Purdue Bloat Study....

[mcbosco]

Pam,

Thanks for that. I called the emergency/surgical hospitals in my area today and they had 13 bloat cases this weekend between them. My son's friend's dad is an orthopedic surgeon at one and he told me at soccer today he believes the bloat numbers are actually much worse than what the Perdue Study indicated and that the hospital now sees cases in small dogs. By the way Slistoe, he feeds Abady.

I looked at the Great Dane health survey and bloat was the number #1 health problem. Guess what is the most popular food in that survey despite the high incidence of bloat?

[slistoe]

I
You make it sound like a genetic problem to a greater extent than I had realized. When something is inherent to a certain breed we know that is somewhat genetic but when you say it happens in a certain family that too has to be genetic, either in some form of genetic physical characteristic that is different than the norm or some unseen weakness that is being passed down. And since this is true should we be breeding dogs from those lines? Makes me wonder.

The strong genetic link was certainly referenced in the Purdue study with a recommendation to remove all direct relatives from the breeding pool.

[CherrystoneWeims]

Ezzy,

I think that you don't quite understand what bloat is. What you are describing is colic in horses.

Here is a link to the American College of Veterinary Surgeons
http://www.acvs.org/AnimalOwners/Health ... nVolvulus/

Yes Torsion can occur after the dog has had the gas part of bloat. Research also shows that if a dog has a close relative (sire, dam, littermate, grandparent) who bloated before a certain age then that dog is much more prone to bloating.

You make it sound like a genetic problem to a greater extent than I had realized. When something is inherent to a certain breed we know that is somewhat genetic but when you say it happens in a certain family that too has to be genetic, either in some form of genetic physical characteristic that is different than the norm or some unseen weakness that is being passed down. And since this is true should we be breeding dogs from those lines? Makes me wonder.

I steer VERY clear of the lines that are bloat prone. But sadly so many breeders only care about winning. Whether they are show or field breeders they only care about the winning...... Heck I know someone who bred a top winning show bitch to a top winning show dog who died of bloat at a very young age. They used his frozen semen.

Bloat in dogs IS VERY life threatening. I don't think that you understand the severity of it. Walking does NOTHING for bloat. ANd you certainly do NOT want to feed the dog anything!!

I always kept a sharpened steel with a trocar available for emergencies but have found it to be seldom needed, so no longer kept, if the normal precautions and remedies are understood and followed.

Hate to tell you but a trocar is not used for bloating dogs. The dog is tubed orally to relieve the gas. If the dog cannot be tubed then it will have to have surgery. Dogs are a totally different ballgame than horses and cattle.....I've treated many a case of colic in horses and it is quite different.

The strong genetic link was certainly referenced in the Purdue study with a recommendation to remove all direct relatives from the breeding pool.

Slistoe,

It depends upon what age the direct relative bloated. I can't remember the exact age but if it was over 6 yrs. (I think this is the number) then it is not considered to be as much of a genetic risk.

[claybuster_aa]

I don't feed Orijen. Too expensive for no benefit in the feeding tests I did with my dogs. Now I can honestly make a recommendation to my customers who inquire about it. Some hard data to back up my opinion.
But that really is funny - Orijen is all about marketing and Abady isn't.

Arkat...all falsehoods.

[claybuster_aa]

The strong genetic link was certainly referenced in the Purdue study with a recommendation to remove all direct relatives from the breeding pool.

No scientific merit.

[CherrystoneWeims]

The strong genetic link was certainly referenced in the Purdue study with a recommendation to remove all direct relatives from the breeding pool.

No scientific merit.

Claybuster,

The research was done on pedigrees of dogs. When you see a great-grandfather, grandfather,father, and son bloat that should tell you something........ And this is not just one line but several lines that I have seen it in.

[live4point]

If the price of dog food keeps going up,I may seriously look at feeding a meat diet. 8 yrs. ago I was giving $14 for 50 lbs. of Diamond green bag,now I'm giving over $22 for 40 lbs.

[claybuster_aa]

Claybuster,
The research was done on pedigrees of dogs. When you see a great-grandfather, grandfather,father, and son bloat that should tell you something........

Have all been eating the same diet?

[mcbosco]

the study is pretty clear as it states that genes predispose the onset of bloat but don't cause it...the fact that it happens at mid-age shows that it is a degenerative condition in breeds of a certain body type and size...over time the connective tissue around the stomach breaks down.

"There is no single, major gene that controls bloat. This is because dogs do not inherit bloat; they only inherit a predisposition for the condition. As with other polygenic disorders, breadth of pedigree normalcy increases the selective pressure against the condition"

You can selectively breed, but as with dysplasia, the risk is always there, so you must mitigate the risk with those variables you can control post facto, meal timing and diet.

live4point,

http://www.blueridgebeef.com/testimonials.html

these are the best prices I have seen for this quality, i ordered 60lbs for $100 with O/N shipping ($28) today, that should last me 3 months with mixing. if you really are interested you can always ask me or brhntr for some tips on cutting costs. that might be 6 months for a 50-60lb dog.

[claybuster_aa]

Follow the money. Think about it.

Don’t you remember the “to-do” over what causes bloat? First it was genetics, then gluttony, then gulping air, now another nonsensical explanation advanced by a veterinary school – citric acid. That is how Industry protects itself. By preventing you from discovering the truth about any breakdown condition so that Industry can continue producing foods that are based on wholly unsuitable but highly profitable ingredients.

"how to choose article" Abady wesite

Makes sense to me, I don't know why it is difficult to see for some after they spell it out for you. Oh, I know, it's all just about selling dog food...yeaaaaaa!

[ezzy333]

Gentlemen, for a while we had an interesting debate that pretty well demonstrated that there were a lot of opinions but little in substance that proved any point no matter which tact you wanted to believe. I believe that debate has ended and we are now getting a little rediculous with our posts. None of them are adding a thing to the debate as there just isn't any research that has proven a thing. The jury is still out. So till we have something factual and can show the results of the test that have been run it appears to be time to shut this down and get on to something else.

This thread will be locked till something new come about.

Ezzy