I have been around for a few decades and I have seen the medical fashions change from one side of this argument to the other. Most of this is opinion and preference. It is always best not to look at things with just a general outlook but generating fear on the subject is uncalled for.
The original question here was about the OP's fear of having the surgery done. Many vets do both dental and spay/neuters at the same time. If the dog's teeth are in very bad condition, personally, I would have the two procedures done at different times. Both procedures are considered routine and generally are safe interventions.
If it is just a general cleaning then having both procedures done at the same time would save the dog from having to be put under anesthesia twice. A neuter is not as invasive as a spay so the time frame would be shorter. If your dog is healthy and has had a good check up with blood work done ahead of time, and if you trust your vet, you should not be fearful of having the procedures done. If you are uncertain about your vet then you probably should not be going there anyway.
Anytime a human or an animal goes under a general anesthetic there is a danger. This type of thing is done thousands of times a day. A study of the incidence of complications involved in spay/neuter procedures was shown to be between 1 and 3% of the time which over all is a tiny percentage.
I don't think the OP mentioned the size of the dog in question. If you have a very small Yorkie you might want to ask your vet if he/she has much experience doing small dog surgery. There are vets that work mainly with larger pets and if that were the case I would feel more comfortable with a surgeon that is experienced with small dog procedures. |