Proactive GDV risk assessment for high-risk breeds enables prevention planning that dramatically reduces the probability of this catastrophic welfare emergency.
GDV risk assessment converts what might seem like a remote possibility into a quantified, actionable welfare decision for high-risk individuals. A Great Dane owner told that their dog has a 40% lifetime GDV risk is in a very different decision-making position than one who thinks GDV is an unlikely possibility. Prophylactic gastropexy in the highest-risk individuals is a clear welfare investment — a planned surgical procedure under controlled conditions that prevents an emergency situation with high mortality and extreme suffering. The welfare comparison between prophylactic gastropexy and the alternative is not close for the highest-risk breeds.