Eating disorders

Let's continue the discussion of the previous page by detailing other food-borne disorders of our dog:

• Dilation - Torsion is one of the most serious diseases of the dog and one of the most frequent surgical emergencies. Its course is rapid and its existence is often lethal. The syndrome is also known as GDV, an English acronym for Gastric Dilatation and Volvulus.

  The dilation-torsion syndrome is caused by the rapid and abnormal dilation of the stomach caused by an accumulation of gas; in the event that in this phase the stomach rotates on itself it causes a throttling and blockage of the gastric outflow. The result is an ever decreasing flow of blood to the various organs including liver, intestine, pylorus, spleen and a shock that culminates in death. The causes are not well known but the risk factors are certainly evident:

  1. The dog's medium-large and large size, dogs with a deep chest

  2. The habit of a single meal

  3. Physical activity immediately before or after a meal

  4. The ability to access drinking water without any limit

  5. Certain types of food such as puffed rice or flaked cereals

  6. A sharp change in diet.

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  Food allergies and / o food intolerances , uncommon diseases caused by an excessive reaction of the organism towards one or more foods. It appears at any age although it usually affects very young people or the elderly. It occurs when the dog has eaten for years.

  The most common symptom is itching; other symptoms dermatitis or pyoderma and sometimes diarrhea. The most allergenic foods are beef, dairy products, poultry, eggs and wheat.

• Food poisoning : there are foods that are harmless to humans but lethal to dogs such as chocolate.

  Even a single dark chocolate can cause the death of a small dog! Other foods reported are avocado, milk, all sausages, unripe tomatoes, aubergines.

  There are also potentially toxic plants: oleander, ivy, azalea, star of christmas, tulip and tobacco.