Cane Corso and Bloat

Cane Corso & Bloat

Byjrobconsult@aol.com

Cane Corso and Bloat

Woof! Let me tell you something scary that us Cane Corsos need to worry about – it’s called bloat, and it’s no joke. Since I’m a big dog with a deep chest (yeah, I’m proud of my barrel chest!), I’m more likely to get this nasty thing than smaller dogs. And if I’m a male like me, I’m twice as likely to get it – lucky me, right?

Here’s what happens: my stomach fills up with gas like a balloon, and sometimes it even twists around. Imagine your stomach doing somersaults – not a fun experience! When this happens, it’s a super emergency because I could die in just a few hours if my humans don’t get me to the vet fast.

So how do you know if I’m in trouble? Well, I’ll try to throw up, but nothing comes out (that’s weird and scary). I’ll drool like crazy – way more than when I see my dinner bowl. My belly will puff out like I swallowed a basketball. And I’ll pace around because I can’t get comfortable no matter what I do.

If you see me doing any of this stuff, don’t wait around! Get me to the emergency vet right away because I’ll need surgery to fix it. Trust me, I’d rather skip the drama and have you help me prevent this mess in the first place!

Understanding Bloat and GDV in Large Breed Dogs

Woof! Listen up, my human friends – we need to talk about something super serious that can happen to us big dogs like me. It’s called bloat or GDV, and trust me, you don’t want your furry buddy going through this scary stuff.

So here’s the deal – sometimes our stomachs get all puffed up like a balloon with gas, food, or water. That’s the bloat part, and it’s already pretty uncomfortable.

But then things get really bad when our stomach decides to do a crazy flip and twist around like a pretzel! When that happens, nothing can get in or out of our tummies, and that’s when we’re in big trouble.

Now, I know what you’re thinking – “How does this happen to my good boy or girl?” Well, some of us dogs are total food vacuum cleaners who inhale our kibble in three seconds flat. Bad idea!

Additionally, eating large meals or engaging in vigorous activity immediately after dinner can also cause problems. Trust me, even though that stick looks super tempting after I finish eating, it’s better to just chill for a while.

The really scary part is that when our stomach gets all twisted up, we need surgery RIGHT NOW. Like, drop everything and race to the vet urgent. The mortality rate for this condition is high, which is why getting help fast is so important. When the stomach twists, it cuts off the blood supply to important tissues, which makes everything way worse. Our survival rate improves dramatically when we get medical and surgical treatment quickly.

Us deep-chested dogs – and let me tell you, I’ve got quite the barrel chest to be proud of – are way more likely to have this happen. So you humans better learn the warning signs and keep your eyes on us!

Since Cane Corsos are prone to stomach issues as part of their breed’s health concerns, it’s essential for their owners to watch for any signs of bloat.

Recognizing the Warning Signs and Symptoms

When I’m Acting Weird (And Not in a Fun Way):

  1. I keep trying to throw up, but nothing comes out – I’ll make those awful retching sounds, but only foam or slimy stuff comes up. It’s like when you try to squeeze ketchup from an empty bottle!
  2. I’m doing weird yoga poses – I’ll hunch over like I’m bowing to the treat jar, or do this stretch where my front paws are down and my butt’s in the air. Usually, I only do this for belly rubs!
  3. I’m being a furry tornado – I’ll pace around like I can’t get comfortable, ask to go outside a million times, and act more anxious than when the mailman shows up. You might notice I’m drooling way more than usual, with excessive salivation happening even when there’s no food around. This is especially dangerous if I eat too fast or become active right after my meal, as bloat can occur when eating is too rapid or activity follows immediately after meals.

The Really Scary Stuff Happens Fast:

My belly will blow up like a balloon and feel tight as a drum. This whole nightmare can become fatal in minutes, so you need to act super fast when you see these signs.

My gums will look pale or blue (definitely not their usual pink), my heartbeat gets weak, and I’ll have trouble breathing.

When this happens, I’m going into shock and need to get to the vet RIGHT NOW!

Don’t mess around with this stuff – it’s a real emergency! We large, deep-chested breeds like me are especially at risk for this scary condition.

Risk Factors and Contributing Causes

Being a big, handsome Cane Corso with this deep barrel chest means my stomach has lots of room to do gymnastics—and not the good kind. The vet says us male dogs are twice as likely to get bloat compared to the ladies. Thanks, genetics!

My humans better pay attention to how they feed me, too. If they only give me one big meal a day, I’m twice as likely to bloat.

And if I scarf down my food like I’m in an eating contest (which, let’s be honest, I usually am), my risk goes up five times! The vet also warned about soybean meal and super fatty foods – they can make bloat four times more likely.

Oh, and apparently my anxious personality doesn’t help either. When I get all worried about thunderstorms or the mailman, that doubles my chances of getting bloat.

That’s why my humans divide my food into two meals daily – it helps regulate my metabolism and reduces my risk of bloat.

Emergency Diagnosis and Clinical Assessment

So here’s the deal – when us big dogs get bloat, it’s like our stomach decides to throw the worst party ever. It gets all twisted up and blown up like a balloon, and let me tell you, it’s NOT fun. We go from “Hey, where’s my dinner?” to “HELP ME NOW” faster than I can steal a sock.

