ALL animals (including ourselves) tend to be food driven. Most dog owners know this and the owners of certain (unnamed) breeds know only too well how the slightest whiff of food will turn a dog around and glue his or her nose to the ground, a rubbish bin or a fish skeleton or worse.
In fact one of my very own members of that unnamed breed has just come up to me as I am writing this and licked my hand. This is her version of tapping a wristwatch to let me know its only 55minutes to feed time!
Luckily for most dogs, owners manage to control the intake of their dog's food. Dogs in the wild have their intake limited by the degree of difficulty involved in hunting for food.
Unfortunately for some dogs, food availability will be greater than their digestive systems can manage. Bloat and distention inevitably results.
An under-functioning liver or a poorly functioning digestive system can also cause the same problem in dogs whose food intake is normal. In this case, a normal quantity of food also overstretches the digestive system.
Options for treating an acute case of bloat:
In the acute I would always use a homoeopathic as it is easy to give, and can be very immediate in its action. The dog may only need one dose. There would be a number to choose from and the effectiveness is dependent on choosing the one that fits best the symptoms the dog is showing.
Here are a few of the most likely to choose from:
- Aconite - where the dog is in great distress and almost in shock with the pain. There may be a lot of fear caused by the pain.
- Colocynthis - This is indicated where the dog is hunched up and looking at his stomach where the spasms of pain are coming from. The pain would be soothed by rubbing the area.
- Dioscorea - is indicated for the opposite body position. Here the pain causes the dog to arch its back and stretch to give relief.
- Nux vomica - is given to a dog that can't stand any pressure on its belly. It is restless and irritable and may vomit.
- Colchicum - is indicated where there is much flatulence and the distention looks worse on the right side.
Options for treating recurrent bloat and stomach problems:
Aside from the obvious such as keeping a tight control on food intake and having veterinary examination to discount diseases, herbs can be very helpful.
I would generally give the dog a herbal formula which contains herbs such as Meadowsweet to normalise digestive function and herbs like Dandelion to assist liver function.
An evaluation of the dog's diet may well be in order. Older dogs may not be as efficient at digesting bones and some other foods. Dogs sometimes develop food intolerances to types of foods that were not normally eaten by their ancestors.
Probiotics are supplements which provide an extra intake of the normal gut bacteria and these can be very helpful in normalising gut function. When the stomach is under stress from antibiotics or from infection or food intolerances, the gut needs to be repopulated with an extra supply of good bacteria.
Homoeopathics can also be useful too - here are a few to choose from:
- Lycopodium is used for a dog that bloats with just small amounts of food. They may be unconfident dogs who can also be bullies at times.
- Nux vomica - for irritable, impatient dogs who gobble their food fast before racing around.
- Phosphorus - for dogs who belch after eating and may vomit food up. They will vomit after drinking cold water. These dogs are friendly and trust everyone.
If you are unfamiliar with herbal or homoeopathic medicines you would be advised to take your dog to a local Medical Herbalist or Homoeopath to get a treatment designed for her/his specific problem.
Go to the next page to see reader's questions answered by Pat
