We just bought a Great Dane puppy this weekend. We researched the breed heavily before hand, so we know the risks associated with owning a Dane. I'm terrified of bloat, and worse, that if it ever happened, we wouldn't have the cash to pay for the surgery.
Do you have pet insurance, and have you ever had to use it for an emergency situation?
Also, do you know the prevalence of bloat in Danes-i.e. what percentage of Danes will actually suffer an incidence of bloat?
We feed him 3x a day instead of twice like with our other dogs, but i'm still nervous about it.

Bloat is mostly caused by owners not taking care of their pets. Make sure to keep all of the food and water elevated so that way your Dane does not have to bend it's head down to far to eat. That should prevent most of the issues. I have a Great Dane, an English Mastiff, and a lab and many large dogs before that.

As far as the insurance is concerned if you don't think you could afford the surgury for an accident you can't afford the insurance. Use the money on the animal instead to help prevent any problems from happening, or start a savings account and deposit the money so if you ever do have an emergency at least you have something to fall back on.

Hi there, Mastiff mom here. I know the idea of Bloat is terrifying---it's pretty much my biggest worry with my Giant. The occurance of Bloat is actually pretty rare....I have never known anyone that has had a dog sticken with it, and most of the people I associate with own large to Giant breed dogs. The best we can do is take preventative measures and educate ourselves on symptoms and such.

Do we have health insurance for our Mastiff? No. After weighing the pros and cons we decided not to go for it, however it's not harmful for you to be cautious. I will tell you this: The insurance will not help you at the time the procedure needs to take place; in other words, you pay the entire fee for the emergency out of pocket at the time the hospital performs the procedure and then you're reimbursed a percentage of that fee. So, if you cannot afford the surgery to correct Bloat, having the insurance will not help. The insurance doesn't pay the vet, it pays YOU after YOU have paid the vet, and it is only a percentage of the total cost.

There are also a lot of procedures that the insurance will not cover, so to us it just wasn't worth it. We have an emergency account set up in case something like that happens. Take the $25 per month you would spend on insurance and create an account like that for yourselves in case something happens. Also, be careful with your Giant running and jumping while he's growing.....insurance doesn't often cover joint issues either!

I know the idea of Bloat is terrifying---it's pretty much my biggest worry with my Giant. The occurance of Bloat is actually pretty rare....I have never known anyone that has had a dog sticken with it, and most of the people I associate with own large to Giant breed dogs. The best we can do is take preventative measures and educate ourselves on symptoms and such.

Do we have health insurance for our Mastiff? No. After weighing the pros and cons we decided not to go for it, however it's not harmful for you to be cautious. I will tell you this: The insurance will not help you at the time the procedure needs to take place; in other words, you pay the entire fee for the emergency out of pocket at the time the hospital performs the procedure and then you're reimbursed a percentage of that fee. So, if you cannot afford the surgery to correct Bloat, having the insurance will not help. The insurance doesn't pay the vet, it pays YOU after YOU have paid the vet, and it is only a percentage of the total cost.