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My puppy's stomach is bloated and hard after eating. Is it GDV?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | German Shepherd | Male | unneutered | 2 months and 11 days old | 18 lbs

My 10 week puppy got into my older dogs food, now his stomach is round and hard. But it’s been 4 hours at least and he is sleeping fine and has gone poop like 3 times. He is also drinking a lot of water but I try to give him small portions. This enlarged stomach has happened twice before.. once we took him to the vet because he ate a bunch of dog joint soft chews. The second occurrence he ate a bunch a cat food but resolved over night. Is dog food more likely to cause gdv?

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2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Tomasz Wnuk

Veterinarian

Published on June 18th, 2020

Hello and thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Stomach distension from eating too much food can be dangerous. As long as Harley is comfortable and does not show signs of weakness, panting, discomfort you can monitor him at home. However, if his abdomen becomes very bloated and your puppy becomes weak and subdued, you should take him to your local vets as an emergency. Dogs which are fed large meals once daily are at higher risk of developing GDV, so it will be better if Harley gets fed smaller meals twice a day.

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    Answered By Tomasz Wnuk

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    Just to add about feeding - puppies should be fed 4-5 times a day. Adult dogs should be fed 2 times a day. GDV does not happen to puppies, so you should not worry about that. However, severe bloat and stomach stretch from overfeeding is a real problem in pupps and should be avoided.

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