Doc E

Gastric Volvulus goes by quite a few different names. Gastric Torsion, Twisted Gut being the most common. Do a websearch (like Google) with "Gastric Volvulus" as your search words. In Gastric Volvulus, the stomach twists 180 degrees or more around itself. It is an emergency (life threatening) situation and Emergency surgery is the only option. Usually the Vet will also staple the stomach to the inner rib cage in order to help prevent this from happening again.

It used to be thought that raising the dog's food and water bowls off the ground might help reduce the incidence rate -- but the latest word is that having them at ground level is better. Deep chested breeds Laarge or Giant breeds (particularly Great Danes and Labs) are particularly prone to this problem.