Yr old GSD is turning on my disabled wife. Don’t know what to do! Questions

So glad that things are working out for you all. Onward and upwards x

I think I should change my subject line. It’s not even remotely relevant anymore. We’ve taught max the house is a calm place and his cage is his happy place.
Oh, yeah...”change my subject line”.... I can’t figure out how to do it. I’m not even sure if I’m typing in the right place now.
When I was little, I remember getting a “Party Line”. I’ve been confused ever since.

Go to Dog Forum.
Go to your breed initial letter - suggest G as I think you now think he is a GSD.
Select German Shepherd Dog.
Back to top right, click Start New Thread. Select the and type in your title.
It will ask for a category - I usually pick General.
Easier than it sounds!

We were nine-years-old before we got a telephone line, and we had to share it with three other families. "Party Line?" It was a nightmare!

Maybe the Mods can help you change the title of this thread and put it under GSDs if that is what you want. Gareth @BronsonTheBulldog has a long going thread which he started even before he got Mr Bronson - and it is not only about his dog but all sorts of things. So maybe you would like to keep your thread like that?

But whatever you decide, please do not worry as we always see your posts wherever they are, because this is your thread Don, and Max is one of our Breedia dogs and it is a pleasure to read how he is getting on.

Rats. I tried to make a thread. Then I sent a “test”. I don’t see or find it.
Dog Forum—GSD—-test—-disappeared.

I just saw Malka’s messages. If this is my thread, will it always have the same label???

Yes and your thread with the test message is also on the threads too

To anybody:
Okay....I guess this is what is called “Social Media”..Never having used any Social Media’s...I don’t understand any of this thread business......I’ll keep trying. Maybe I’ll figure it out.
I have a question about something scary my Vet wants to do to my GSD. I don’t know where to ask about it. Do I have to find one of these thread things entitled GSD Surgeries? GSD health? Or what?
Thanks

Just ask here

Don, just post here and ask what you want to know. Because we all see your posts so will always see your questions.

And if I can not help, which mostly I can not, there are many Breedia members who do know and who will be able to give you advice.

Just keep posting - you know that we are always here for you. And for Max.

And we always be here for you.

Juli

Thank you—
Max is strangely built. His rib cage, vertically, is huge. His vet says he is a perfect candidate for bloat.
I don’t let him do anything physical for two hours after he eats. That’s supposed to allow his food to move into his intestines. His trainer thought this would take care of it. His vet, although, suggested doing some prophylactic endoscopic surgery to secure his stomach and prevent bloat from ever happening.
Has anyone had experience with this bloat prevention surgery? Would anyone have the surgery done? Especially on a GSD.....

I have heard of this type of surgery, or similar. I have Akitas, which are also a breed who can get bloat. I had a breeder (not the one I got my dogs from) suggest it, and he described it as stapling the stomach to the ribs to keep it from flipping.

I have a friend who had an Akita that got bloat and they barely got the dog to the emergency vet in time. It was a $5000 surgery to save his life. Not really relevant to this conversation but this same dog had previously torn his knee and had a $5000 operation for that as well. So he was one expensive dog...

If the vet is concerned about it, depending on the cost and how invasive the surgery is, it may be worth considering. I know that’s a wishy washy answer, but ultimately the decision is yours. Hopefully someone else will come along with something more decisive.

Thanks: I may be catching on to this thread thing. Yes, that’s that’s the procedure. Kind of scary either way.

See how his stomach angles up to his chest? The vet says he is very susceptible to bloat. I am careful with food and exercise, so I’m not in a big hurry to make up my mind.

First of all that is a lovely picture of Max. To me he does not look like an odd shape but them I do not know anything about the breed and what shape he should look like. I see a deep chest and a high tuck - which shows he is not overweight or underweight.

Now. Who are you going to trust? Your vet or your trainer? Who knows Max the best. And I suppose the next question will be do you have insurance for Max, and if not, could you afford the procedure.

And that is something that confuses me. Endoscopic examination and biopsies are done through the mouth. Been there, done that, got the teeshirts. But in order to do something like stapling Max's stomach to his ribs to keep it from flipping would need laparoscopic [keyhole] surgery. So either your vet has used an incorrect word, or has possibly given you incorrect information.

Back to the original - I would trust your trainer more than your vet. I would also find another vet,

Many years ago I lost a young Gsd to bloat,I had followed all the guidelines given, and it happened at 11 in the evening, I knew the signs so rushed him to the vets.
It’s a long story but the emergency vet would not believe me that it was bloat, did not operate and sent me off to "find someone" early next morning, and I lost him.

If you ask around, you will get totally conflicting advice on this and each person that you talk to will say they swear by their method as it works for them. When you dig deep into actual scientific research on this you won't really find anything definitive, there was research done out of Purdue a number of years ago and all they found was elevating the food dish might increase the risk of bloating, yet there are a lot of people that swear by raising the dish. There isn't any evidence that wet food, dry food, water drinking, or anything really affects it, it is just a crap chance as to who is going to bloat and who isn't.

Personally if it was my dog I would seek a second opinion before making a decision, and ask the surgeon how many of these procedures they have done, and the success rate.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do.


A few links that may help.
http://www.akcchf.org/canine-health...ing-for-your-dog/prophylactic-gastropexy.html

First Aid for Bloat
http://www.dachshund.org/bloat_instructions.html

http://www.globalspan.net/bloat.htm

I am so glad you posted Vee @GsdSlave because you know so much more than I do.

I hope Don sees your post because you know more about bloat than I never will. But your story about an emergency vet not believing you makes me even sure that Don needs a vet who listens, understands, and knows the difference between endoscopic and laparoscopic [keyhole] surgery. Two totally different things. I have had both and trust me, I do know the difference. So either his vet has used an incorrect word, or has possibly given him incorrect information.

And just sees Don and Max and sees $$$$$$$

I’m an idiot. Used the wrong word. LAPAROSCOPY is what I was trying to say.
I don’t think I could be trusted as a physician.
I’ve done some research. His breed and other larger dogs are susceptible. I’m sort of leaning towards doing it.

I thought you must have meant laparoscopy - but it is keyhole surgery, not major surgery and it was not the end of the world when I had one and I was out of hospital the next day.

And you are not an idiot - I mix up words so may times these days!

I do not know if what your vet intended will stop Max from possible bloat in the future, because I do not know anything about large dogs and bloat etc. But. If you trust your vet and you trust your K9 trainer... I think I would go by their advice.

I have had German shepherds over many decades and only had one dog bloat.
It’s all down to personal choice, personally I would not have my dog’s stomach stapled and surgery done simply because they are Gsds. If there was someway to find out that my dog would have an almost definite chance of bloating, perhaps I'd go ahead with the Surgery, but not as a routine thing because of the breed.

But at the end of the day its your dog/ your choice.