The Joys of Owning a Large Breed Dog

When I first moved to Nova Scotia I decided to get my first dog. I had always had cats growing up so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I knew I didn’t want a high energy dog so I set out looking for a large breed dog. My top three picks were Newfoundland, Leonberger or Saint Bernard. Go big or go home right? I ended up choosing a sweet Saint Bernard puppy from a family up in Amherst. The moment she was put in my arms it was love at first sight. Her name is Sophie and she celebrated her fifth birthday with me this past June.

What I have learned over the years with owning a large breed dog is “bigger dog, bigger bills”. Currently she eats six cups of food per day. She goes through a large bag of food approximately every month and the cost is around $100. Larger dogs also have a higher risk for certain issues like joint problems and GDV. With joint issues you can add a supplement, such as glucosamine or chondroitin into their food or feed them a high quality veterinary diet which includes these supplements. GDV (gastric dilatation-volvulus), commonly known as bloat, is the twisting of the stomach which occurs mainly in deep chested dogs and can be fatal. One thing I did for Sophie to reduce her risk of this was have a gastropexy done at the time of her spay; Gastropexy is a procedure in which the stomach is attached to the abdominal wall so it is unable to twist. This was an added cost to her spay but eased my mind about this issue happening in the future.

Some of the main things to consider when adopting a large breed dog are as follows:

• Everything is more expensive (food, collars, toys, medications)
• Everything is bigger (drool, shedding, poop)

Though they tend to be more work or more money or both, I can promise you, you will get a loyal, family orientated gentle giant that will steal your heart…and your bed!

Written by Kimberly Rol, VA DVH