Suddenly occurring disease, in most cases leading to death, is an inversion of the intestines. Symptoms in dogs are quite definite, they indicate a spleen / stomach wrapping around the esophagus, as a result of which the food can no longer move.
Most often, large dog breeds are affected by this ailment. Provokes an incident with many reasons. They can only be treated surgically, but there are no guarantees - often the animal does not withstand the heart.
The main danger lies in the swiftness of the disease. In order to have time to respond on time, you need to know how the inversion of the intestines in a dog begins. Symptoms, treatment and probable causes should be known to all owners of four-legged pets.
Most often, the situation is this: the pet goes out for a walk, suddenly loses his calm, groans, falls, he can tear, his stomach swells. The condition worsens very quickly, after only two hours the animal dies due to a stopped heart, compressed by gases.
Dog stomach
The animal’s stomach is a sac, which is widespread forward, while its posterior part is markedly narrowed. On one side is the esophagus, the other is facing the intestines. The fold at the exit of the esophagus is located so that it was necessary to make an effort to push the food, and at the same time the air would be pushed out.
An empty stomach is located under the ribs, when filling reaches the lower abdomen. This ability of the stomach makes it possible to turn around the spleen and the stomach to move quite freely.
Why does intestinal torsion happen?
Symptoms in dogs of this disease are listed below, for a start it is worth considering why it occurs. First of all, the following factors are attributed to the causes of the ailment:
- Individual characteristics of an individual: age, volume, physique. Dogs whose weight exceeds 25 kg are the most susceptible to the disease. This is due to weakness and high sprain. In this state, the muscles cannot hold a full stomach in the right place. In addition, the disease depends on the shape of the abdomen and on the depth of the chest. Veterinarians believe that most often inversion occurs in Labradors, Shepherds, Rottweilers, Dobermans, Greyhounds, Black Terriers and other similar breeds;
- Improper nutrition. Many consider it acceptable to feed a pet with inexpensive cereals, liquid foods, vegetables and low-quality feeds. However, none of this menu is natural for animals, so stomach problems often occur. An increase in the amount of food leads to a distended stomach. Overeating can lead to sagging its walls. These data are common for dogs at risk.
- Genetic predisposition. Before you buy a puppy, you should find out in detail what diseases his ancestors had, whether they had problems with their stomach. Although the gene that is responsible for gastric diseases has not been found by scientists, most experts claim that heredity is one of the determining factors in gut twisting.
- Rare feedings. Some owners find it easier to feed a dog once than to give her a few small servings a day. However, this approach contributes to serious gastrointestinal problems, including bowel obstruction.
- Walking immediately after a meal. This version is controversial, but many doctors believe that inversion of intestines in dogs, the symptoms of which are familiar to every specialist, often occurs with active movement with a full stomach.
- Character. It seems that it is not related to gastric problems, however, according to studies, dogs with a cheerful type of character practically do not suffer from such an ailment. Whereas constantly worrying animals, experiencing anxiety, quite often fall "under the knife" of the surgeon.
Disease development
Inversion of the intestines (symptoms in dogs develop extremely quickly) has several stages:
- In the stomach, gases accumulate during the fermentation process, causing painful cramps;
- the stomach and spleen are twisted;
- increased pressure in the sternum and peritoneum;
- water metabolism is disturbed, toxicosis occurs, and as a result - death.
Gut Inversion: Symptoms in Dogs
The first symptoms appear immediately after the twisting of organs: well-being worsens significantly, often against the background of heavy food intake or physical activity. In addition, the animal is worried, obviously experiencing painful sensations, and cannot be in a comfortable position. Gusts of vomiting are sometimes observed, the belly increases. At the same time, there is no vomiting, since the twisted organs do not allow the absorbed products to exit.
If the owner suspects an inversion of the intestines in the dog, the symptoms in just a few hours will be as follows:
- drop in body temperature;
- difficulty breathing;
- sudden expansion of the abdominal walls;
- pallor of mucous membranes;
- shortness of breath;
- apathy, replacing anxiety;
- weakness of the limbs;
- strong salivation.
Diagnostics
Diagnosing the disease is not so easy, this requires a set of measures. First of all, specialists study the picture of the disease. After that, they need to determine if the stomach of the animal is widened or twisted, because these problems have only symptoms. For clarification, a probe is introduced. Its size depends on the volume of the animal. If the probe enters the stomach without difficulty, we are talking about bloating. If the passage is difficult, an inversion of the intestines is observed in dogs. Symptoms, the causes of this disease are quite clear, so the diagnosis will be made quickly.
If problems arose in the diagnosis, an x-ray of the cavity is required, which will determine whether the intestines have turned around in the dog.
Treatment
Folk remedies with this ailment are meaningless to fight - this leads to loss of time and rapid death of the animal. It is necessary to conduct therapy, which consists of a puncture of the abdominal cavity, which allows to reduce pressure and remove gases. At the same time, the doctor injects pain medication and hormones. With this, remedies for vomiting and cramping are used.
As soon as the preliminary procedures are completed, an operation begins, during which it is necessary to expand the stomach to its intended place, establish a probe and remove food residues from the cavity. After this, the stomach is washed and sutured to the wall of the abdomen in order to avoid a repeat of the situation.
If part of the stomach has undergone necrosis, it is removed. Sometimes you have to remove the spleen.
After the operation, the animal remains in the hospital, where it can be given food through a probe. The condition of the dog is controlled by antiemetic drugs and antibiotics. In addition, it is required to care for the seams with the use of antiseptics.
What threatens the disease
The inversion of the intestines in a dog (what to do in this case - everyone needs to know) is accompanied by serious changes in all organs.
A significant stretching of the stomach provokes ischemia of the mucosa, leading to the death of the cells lining the stomach. Due to the fact that the veins are compressed, there is a weakening of the venous return of blood to the heart, a malfunction of the brain and heart. Blood stasis is a frequent consequence of inversion. It leads to the active reproduction of bacteria, thrombosis of various veins.
Inversion leads to respiratory failure, as an enlarged stomach presses on the diaphragm.
Prevention
In order to avoid this terrible disease, it is necessary to follow certain rules for the treatment of animals. It is often necessary to feed the pet, trying to provide him with as natural products as possible. Do not take the animal for a walk immediately after eating. At the slightest suspicion of intestinal torsion, the animal should be given analgesics and urgently taken to the veterinarian.