When this happens, your human needs to rush us to the vet faster than I chase the mailman. The vet folks have some pretty cool ways to figure out what’s going on:

  1. Those fancy picture machines – They take X-rays of our belly to see if our stomach looks like a twisted pretzel (spoiler alert: that’s bad)
  2. Checking if we’re okay – They examine how fast our heart is beating, whether we’re panting abnormally, and whether our gums appear the right color.
  3. Belly pokes – They gently press on our tummies and listen for weird sounds that mean gas is trapped inside.

The vet will also perform blood tests to check if we’re becoming dehydrated (which makes me even grumpier than usual). They watch for signs like when we try to throw up but nothing comes out, when we can’t sit still, and when we hunch over like we’re doing some weird yoga pose because our belly hurts so much. The scary part is that the pressure can make it hard for us to breathe because it compresses our breathing muscles. The terrifying thing is that without treatment, this whole nightmare can be fatal within an hour.

Bottom line: if your big buddy is acting like this, don’t wait around – get to the vet NOW!

Treatment Options and Surgical Interventions

Woof! Let me tell you about the scariest thing that can happen to us Cane Corsos – something called gastric dilatation-volvulus. It sounds fancy, but basically, our stomachs can flip upside down like a pancake! When this happens, we need human doctors (veterinarians) to fix us FAST or we could be in big trouble.

First, the veterinary staff has to prepare us for surgery. They stick us with needles to give us special water through our veins and poke tubes down our throats or needles in our bellies to let the air out of our twisted stomachs. I know it sounds awful, but trust me, it feels way better afterward!

Then comes the real fun – surgery! The doctors open up our bellies and flip our stomachs back to where they’re supposed to be. They also check if any parts of our stomach appear to be sick or damaged. The coolest part is something called gastropexy (gas-tro-pex-ee), where they literally sew our stomach to our body wall so it can never flip again. It’s like getting a permanent seatbelt for your stomach! The best part is that gastropexy can be performed laparoscopically, which means smaller incisions and less painful recovery time.

What Happens When What The Humans Do To Help
Before surgery Give us IV fluids, make the pain stop, deflate our bellies
During surgery Put our stomachs back where they belong, sew them in place
After surgery Watch us like hawks, make us take it easy for 10-14 days

We usually have to stay at the animal hospital for one to seven days, depending on the severity of our illness. The good news? Once we get that gastropexy, our stomachs will never flip again!

Prevention Strategies and Protective Measures

Woof! Listen up, my fellow Cane Corso friends – bloat is seriously scary stuff that can kill us, and trust me, it’s way better to stop it before it happens than to deal with it after.

Our humans need to get smart about keeping their bellies safe!

First things first – no more giant food bowls that we can inhale in two seconds! I know, I know, we love our food (who doesn’t?), but we need our humans to give us smaller meals throughout the day instead of one huge feast.

Ditch those giant food bowls we can vacuum down in seconds – smaller meals throughout the day keep our bellies way safer!

And those fancy raised bowls? Forget about them! Keep our food on the ground where it belongs.

Oh, and those puzzle feeders and slow-feeder bowls? They’re pretty fun! Sure, it takes longer to get our kibble, but it stops us from gulping down air like vacuum cleaners.

Same goes for water – no chugging a whole bowl right after dinner.

Here’s the deal with exercise: we gotta chill for an hour before and after meals. I know it’s hard when there’s a squirrel to chase, but trust me on this one.

Watch out for us nervous pups – we’re way more likely to get bloat when we’re all stressed out and anxious, so our humans need to keep things extra calm and predictable. Since we Cane Corsos need consistent rules to prevent behavior issues, establishing a steady routine helps reduce our stress levels too.

The most important stuff:

  1. Food tricks: Puzzle bowls are cool, and don’t drink like a camel during dinner
  2. Keep things calm: Less stress, same routine every day (we dogs love predictability anyway!)
  3. The big surgery option: Some of us high-risk pups might need that stomach-tacking surgery called gastropexy

And remember, us male dogs, especially the older guys, are at even higher risk for this nasty condition.

Stay safe out there, fellow big dogs!

Final Thoughts

Woof! Listen up, humans – this bloat thing is no joke, even for a tough cookie like me! The fancy veterinary term “GDV” essentially means that my stomach decides to do gymnastics when it shouldn’t. And get this – it happens to about 60% of us big dogs! That’s like 6 out of every 10 of my buddies at the dog park. Yikes!

See, us Cane Corsos are built like barrels with our deep chests, which makes us sitting ducks for this scary stomach twist. I’ve seen way too many of my four-legged pals rush to the emergency vet because their tummies went haywire. Trust me, you don’t want to mess around with this stuff!

Here’s the deal – you humans need to watch for the warning signs, just as I watch for squirrels. If I’m pacing around, drooling more than usual, or trying to throw up but nothing comes out, that’s your cue to panic (in a good way) and get me to the vet FAST!

Want to keep me safe? Talk to the vet about that stomach-tacking surgery, don’t let me wolf down my food like I’m in a hot dog eating contest, and maybe don’t let me do zoomies right after dinner. My stomach will thank you, and I’ll keep being your lovable, drooling best friend!

References

Related posts:

  1. Development Stages of a Cane Corso
  2. Adopting a Cane Corso
  3. What to Feed a Cane Corso
  4. Cane Corso Training

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