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Hazel had her first vet appt with us.

jaupro

Active Member
she had her first vet appt with us. We decided to go through banfield because of how often mastiff puppies need to go to the vet. She weighs a wonderful 73lbs at 25 weeks of age. Got 4 vaccines and a fecal exam also had heartworm test which was negative. And my question for you guys tho is they mentioned stapling the stomach to the walls because large breed dogs can have full stomachs roll around and their stomachs twist. This would cost us like 250...any opinions on the stomach thing?
 

spiderbitten

Well-Known Member
Honestly? I've had large breed dogs all my life, and I've never heard of stapling the stomach as a preventative measure before, but I freely admit I don't know everything. :) Bloat is dangerous, but there are things you can do to prevent it without surgery.

I do remember someone on this board mentioning how terrible Banfield was, though, but I'm not sure of the particulars.
 

jaupro

Active Member
as far as banfield being terrible that is on person's experience but they have seemed ok to me. I'm not vet expert but I mean I imagine the quality of the vet working depends solely on the individual and little with the company. The vet seems good. And its in our price range. 21.95/mo free office calls whenever. free histerectomy. Free vaccines.
 

Mongo

Well-Known Member
ok I know this is "my opinion.... but the reason Banfield is mentioning stapling the stomach is because they are just in it for the money! They will mention all different kinds of stuff that is not necessary just to get you to spend money.... you should definitely do your research about tummy stapling before deciding!

Stomach stapling is something done in Great Danes for Bloat.... which is controversial also....

If you are going to stay with Banfield.... PLEASE do you research ANY time your vet recommends something!
 

anyeone

Active Member
she had her first vet appt with us. We decided to go through banfield because of how often mastiff puppies need to go to the vet. She weighs a wonderful 73lbs at 25 weeks of age. Got 4 vaccines and a fecal exam also had heartworm test which was negative. And my question for you guys tho is they mentioned stapling the stomach to the walls because large breed dogs can have full stomachs roll around and their stomachs twist. This would cost us like 250...any opinions on the stomach thing?

I think you are far better off putting your money into a high quality, corn-free food and feeding reasonable quantities at a time (no more than 2c.) with a raised bowl (i.e. not flat on the ground) rather than putting the dog through a surgery such as that.

Just my 0.02c...
 

VegasGirl

Active Member
Personally I'm not a fan of Banfield, they are notorious for recommending unnecessary procedures and their doctors have monthly quotas they must meet. If you take good care of your dog then they shouldn't have to visit the vet for anything more than spay/neuter and routine care, no matter what Banfield is telling you.
 

jaupro

Active Member
banfield isn't telling me anything. My vet book is telling me she needs to go every 15 days. But I won't acceot anything further they offer w/o research. I did pre-treat before the vaccines. Do you guys recommend this?

also what food do you recommend? We have her on Iams large breed. The one petstore said to get natural balnce but I was hoping for a cheaper alternative.
 

spiderbitten

Well-Known Member
Every fifteen days to the vet? That doesn't sound right at all. A healthy dog should really only need to go the vet for annual check-ups and vaccinations - twice a month is seriously overkill.

As far as food goes, you're not going to find a cheap, high-quality food. :) Anything I would recommend is comparable to or more expensive than Natural Balance. I did have my guys on Taste of the Wild for awhile, and I would consider it fairly inexpensive at $41.99 for a 30 lb bag. For three dogs at about 100 lbs each, it lasted for two weeks, so I imagine it would last three or more for one big dog.

While raw isn't really an option for me right now, that would be my first choice. I have heard that with some effort, it can be quite inexpensive.

Other food brands I like are Ivo Red Meat (but one of my guys just wouldn't stop getting diarrhea on it, so we had to move on), Innova, California Natural, and Orijen (but that's very expensive!). Good luck with whatever you decide!
 

jaupro

Active Member
well the mastiff book was saying every 15 days just while she is a puppy since mastiffs have sooo many growth spurts. That way the vet can monitor her growth.
 

Mongo

Well-Known Member
banfield isn't telling me anything. My vet book is telling me she needs to go every 15 days. But I won't acceot anything further they offer w/o research. I did pre-treat before the vaccines. Do you guys recommend this?

In your original post you mentioned that your Banfield vet recommended a very unneccesary surgery... that is why your getting several post with our opinions!

If your thinking about taking her to the vet every 15 days then you shouldnt be worried about trying to find a "cheap" dog food. Just like you said mastiffs have so many growth spurts, so you should be trying to find a very HIGH quality food. One with more protien than grain.
 
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jaupro

Active Member
I'm not trying to be argumentive. I'm just further explaining myself. Every 15 days isn't expensive. The office calls are free cause I'm signed up on a plan.
 

Jasmine

Well-Known Member
It's just unnecessary to go to the vet every 15 days if there is nothing wrong with your dog but you can do what you want.

I feed mine Innova.
 

jaupro

Active Member
I understand what ur saying with only once a year. All I'm saying is I bought this book book all about mastiffs written by mastiff breeders and they said every 15 days as puppies. Don't really need any meds or anything but just check weight and bones and muscles make sure everything is growing right. Just going by what my book says
 

Mongo

Well-Known Member
Ok we are not trying to argue with you... we are simply telling you that it is NOT neccesary... so if you would like you can, but you dont have to!
 

Miakoda

Well-Known Member
As a vet tech, I would not recommend that surgery "just because". While there is no one definite cause for gastric torsion, aka bloat, there are many things you can do to try and prevent it from ever occurring:

-feed smaller portions 2-3 times a day versus one large meal a day
-limit water intake during and after feeding
-do not feed at least a minimum of an hour before or after exercise--make sure dog is completely cooled down after exercise
*raised food bowls are their own source of controversy as some say raised bowls aid in the prevention of bloat and others say it is a cause, but I feed my large-breed dogs via a food stand

If this were my dog, I would not do such a risky surgery on a dog that may never suffer from bloat. Instead, I would research what it is, what causes it, and follow the preventative measures.

And definitely go with a better food than one in where the main ingredient is corn....an ingredient hardly digested by dogs.

Good luck with your pup!
 

Renee

Well-Known Member
Miakoda's nailed it.

I raised all my Filas on Innova while they were puppies, and switched to EVO RM as soon as they were old enough. Proper Filas, admittedly, once they're grown don't eat nearly as much as most large dogs. Kharma, at 145-150 lbs, eats about 3.5 cups of EVO RM per day.