Should my dog get a gastropexy during spay to prevent bloat?

This is not a procedure I am familiar with but many great danes do undergo a procedure to tack the stomach to try to reduce the risk of bloat and torsion. I recommend you discuss this with your vet at her next wellness/vaccination visit

Hello, Ivan’s breed is highly predisposed to gastric dilatation volvulus or a twisted stomach which is life threatening. Tacking the stomach is a life saving prophylactic measure. I strongly support this recommendation.

Unfortunately I'm not aware of anything preventative for osteosarcoma. It does seem to run in certain lines, so you could ask if your breeder knows if there are any dogs who have developed osteosarcoma in your potential puppy's line. A prophylactic gastropexy would be a good idea - I often recommend performing the procedure at the time of spay or neuter.

Seven isn't too old for surgery, there are dogs who have successful surgery that are even older than Penny. You can have a gastopexy done on her. There are the typically risks of surgery such as infection, excessive bleeding, and in rare cases, death. Your vet can explain the risks to you. Before doing surgery, I strongly recommend having blood work and a urinalysis done to make sure that everything is functioning normally. I hope this helps!

I think the gastropexy is a good idea. Bloat is very serious, and quite deadly, and dogs can die from it even if they get treatment. Since he's under anesthesia already, you might as well have it done to protect Cooper. While the cone of shame sucks, it's only two weeks. It's the best thing to protect his incision.

Hello. It is nice that you are looking into the risks for Chiquita so you can make sure to decrease the risk chances as much as possible. Size itself is not a reason to not spay an animal. There is no increased risk due to her size, as the drugs and medications and equipment that vet clinics have can easily handle a Great Dane. In terms of carrying her head when they move her, this is a precaution that should be taken in EVERY breed, and one that I would expect most clinics to adhere by. When animals are under anaesthetic they do not have the muscle tone to protect their necks. It is unlikely that even if the head were to 'dangle' it would cause a problem, but the precaution is taken in every animal, more to ensure the tube that she will have to breathe doesn't get misplaced than for her neck. Some Great Danes can have "Wobbler's Disease" which is an instability in the vertebrae in their neck, so for this reason extra care is taken to not exacerbate this. To decrease her risk further I would discuss with your vet about pre-operative bloodwork, ensure she has IV fluids during surgery, and good monitoring (heart rate, blood pressure, SPO2, etc.). I would recommend spaying her as the risks of not-spaying her out-weigh the risks of anaesthetic complications.

You can have a preventative surgery called a gatropexy to prevent against bloat. This sutures the wall of the stomach to the wall of the thorax to prevent it from twisting. Don't use an elevated bowl to feed Mazikeen. Do not exercise until an hour after eating, and do not feed her for an hour after exercising. Feed her at least twice a day. As for joints, when she is a year old, you can start giving her supplement like Dausquin or Cosequin.