preventative stomach flipping surgery - Page 3

Bhaugh,
Research has shown that it is a wise move for a working dog.  It is routinely done on MWD's and most of the ones I see are Mali's, DS or mixes lately.  It is not a GSD or deep chested dog like a Great Dane only procedure, many mali's are not really deep chested.  It is about preventing the stomach from flipping and an ounce of prevention is often worth a pound of cure. I will have this done on my next dog (s) for sure and I already take many precautions daily to avoid bloat.  I have also lost a GSD to bloat and it is a horrible situation.  There are few things that will kill a dog faster than bloat and it is a true medical emergency.  One more precaution wont hurt.

I also know vets that do this procedure on females that they intend to work and breed, it is not just a procedure that is done at time of spaying.  

JMO FWIW

How come dogs aren't born with their stomaches attached to the abdominal wall? Wonder if wolves do, 'cause if bloat is as common with wolves as it is with some demographics of dogs, wolves would be extinct....unless there are vets out there in the woods tacking stomachs all over the place :-/

My parents just lost there 3 year old Masti/Dane, Buddy, two weeks ago from bloat/torsion..They were advised to staple when he was neutered and opted not to..

While I was working my parents called my home concerned about the symptoms Buddy was presenting with. I had tried in the past to educate them about the condition, but people never think it will happen to them. My children immediately told them that it sounded like bloat. My family has been drilled about the signs and symptoms of bloat and the protocol if this should happen with Prince when I am not home.

It was too late once the vet arrived and they were advised to put him down to relieve his suffering and Buddy died in my mothers arms..

The vet said, "Didn't my staff tell you to have this procedure done when you neutered him".....A hard lesson to learn.

My parents are suffering much regret, sorrow, and guilt...My husband was there at the end and said it was obvious Buddy had suffered at great deal...

Buddy was a kind, gentle and loving soul!!..RIP..

  

 

Poor Ruger, poor Buddy. Sorry for your loss.  Your kids sound really clued up, though.

Joan, I agree;  don't think its as likely with wolves because of their more natural 'gorge then fast' feeding schedule.
However, your point is well made.

Must try to discover whether there is any proportionate decrease in cases of Bloat in the US where this op is being
recommended as a prophylactic, and the UK where as far as I'm aware it 's still only used when the dogs have had
an attack ...

@hund, i dont know if u said i was in US. i am not.......
 I am in GERMANY where the US MILITARY working dogs deploy from and come back to when they get hurt. i took my puppy in when i got her, to that same vet, since i live on base, its far cheaper then going on the german economy, and i dont have to worry bout lang barriers either.........they reccomended Speying and tacking, they said that they spey and tack ALL of the working dogs, she said that since i was thinking of possibly breeding her that i should do some more research, she have never done one to a dog not being fixed, as the abdomin may not have the natural movement needed with pregnancy, and since the dog is under anyway they just go through the same whole and do it.........i was thinking bout getting my male done since it can safe his life and will only cost me $300. she did advise me that their r some small things u can do like, make dog eat on floor, unless its old with athritis (no raised bowls) and dont let the dog, play hard for 30 minutes after eating.

SupaK  - yeah, I got where you are stationed at present, not sure everyone has picked up on that ;)

Seems to me that if you are waiting to see how your young bitch comes out on hips n elbows, you'll
want to take the vets advice NOT to go for 'tacking' at this stage 'cos you aren't getting the spay
done at the same time.  As bitches esp smaller build ones don't get bloat quite so often, generally,
the odds are pretty good if you leave her 'untacked' for now.

However, if down the line her hips eg are not good enough to risk breeding her, and you want to get
her speyed then, well if the offer of a cheaper tack at that same time is still available, snatch the vets
hand off !!

And for a male it would seem there are definite benefits to getting him tacked,  you'll still need to be
prepared to be able to keep which everdog fairly calm and quiet for a few days after the op;  and the
younger the dog, the harder that WILL be.  Good luck, whatever you end up doing.

thx @ hund, thats what i was thinking, and if my female doesnt end up being breed worthy ill tack her 2 but ill wait and c

As an aside, I know of a kennel here in the USA that does prophylactic tacking on all their dogs,  It's not something I would prefer to do unless the vet was in there for some reason already.

Putting my dogs under makes me really, really nervous.  I was a wreck when my boy was put under to repair a (very large) aural hematoma.

i kinda feel you on that

Last year I opted to tack my 9 year old gsd female.  She had bloated 5 x in 3 years.  Stomach never flipped but figured it was just a matter of time.  My previous female bloated and twisted once.  I was able to get her to the vet quickly and she was fine after surgery.  I will be tacking my other two females as well in the near future.

Cheryl