I've seen countless videos about bloat, and I've saved a couple articles and images on my phone as well, for those just in case moments. Well, we had one.

We keep the dog food in an enclosed container in the bathroom, but with the new puppy, his food is in a little bag until I switch him over, so we've been putting up a baby gate and it's been all good. Well, the stupid mother effin' boyfriend didn't put the baby gate up (no idea why it was down in the first place...) when he left, and I actually saw the food bag on the ground 5 effing hours later when I got home from work.

We fed the dogs dinner, and Kennedy had absolutely zero interest in her dinner and layed down by her bowl. Very odd, but I figured maybe she just wasn't hungry. About an hour later, she started pacing around the apartment, very uncomfortable, and she had very labored breathing. I figured she was ancy to go for a walk, so I told her to "sit" while I put her collar on, and then I saw it. My dog was the size of a fucking basketball. Called the E Vet and said we were on our way with a possible bloat case, and off we went.

The drive there was SOOO agonizing. The closest E Vet is about an hour and a half away, and poor Kennedy was so uncomfortable the whole time. It was definitely a race against time.

We get to the vet, and wouldn't you know as soon as we get there a puppy comes in with puncture wounds from a dog fight. We wait about 10 minutes, then we finally get seen. This whole time I was getting more and more aggravated because I knew it could be a matter of time before she twisted, if she hadn't already. They finally took her back for x rays, and good lord her stomach was so huge. She had a gas build up in her intestinal track, it was so scary.

Her symptoms for those who are intersted:
-Pacing
-Paling gums (white to ashy color, ashy means you need help ASAP)
-Throwing up foam
-Labored breathing
-Looking for something to purge herself (when they are bloated, they want to throw up but can't)
-She was swollen out past her rib cage and her left side was bigger than her right

I wish I would have taken pictures, but I didn't think of it. She is staying overnight at the E Vet for IV Fluids and observation to make sure she doesn't twist over night. I will pick her up tomorrow morning and transfer her to my home vet where they will decide what steps to take next.

However, I'm so pissed off. For those Care Credit users who DON'T know, you can't just sign up for CC and keep it in your wallet for safe keeping. If you don't use it, they cancel it and they don't tell you. So, I have no idea how I'm going to pay for this. YES, my dogs have insurance, but because I had a $2,000 line of credit, I had their deductible set at $1,000 for a cheaper monthly payment. With my judgement that progressed to a wage/bank account garnishment, I'm so screwed. But, it is what it is.

Here are miss Kennedy's x rays where you can see how swollen she was.

Wow. I saw this late last night when I was going to bed. I'm so glad she is doing okay and that you caught it in the beginning. I watched a video not that long ago about bloat and talk about scary.

Keeping you guys in my thoughts until she is home!

Wow, that is really crazy! I'm so, so, so, glad to hear she is okay! Thank you for posting this as well. No wonder they have trouble breathing, her stomach looks like it's taking up most of her chest cavity. So, did she bloat because she gorged on the puppy food?

So happy to hear she will be ok. Poor girl, both you and her. Try not to stress too much, everything will turn out alright one way or the other.   

OMG, how horrifying. So glad you educated yourself and were able to catch it in time. Thanks for sharing as well, so we can all be aware. I'm so happy she's okay and wish her a swift recovery.

Glad to hear she is ok. Bloat really, really scares me - we had friends who were die hard Great Dane fans and one of theirs succumbed to bloat. As a kid, my Mom had one of her Old English Sheepdogs get out of his kennel and eat most of a large bag of Eukanuba over night. At the time, my dad said it was probably kidney failure from all the protein that killed him, but, from what I know now, it was most likely bloat...

I was reading a home veterinary book at Barnes and Noble - they gave instructions on how to make NG tube to relieve the gases in bloat if too far away for emergency vet care - next time I'm there, I'll get the name of the book.

I brought her back to our home vet, and she doesn't think it was due to over consumption. Based on what I think she might have eaten out of the bag, and her past history, Kennedy is at the vet for more IV fluids and blood work. Another $200 on top of the $700 :/..

She was alert this morning when I picked her up from the E Vet, still very large and uncomfortable, but more herself. Hopefully after today it will all be over :/.

Glad she is getting the care she needs, sorry this happened but im sure she will be fine soon.

Glad she's doing better! I've never experienced this before, but I'm definitely going to do some research now so I know the signs. I always try to not let Gus run around too much after eating as I know that can cause bloat. I was going to ask too if over-eating is what caused it, but i just saw that you mentioned it wasn't.

Update from the vet: she is doing well and acting more like herself!! She said the bloodwork came back perfectly normal as well, so she does think pared with her breakfast and what she ate if her dinner (bf said about half a cup) she overate.

For awhile I was soaking everyone's kibble because of the fact it does blow up inside, but I figure eh, they don't really need it.... Well, I'm going to back to soaking kibble lol. I'm glad it was something simple like this, but I want to chop the boyfriends head off since he WAS supposed to be watching them... But, I digress.

Kennedy will be under observation for the rest of the day, then she will be home with me!!!

I'm not sure how you have not taken your BF's head off yet! i yell at ken for simple things like making sure they go out to pee and how they REALLY do need 2 walks a day!
glad she will be home later with you.

Just a quick update: Kennedy is doing a whole lot better today. She is a lot more alert today and has engaged in play with Sheba. She no longer has diarrhea, she is looking less like a basketball, and she's doing great. A lot better then me lol, but she's doing great!

Great to hear!

Glad to here she is doing well. Tubing for bloat is not hard to learn, between the goats and cattle it's something both me and the wife have learned. Take heart, they have four chamber stomachs and can bloat in a quarter that can't be tubed, it needs to be popped with a tri core or knife, then it deflates like a big balloon and smells like a rotten fart!