# tacking the stomach



## Pamela (Sep 9, 2008)

has anyone had their spoo's stomach tacked when spayed? I have beenreading about this as prevention for bloat?


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## snow0160 (Sep 20, 2016)

Yes I just had it done two weeks ago during Luckys neuter


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## snow0160 (Sep 20, 2016)

Did you have some questions about the procedure ? My vet said it was a smart thing to get it done with spay and neuter for spoos or in my case spoo mix.


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## zooeysmom (Jan 3, 2014)

Yep, did with Maizie and plan on doing it when I neuter Frosty.


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## snow0160 (Sep 20, 2016)

Actually I first got the idea from zm and my vet said she is a smart


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## Caddy (Nov 23, 2014)

Yes Pamela, I had it done to both Abbey and Dolly at the time of their spay. I decided better safe than sorry, and seeing as they are already having surgery it seemed like the right time.


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## ArreauStandardPoodle (Sep 1, 2009)

We recommend it to all of our puppy buyers. After experiencing bloat in my Mom's beloved silver heart dog, I cannot even stand the idea of one of my pup going through that agony. I'd too would rather be safe than sorry.


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## thekarens (Apr 16, 2017)

My understanding is it doesn't prevent bloat, just gives you time to get them to the vet to be treated. Is that right or did I misunderstand?


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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

It will not prevent bloat to have the stomach tacked. The dog can still bloat even with it tacked. What the surgery does do is prevent tortion, twisting of the stomach, thereby cutting off blood supply to the stomach.

Either way, bloat is horribly painful. Bloat can kill, with or without tortion. If the stomach blows up enough with air but does not twist it can cause enough pressure on arteries to the spleen and heart to put the dog into shock.

I had Iris who bloated at age 12 but without tortion. Her stomach was about 4 times it's normal size, full of air. She was treated with GasX, pain meds and anti anxiety meds, to keep her from sucking in more air. She recovered completely but it was horribly frightening. She lived to age 14 and never bloated again, but I always carried pain meds and GasX with me in case it happened again. When symptoms start you poke the pills down the dog and RUN, immediately, to the vet.

Poppy was spayed recently, she is nearly 15 months old and she was tacked, gastropexy, at the same time. She can still bloat, but her stomach can not twist. I still carry GasX and pain meds, just in case.

I have a friend who has lost 2 spoos to bloat and one spoo puppy to Parvo, and I NEVER want a dog to go through something like that again! It is horrendous to witness.


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## Caddy (Nov 23, 2014)

Good idea VQ, I'm going to start carrying gas X. What pain meds do you carry?


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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

Caddy said:


> Good idea VQ, I'm going to start carrying gas X. What pain meds do you carry?


I have some tramadol which was prescribed by the vet. I carry two of those and four of the GasX gel caps, they are individually packaged in a blister pac, so I just cut four off the sheet. Vet said to give one tramadol and two gasx and immediately head to the nearest emergency vet, or his office if during office hours.

When I traveled cross country with Iris I carried a bit more with me in case I was in the boonies and not near a vet. 

The night Iris bloated she was in horrible pain and just shaking all over. They gave her tramadol for pain, trazadone for anxiety and GasX to disburse the gas in her gut. The emergency vet sat on the floor of the cage with her arms around Iris, both of them wrapped in a blanket, and said she would not leave her until the pain was under control.....she kept her promise. I got my girl back the next morning.

We are blessed with wonderful vets in this town and we have a veterinary teaching hospitql at the university too.


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## Caddy (Nov 23, 2014)

Thanks VQ, I'm going to ask my vet for tramadol and I have gas X on hand, especially as we spend so much time at the lake during the summer. You definitely are blessed with your vet! Was Iris pron to burping or to be blunt farting, or not normally relieve gas? I find that Dolly is a burper, whereas Abbey relieves herself at the other end.


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## snow0160 (Sep 20, 2016)

Caddy said:


> Thanks VQ, I'm going to ask my vet for tramadol and I have gas X on hand, especially as we spend so much time at the lake during the summer. You definitely are blessed with your vet! Was Iris pron to burping or to be blunt farting, or not normally relieve gas? I find that Dolly is a burper, whereas Abbey relieves herself at the other end.




Omg Lucky has been burping a lot after the surgery. I saw that was a common side effect of gastropexy. I have not noticed any flatulence so maybe he is more like Dolly. I also had no idea that dogs take Trazedone. Hmm interesting. Is that for anxiety?


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## Caddy (Nov 23, 2014)

I didn't know burping was a side affect of a pexy, Dolly has always been a big burper. I much prefer the burping, lol.


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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

Caddy said:


> Thanks VQ, I'm going to ask my vet for tramadol and I have gas X on hand, especially as we spend so much time at the lake during the summer. You definitely are blessed with your vet! Was Iris pron to burping or to be blunt farting, or not normally relieve gas? I find that Dolly is a burper, whereas Abbey relieves herself at the other end.


Iris wasn't either a burper or a "tooter", oh, once in a while like we all do, but not noticably so. She was quite the lady, in every respect. She was not a food gulper either and always free fed, like Poppy does. She was a dainty eater and never spilled a drop of water either. She also seemed to rest a while after eating.

We think that she picked up on a lot of stress that was going on in the house at the time she bloated. We were living with my 95 year old Mom, I was her sole care giver and Mom had recently been put in hospice care at home. My sister and 4 other relatives had arrived for final visits with Mom a couple of days before this event. We also had nurses and other care givers coming and going at the time and oxygen providers, etc., a lot of things out of the ordinary going on. We went to bed just fine one night then the next morning my sister noticed that Iris could not settle or lie down. That began the adventure of the next 24 hours. Our first visit to the vet that morning did not result in a proper diagnosis and she seemed fine for several hours after we got home, then it all went south again very quickly so we rushed to the vets where more tests, xrays and the whole shebang revealed a diagnosis about 1 AM. By 9 AM she was pain free, deflated tummy and back home with me. We never had another episode. On the 16 th of this month, in a few days, it will be 1 year since I said goodbye to that dear soul. I have been thing a lot about that this week.


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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

snow0160 said:


> Omg Lucky has been burping a lot after the surgery. I saw that was a common side effect of gastropexy. I have not noticed any flatulence so maybe he is more like Dolly. I also had no idea that dogs take Trazedone. Hmm interesting. Is that for anxiety?


I have not seen any more burping or "tooting" with Poppy since her surgery.

Yes, the trazadone was for anxiety, so she wouldn't continue to suck in more air and bloat further. When in a lot of pain they can become very anxious. 

A friend's big red hound dog was also given trazadone and tramadol following a tramatic injury which required us to do painful twice daily bandage changes. We would dose him 1 hour before the bandage changes so he would be calm and fairly pain free as we worked on him. It was a very large open wound which could not be sutured....we packed it, per vet instructions, with manuka honey and rebandaged it to keep honey in and dirt out. The trazadone and tramadol allowed us to do those twice daily bandages changes with minimal discomfort to him. Moose was completely healed in 10 days. It was a miracle for a cut that was 10 inches long and an inch wide open. Could not have done it without the meds. On board.


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