How can I tell if my dog has a twisted stomach or bloat (GDV)?

As long as she is acting ok you could monitor her for additional signs. If she starts retching, seems uncomfortable, starts drooling, is painful, or the distension persists then she should be examined by a vet. Your vet can take an X-ray to evaluate her abdomen and determine the exact cause of her problem.

Typically you are going to have a sick dog on your hands that will be panting, vomiting, lethargic, etc. The only way to confirm this though would be with abdominal x-rays. If you are concerned about this, I would recommend having a veterinarian examine Gremlin so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Wrigley. I recommend that you seek emergency veterinary care for him immediately. Non-productive retching (ie. trying to vomit without bringing anything up) can be a sign of a life threatening emergency. This can occur in cases of GDV (where the stomach enlarges and twists). In this case, his belly may be large or firm to your touch. Pacing tends to indicate pain and anxiety. His breed is prone to this condition. While there could be other causes of his symptoms, this is my concern. I hope this information helps. Good luck!

These signs may be compatible with a bloat and gastric torsion, even though now there are none showing (they can restart again). I would recommend an immediate check up as this disease represents an emergency and can lead to fatal consequences.

For some reason the x-ray did not post to your question. Bloat with volvulus (turning of the stomach) causes massive vomiting, decreased appetite, lack of proper stool, and also shows up pretty clearly on an x-ray, so please try to repost this to verify. In some cases the pets stomach can be untwisted without surgery. However, I would still consider having the surgery to tack her stomach in the near future to prevent her stomach from twisting again. We look forward to hearing back from you soon! Take care.

If Duchess has GDV, she could have passed away by now. A GDV is a medical emergency, and it is fatal without immediate treatment. It is concerning that she has a bloated stomach that has been occurring for a couple of weeks now. I would take her into a vet this weekend to have it checked out. Best of luck.

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! The symptoms you are describing sound like an emergency. The description of heavy breathing, retching, and contracting abdomen sound like the symptoms of a gastric dilatation/volvulus, or bloat. This happens when the stomach is filled with air and can even twist on itself and is more common in large breed dogs. The condition is extremely uncomfortable, and requires immediate stabilization and possibly surgery. This can be life-threatening and requires immediate veterinary care, especially if there is torsion. I recommend getting your dog to the vet as soon as possible. There are 24-hour emergency clinics in most cities that are open overnight and will be able to stabilize your dog.