To Spay or not to spay....

[rosey442]

My little Molly is 7 months old now and weighs 3.8 lbs. After reading so many (at least it seems like a lot to me) posts lately concerning these little girls succumbing to a so called common procedure either during the surgery (perhaps anesthesia allergies? Over dosing anesthesia?) or not long after. Because of this, I am really scared to have her done. Instead of worrying about her going into heat (I'll just have to get her cute little panties to wear), I am really reconsidering whether to wait until she's well over a year, or perhaps, never. I was considering having her spayed this coming month. I am now really scared to have her spayed. Do others feel this way, or am I just being too overly concerned?

[SweetViolet]

I think you speak for many of us. The pro-early spay lobby is very strong, but I have always felt that non-essential invasive surgeries should be postponed until the dog is mature...at least a year old.

I know that early spay reduces the chances of some cancers but that, to me, is not a sufficient reason. I don't think the incidence of these cancers is high enough in dogs to warrant the risk of anaesthesia and surgery on these toy dogs when they are just puppies. Pyometra is a concern, but waiting until the dog is more than a year old is unlikely to have any deleterious effects.

We are not going to have Puddin' spayed during puppyhood. If she develops well enough to be a good candidate for breeding, then she'll be spayed after we are done breeding her; if she is not suitable for breeding, then she'll be spayed, but not before she is at least a year old.

[Lucia]

I had Twinkle spayed at 6 months. I posted a similar question to yours beforehand and read everyone's opinions and experiences. In the end I was swayed by the 'elimination of cancers' argument......also Twinkle was 8lb by then, and I'd read that being larger lowered the risks of surgery-related problems. I think the arguments for and against both raise good points and in the end you have to do what you feel is best for your furbaby. Good luck with your decision xxx xxx

[Princes mom]

Oh my, what a heavy decision you have to make. Continue to do your research so you can make the right choice for your baby. I have a boy, but if I had a girl, I would probably wait until she was at least a year or older.

[bildio]

I'm in favor of neutering, at the proper time, but for the right reasons.

I recommend reading the following article as part of your research.

http://www.naiaonline.org/pdfs/LongT...uterInDogs.pdf

[Misti1]

Originally Posted by rosey442

My little Molly is 7 months old now and weighs 3.8 lbs. After reading so many (at least it seems like a lot to me) posts lately concerning these little girls succumbing to a so called common procedure either during the surgery (perhaps anesthesia allergies? Over dosing anesthesia?) or not long after. Because of this, I am really scared to have her done. Instead of worrying about her going into heat (I'll just have to get her cute little panties to wear), I am really reconsidering whether to wait until she's well over a year, or perhaps, never. I was considering having her spayed this coming month. I am now really scared to have her spayed. Do others feel this way, or am I just being too overly concerned?

I don't blame you. I just had mine spayed (just barely 3 lbs.), about 3 weeks ago, and she was just fine (thank God), but I'd be a bit nervous right now.

But let me tell you this. When I was young and dumb and a yorkie owner, I thought that the only issue was a yearly heat and keeping her away from other dogs who could possibly get her PG. But it is much more than that, don't spay her, and never mate her (or even if you do mate her just once, cause this also happened to my friend's cocker), and one day you might experience what I did....come home and find your girl in a pool of blood almost dead because her uterus had ruptured.

Likewise I never had a little boy neutered and lost him to a ruptered boy organ (internal).

Spaying and neutering is not just a form of birth control, it helps prolong life and insure better quality of life. If you are not a breeder and don't intend to breed your dog, I'd say it is a must.

Yes, I'd be scared,yes there have been a few bad stories on here recently, but are you even calculating in your mind all of the 100's on here you have had succesful spay/neuter experiences. You have to do it my love.

[SweetViolet]

Originally Posted by Misti1

But it is much more than that, don't spay her, and never mate her (or even if you do mate her just once, cause this also happened to my friend's cocker), and one day you might experience what I did....come home and find your girl in a pool of blood almost dead because her uterus had ruptured.

