We have had "Chairman" a Saint Bernard for 4 years, since he was a pup. He's a big dog weighing in at between 65kgs - 70kgs. Chairman is a gentle giant, although he will stand his ground if threatened - otherwise he enjoys when smaller dogs jump on him and try to bite his ears, so he is quite patient. He however prefers human interaction as long as you can put up with a bit of slobber.
Chairman's past injuries relate to him swallowing tennis balls. Given his size he has no trouble in doing this so he is usually on the lead at the park or wearing a mouth guard to prevent him picking up tennis balls and swallowing them. He has swallowed 4 and a half tennis balls so far, however only one needed an operation as it went as far as the small intestine and couldn't be extracted through his mouth and throat.
Without Petplan, extracting the balls would have been significantly more expensive, so we're grateful to have pet insurance. Our vet tells us it's not out of character for Chairman to swallow tennis balls, but now we are aware we take precautions so he doesn't do it anymore, including additional training.
Chairman has recovered well after surgery - the vet and hospital staff did a fantastic job!
