I must say that I am surprised by some of the responses here considering this is a place where a lot of breeders come to talk about Yorkies. Not that I am a breeder or anything, but I wouldn't have thought it out of the ordinary to not have my female spayed.
I do understand the need to keep dogs and cats spayed in this day and age with all the homeless souls in shelters and on the streets. However, I do not plan to ever spay Bailey unless it becomes necessary. It has nothing to do with wanting to breed her, because I have no intentions of doing that. It is my own personal belief that it is unhealthy to remove an animal or humans abillity to reproduce. Not only are you preventing pregnancy, but you are also stopping/greatly reducing the production of certain hormones needed for particular bodilly functions and growth. This all stems from my own experience and research on women and birth control. Women on birth control are much more likely to develop osteoporosis (bone loss). This is especially true when taking Depo Provera because you STOP having your period. Women are also more prone to develop progesterone deficiency from not having their period. Women will be in a state much similar to that of menopause. Think about what women go through during menopause. When women and men stop the abillity to reproduce, their hormones go through drastic changes. Those hormones are an important factor in growth, emotions, and development. Granted, there are some benefits to spaying and neutering, but I personally believe it is unhealthy.
I want you to know that I am speaking from personal experience. Because I took Depo Provera for 5 years, my hair thinned and fell out leaving bald spots, my immune system crashed, I was depressed and moody, and suffered horrible migraine headaches. This was prior to the world discovering women on Depo Provera developed osteroporosis if taking the drug for over 2 years. Now you might think that it's a reaction of the drug, but it's not. It's a reaction of not having your period when you are still in your growth and development phase. This leads me to believe that female dogs who have that taken away at such a young age could be suffering in the same manner.
I am sure many of you will protest my ideals, but I put a lot of effort into knowing and understanding what not having a period does to the female body.
Really, I just wanted some advice to make Bailey more comfortable and prevent messes. She NEVER goes outside without me and NEVER runs around loose outside. All the male dogs she comes in contact with are already neutered too so no worries there.
Thanks for the advice. Sorry my reply was so lengthy, but it's something I feel very stongly about.