Spaying and neutering is not just a form of birth control, it helps prolong life and insure better quality of life. If you are not a breeder and don't intend to breed your dog, I'd say it is a must.

Yes, I'd be scared,yes there have been a few bad stories on here recently, but are you even calculating in your mind all of the 100's on here you have had succesful spay/neuter experiences. You have to do it my love.

I had a Peke who live to be 15 without spaying or having been bred and never had a problem. Spaying is NOT proof against cancer (my 16 yr old Foxy has been spayed since puppyhood and had her third cancer surgery last week) and while it does effectively prevent pyometra, that argument, to me, is like saying you can prevent tooth decay by having all your teeth removed. There is no guarantee that a dog WILL get pyometra (or cancer) so subjecting a tiny toy-breed puppy to anaesthesia and invasive surgery for that reason seems rather extreme to me.

I do advocate spaying and neutering dogs that are not going to be bred. I do not, however, advocate spaying tiny toy dogs while they are still little puppies. Especially in toy breeds that have such tiny little bodies and organs, I think it is important to allow these dogs to reach their maximum physical size before doing non-essential invasive surgeries.

[shell820810]

I have just posted how my Millie died last night, after fighting hard since her spay surgery last week.

She was 5lb, 1 year one and healthy. Although it was tragic and very uncommon, I would have serious doubts about whether I would ever put another dog through that again. I know it does have its benefits, but as people have said, if the dog lives to old age, they are likely to get cancers or something anyway.

I regret it deeply. It was an unneccessary death.

[Ellie May]

I think too often spay/neuter is done for the wrong reason. Population control is not a good enough reason to put a dog under anesthesia in my opinion. While I was against spaying in a way before and I still don't like the idea of pulling body parts out, my decision is to have any female of mine spayed. A twenty-six percent chance of mammary cancer without great treatment options is just too high for me to not spay. If a small dog gets pyometra (and it is common), how are they going to get the uterus out without it rupturing? I would rather Ellie have an invasive surgery when she is healthy instead of when she has a raging infection.

I made my decision to do it when Ellie's vet strongly suggested it. It was a low cost spay, so it didn't have to do with the money. Ellie was not contributing to over population, so it had nothing to do with that. It was too late to prevent mammary cancer with the procedure, so it didn't really even have much to do with that. It was to prevent pyometra. Was it the right decision? I don't know. But I know she has a lot of experience and sees this all the time and I trusted with it. It all worked out.

I'm not saying spay/neuter is for every dog though and the timing issue is under researched in my opinion. For small dogs, I am personally fine with 5-6 months. For large dogs, I'd probably want to hold off.

There is a long list of things that should and should not be done during surgery and not all vets follow it. I wouldn't consider the surgery if I did not trust the vet...

If I had ever lost a dog during surgery, I would probably not feel this way. It is understandable that some just can't do it. And it is natural to be nervous about it.

[Bria]

Nope you aren't the only one who feels this way.I am in the same boat as you are. Bria will be 6 months next month I already feel that "pressure" to get her spayed. I have NO idea on what I'm going to do. I have seen way to stories about someones poor baby not making it. i would NEVER forgive myself if something happen to Bria. I really just DON'T know I'm so scared.right when you think you might have an idea on what might be best for your puppy someone shows you something that makes you re think it (which is good because you see BOTH sides) I feel like d*mned if you do d*mned if you don't

[SweetViolet]

Originally Posted by shell820810

I have just posted how my Millie died last night, after fighting hard since her spay surgery last week.

She was 5lb, 1 year one and healthy. Although it was tragic and very uncommon, I would have serious doubts about whether I would ever put another dog through that again. I know it does have its benefits, but as people have said, if the dog lives to old age, they are likely to get cancers or something anyway.

I regret it deeply. It was an unneccessary death.

