Symptoms of Intestinal Torsion in Dogs

The main symptoms of intestinal torsion in dogs are: severe vomiting, abdominal pain, bloody stools, and abdominal masses. The vomiting usually occurs after eating, starting with small amounts of food and later becoming mucous foam. Intestinal torsion is more likely to occur in young dogs, especially when they have intestinal diseases such as canine distemper (intestinal type), parvovirus, and coronavirus. The most susceptible area is the junction of the ileum and the colon, where symptoms such as abdominal pain, abdominal tension, arching back, vomiting, refusal to drink and eat, dehydration, and bloody stools with mucous membranes appear.

Causes of Intestinal Torsion in Dogs

Intestinal torsion is more common in young dogs with a strong appetite. The main cause is excessive hunger leading to rapid eating, or due to low milk temperature, poor dog food quality, drinking cold water, etc., causing gastrointestinal stimulation, which makes it easy for intestinal torsion to occur. Additionally, it can also be a sequelae of infectious diseases such as canine distemper and canine parvovirus, and other diarrheal diseases.

How to Treat Dog Intestinal Torsion

The treatment of dog intestinal torsion depends on the severity of the condition. For mild cases of intestinal torsion, air enema repositioning or warm soap water enema repositioning can be attempted. If necessary, painkillers and anesthetics can be used, or the initial intestinal torsion can be allowed to resolve naturally. For severe cases, surgical repositioning is necessary. If the intussusception has been present for too long, causing congestion and necrosis of the intestinal tract, the affected intestinal tract must be resected and anastomosis performed.

Note: After surgery, dogs need to be fasting for 48 hours, and the required nutrition is supplemented through intravenous fluids. Then, slowly feed the dog some easily digestible foods. To control infection, antibiotics can also be used.