part of my being able to do this. The Bloat Book doesn't say anything about giving any kind of relaxant/pain killer but I don't think I could do this without it, so I will never, ever be without it. That is my first stop as soon as I can get my van out of my iced driveway. I am comfortable giving my dogs injections and my vets know I am comfortable doing it so they trust what I can and can't do. I had to learn to give subQ fluids real quick with Rosie, my renal rescue, so giving injections is nothing now. I've worked for vets before over the years also, so I wasn't a total stranger to tubing a dog either. Makes a big diff when they are knocked out and when they are awake though. They fight the tube going down the throat so you have to get the kong on and the mouth tied real fast. This sounds like it takes a long time but it all takes less than a minute. Once you get the tube in the stomach you act fast to keep it there.

MY BLOAT KIT

1/2 inch tubing.
slip leads
kong toy (medium size with top one or two rings chewed off)
towels
bucket
some kind of fast acting pain killer or relaxant for dog from your vet

Please, please, please, get supplies to make your own bloat kit and print the Bloat Book out and read it until you know what to do without thinking. Most importanly, get your dog to your vet or an ER clinic ASAP. Call them enroute and tell them to have a crash cart ready because you have a giant in bloat. They will whisk your dog away on teh cart right into exray and that is what they should do. After seeing the exrays and seeing if it is only bloat or bloat with torsion the should get the dog on an IV, give them a tranq and tube the dog to empty the stomach contents. After Hannah was emptied with the tube they also gave her a warm water lavage to get the rest out. if there is no torsion I wouldn't let them operate on your dog at that time if you can help it. ER clinics want to operate right then and there because most of them have little experience with bloat..in my experience. I just want my dog emptied and stablized so I can think and make rational decisions at a later date.

I hope this will help if anyone ever has to go through this. itsnot fun, its dangerous, its scarey, you dog can die and you have to act immediately. Time is crucial. it can be the diff between life and death. It is very painful for the dog also. And they do know you are stuffing a tube down their throat and will fight it even though they are in extreme pain.

These are extreme measures to take but it can and will save the life of your dog or buy you some time to get to a vet if the vet is far away or you are trapped at home in a winter iced storm like we were.

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