I am so sorry for what happened with Millie, but please don't blame yourself. You made the best decision you could with the information you had available, and the pressure to spay is strong. You had no way of predicting this outcome and the odds of success were in your favour, but sometimes fate does not favour the odds.

I'm an old lady...I am 62 and I have had dogs my entire life...and most everyone in my family has had dogs, as well. Over a 50+ year span and dozens of dogs between us, I know of only one case of pyometra (a breeding bitch still in her breeding years) and one case of mammary cancer (a very, very senior poodle). I hate to be the one to throw the monkey wrench into the "spaying will save your dog's from cancer and other health problems" works, but I would never, ever, consider spaying for any reason other than population control. There is just not enough of a justification for it, IMO.

I think you made the right choice with the information you had available to you. I am so sorry that it ended tragically and I hope your heart heals soon. But please do not blame yourself...you could not foresee such an outcome for being a responsible pet owner, it is not your fault.

[rosey442]

I thank you all for your input. I do think that I might get a second (vet) opinion and maybe wait a little longer for her to mature more. I have no intentions of breeding her. I just worry about her maturity and anesthesia risks. Which unfortunately, cannot be predicted. But, I do at some point want to have her spayed to help prevent possible future complications.
So, that being said, please don't blame yourself for Millie. You did what you thought was right. I feel for you.

[katiekid]

I am on the fence as well. I have always had all my animals spayed/neutered at a young age. katie is 10 months old and the receptionist at the vets office actually yelled at me for not having her spayed yet. She is only 2.5 lbs and I definitely dont want her to have any litters, but for some strange reason I have this fear about having HER done. I am interested in joining a rescue and they will not even consider me if all my animals are not spayed/neutered.

[Ellie May]

Originally Posted by Ellie May

I think too often spay/neuter is done for the wrong reason. Population control is not a good enough reason to put a dog under anesthesia in my opinion. While I was against spaying in a way before and I still don't like the idea of pulling body parts out, my decision is to have any female of mine spayed. A twenty-six percent chance of mammary cancer without great treatment options is just too high for me to not spay. If a small dog gets pyometra (and it is common), how are they going to get the uterus out without it rupturing? I would rather Ellie have an invasive surgery when she is healthy instead of when she has a raging infection.

I made my decision to do it when Ellie's vet strongly suggested it. It was a low cost spay, so it didn't have to do with the money. Ellie was not contributing to over population, so it had nothing to do with that. It was too late to prevent mammary cancer with the procedure, so it didn't really even have much to do with that. It was to prevent pyometra. Was it the right decision? I don't know. But I know she has a lot of experience and sees this all the time and I trusted with it. It all worked out.

I'm not saying spay/neuter is for every dog though and the timing issue is under researched in my opinion. For small dogs, I am personally fine with 5-6 months. For large dogs, I'd probably want to hold off.

There is a long list of things that should and should not be done during surgery and not all vets follow it. I wouldn't consider the surgery if I did not trust the vet...

If I had ever lost a dog during surgery, I would probably not feel this way. It is understandable that some just can't do it. And it is natural to be nervous about it.

Just realized I probably worded this way wrong.
Population control is not a good reason to spay/neuter in my opinion only means that one shouldn't spay/neuter to let their dogs run loose or so is makes it unnecessary to supervise. There are times like doggie daycare, etc. where the surgery would be important or the dog in heat should obviously stay home (but you may get surprises with a silent heat). For the larger dogs who spend a lot of time outside, it may also be necessary. I just mean in general I would not agree to the surgery because there are "millions of dogs that will be euthanized this year". If an owner is careful, unless there is a true accident, they aren't going to contribute to the population at all.

[heatherm0890]

im in the same boat too...bailee was due to be spayed thursday but since I prefered the vet at home,not where i go to school, my mom was gonna have to come pick her up that morning and take her back and I would not be there. I just couldnt do that. Im scared enough to get it done already and I couldnt stand the thought of me not being there...Im still hesitant to reschedule the appt because of all the sad stories..