[Lisa G]

hi! I lost my old login data, and my email has changed, so I signed up for this forum again. Thank you for all the advice on when to spay my dog last year. We also had a gastropexy (attaching of stomach to abdomen wall) done at that time (my vet suggested 6 months).

This year, we have adopted a shelter puppy. She is 4.5 months old, mixed breed (but probably going to be about 80 lbs). She was spayed very young, as is shelter practice. I am wondering if anyone has a guideline as to what age would be best to have a gastropexy done on her, and if there are any negative sides to this procedure (besides, obviously, the danger of the anesthesia). Thanks!

[InkedMarie]

What’s the reason for getting gastroplexy done?

[Melissaandcrew]

HI Lisa G-

Both my female dobes had a gastropexy done at their spay as a preventative measure as well since it involved no major surgery since they were already in there. I did not do the male however, as it would have been an invasive extra procedure. Most of the time they do it at the 6mth with a spay, so guessing you can do it any time there after.

[Dori]

Sorry to sound ignorant but what is a gastropexy and what’s its purpose? None of my dogs have ever had this procedure done. Just curious.

[Lisa G]

Hi, Dori and InkedMarie… no such thing as an “ignorant” question. Gastropexy is when they suture the stomach of the dog to the abdomen wall. It is to prevent “bloat” or gastric torsion, or, it’s official name, gastric dilatation-volvulus (GDV). Torsion is when the dog’s stomach twists on itself, cutting off blood flow to various organs, causing the death of tissue, and it can be fatal. The reason I am so fanatical about this is because I’ve lost 3 dogs in my lifetime to this. By the looks of some of your pets (and how cute are they?!), I don’t think it is something for you to worry about! It mostly affects deep chested dogs, such as GSD, Labradors, Dobermans, Great Danes, etc. It is a swift acting disorder without any true cause pinpointed, from what I can gather. The gastropexy prevents the stomach being able to twist.

Mellisaandcrew, 2 of the 3 we lost were Dobies. 🙁 The third was a Chow. All males, btw. Yes, you have hit my conundrum. It would be an invasive procedure, since they spayed her so young (which would be another question altogether!). Is it worth putting her through that as a preventative measure? I need some outside advice because I know I am clearly coming from a biased perspective. I know she is going to be a large breed (I’d attach a picture if I knew how).

Thanks for the input!

[InkedMarie]

Hi Lisa,
I know what it is, I just personally hadn’t heard of doing it as a preventive. Makes sense, I think.

[Melissaandcrew]

Lisa..I can only answer what I would do. I lost a female dobe to bloat-a rescue-years ago. The females were tacked because they were already in there. I honestly think if I had lost three to it, I would be paranoid and do all my larger dogs regardless of whether or not they were male or female. However since she is a mix I might wait until 1 yr or so to see how she developes.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 7 months ago by Melissaandcrew.

[Melissaandcrew]

Inked Marie..its very common to tack large and giant breeds these days to attempt to prevent torsion. When done with a spay its inexpensive to do and well worth the extra effort as it just may be the extra step that saves your dog’s life. If I had danes or other giant breeds with a high incidence of bloat I would tack in a heartbeat even if I got him or her as an adult.

[InkedMarie]

Good to know, Melissa! I joke about wanting an Irish Wolfhound but doubt we will. We’re talking about going small!

[Dori]

Thanks so much Lisa for reply to my question and now I see why I’ve never heard of it. All my dogs have always been toys and small dogs. I’m a small woman (5′ 1″) so never would be able to handle a large or giant breed. The other reason is that I’m allergic to all animals so all my dogs have been small “hypoallergenic” types (hair as opposed to fur). I have, of course, heard of bloat in dogs with barrel type chests which sounds very very scary I just never knew that there was an actual procedure that could be done as a preventative. That’s excellent to know.

[Lisa G]

Thanks for all of the advice! Yes, paranoid I am, I admit it. I talked with my vet and she suggested 8mos. as the earliest. I will wait and see, Melissaandcrew (a side question to you… was the female you lost to bloat tacked?!). She has HUGE paws, and our veterinarian thinks she’ll be at least 80lbs. In the meantime, I am following all of the guidelines I can find: a special bowl to slow down “gulp eating”, not letting her have free access to all the water she can drink, no exercise an hour before or after eating, and the “raised bowl” issue… most seem to be coming down on the side of NOT using a raised bowl. Also, soaking her kibble and adding wet canned. This site was so helpful in choosing a puppy food.

Dori, I didn’t know about this procedure, either until we got our chocolate lab puppy last year and were ready to have her spayed. You can imagine how happy I was to hear about this preventative measure…I swear I was dancing around the vet’s office!

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