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Do your dogs have a history of bloat, or is the GD one of the breeds that is prone to this condition?There is no set cause of bloat. Some think its exercise before or after eating. Some think its from eating too much. Some think that elevated feeders will help, other think the exact opposite. Some think that feeding once a day is bad, others twice a day is bad.
My point is the only way to ensure that your dog will not bloat is to get a gastropexy done. This is a surgery where the stomach is tacked to the body wall so it wont torsion and bloat. I have done it on both of my danes and will always do it on future dogs.
That is so sad. :frown:1 in 4 Danes on average will bloat at least once in their lifetime. That is a bit high risk for me!
So if anyone is ever interested in getting a Dane, seriously consider getting this surgery done.
Depending on what technique is used, it can cost anywhere from $500-2000. The traditional belt loop technique is what I had done at work, for super cheap because I work there.
If a dog were to bloat, almost every time they will have to do the surgery anyways to save the dog or to keep the dog from bloating again. In emergency surgery you are looking at at least $4-8K in vet bills.
So the way I see it, doing the preventative surgery saves a lot of heartache that can quite possibly happen in the future. I have personally known more Danes than I can even count who have died from GVD. We had a foster dog die just the other week from it :frown: