Bloat (GDV) in Dogs: A True Emergency Every Owner Should Recognise

Gastric dilatation-volvulus (GDV), commonly called bloat, occurs when the stomach fills with gas and then twists on itself, trapping the gas and cutting off blood supply to the stomach wall and, often, the spleen. Once the twist happens, the condition progresses rapidly to shock and can be fatal within hours without emergency surgery — this is not a condition that can be managed at home or waited out.

It is most common in large and giant deep-chested breeds such as Great Danes, German Shepherds, Standard Poodles and Weimaraners, though it can occur in other dogs. Risk factors thought to contribute include eating rapidly, a single large daily meal, exercising heavily around mealtimes, and a family history of the condition, though bloat can occur without any of these being present.

This is one of the few situations where minutes genuinely matter. Any combination of these signs in a dog, especially a large deep-chested breed, warrants emergency veterinary attention immediately — do not wait to see if it passes.

Emergency treatment involves stabilising the dog for shock, decompressing the stomach, and surgically untwisting it, usually along with a gastropexy to stitch the stomach in place and greatly reduce the chance of recurrence. Survival rates are meaningfully better the sooner surgery happens, which is why any suspicion of bloat should mean heading straight to a vet or emergency clinic rather than monitoring at home.

None of these measures guarantee prevention, but vets commonly recommend feeding two or more smaller meals a day rather than one large one, avoiding vigorous exercise for a period before and after eating, using slow-feed bowls for dogs that gulp their food, and discussing preventive gastropexy with a vet for at-risk breeds, sometimes performed at the same time as neutering.