Health
Gastric dilatation-volvulus
The stomach fills with gas and then twists on itself, cutting off its own blood supply — a deep-chested dog's most urgent emergency.
Dilatation is the stomach swelling. Volvulus is the twist, and it is the twist that kills: once the stomach rotates, gas cannot escape at either end and the blood supply to the stomach wall is strangled. A dog can go from restless to collapsed in a couple of hours.
The picture to know is a deep-chested dog pacing, drooling, retching without bringing anything up, and swelling behind the ribs. That is a drive-to-the-vet-now situation rather than a wait-and-see one. Some owners of high-risk breeds elect a preventive gastropexy, which tacks the stomach in place so it can distend but not rotate.
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