# Heritability of Bloat and Breeding- anything new?



## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

Welcome to Poodle Forum! This is an interesting and important topic, and I hope one of our knowledgable members weighs in.


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## Liz (Oct 2, 2010)

You're smart to research this, as standard poodles are one of the breeds hardest hit by GDV. Unfortunately, the causes are still unclear, and the Purdue and Tufts research has been shredded. I don't think you can find a lineage that has never had an occurrence of GDV, so most pet owners opt for a gastropexy at the time of spay/neuter. In the future the AKC's Bloat Initiative might have more info.


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## Theo (May 12, 2021)

Liz said:


> You're smart to research this, as standard poodles are one of the breeds hardest hit by GDV. Unfortunately, the causes are still unclear, and the Purdue and Tufts research has been shredded. I don't think you can find a lineage that has never had an occurrence of GDV, so most pet owners opt for a gastropexy at the time of spay/neuter. In the future the AKC's Bloat Initiative might have more info.


Thanks for the info. Was the early research not robust? Poorly set up? I had a look at the Bloat Initiative site. Looks like there has been some funding for this question . Hope it leads to some better knowledge.


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## Liz (Oct 2, 2010)

The Purdue study has too many flaws to list; let's call it "poor design." IIRC the Tufts work was just too early to draw conclusions from. Their website is curiously empty since 2016 but the two articles posted highlight just how much we don't know about bloat.

Here's a sticky under Poodle Health started by a breeder who lost her foundation dog to bloat. And just for fun, here's me 10 years ago asking about the Purdue study. My childhood standard poodle died from bloat at age 5.5 years, so I was especially keen to keep my current dog safe and had her pexied when she was spayed. At the time, it was cutting edge for vets to recommend prophylactic gastropexy based on breed, but it's now widespread. My dog's sire died of bloat just a few years ago.

Yes, I hope their research pays off, and I hope breed clubs are willing to adapt their breed standards, if needed. In the meantime, the tools we have are stress management and gastropexy.


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## Theo (May 12, 2021)

I should have found the studies and read through their methods etc. That’s funny you asking the same ? 10 years ago.... and yet here we still are! I think it will be interesting if the gastric motility studies come up with something. If there is a genetic dysmotility link then gastripexy would only be a partial solution- prevent the volvulus but not delayed emptying ( but that might provide enough time) . I still wonder- if there is a close familial link should the dog be bred?


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## Liz (Oct 2, 2010)

The Tufts research seems to focus on the genetics of bloat, but there are so many potential lifestyle factors that you can't control for. FWIW breeders haven't noticed a familial link. The only risk factors we know are breed and stress. The only preventatives we have are gastropexy and Gas-X lozenges to give you time to get to the vet before volvulus.


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## EpicQuestPoodles (Apr 29, 2021)

I know that one of my bitches sire line has a history of bloat. He bloated, one of the litter-mates bloated - but as far as I know none of her half siblings from the same dam have bloated. So I'm thinking it's sire line.


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