|
Welcome to the YorkieTalk.com Forums Community - the community for Yorkshire Terriers. You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community you will have access to post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. You will be able to chat with over 35,000 YorkieTalk members, read over 2,000,000 posted discussions, and view more than 15,000 Yorkie photos in the YorkieTalk Photo Gallery after you register. We would love to have you as a member! Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join our community today! If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please click here to contact us. |
|
| LinkBack | Thread Tools |
05-26-2009, 06:29 AM | #1 |
Yorkie Talker Join Date: May 2009 Location: england
Posts: 22
| Yorkies to spay or not to spay? Hi can anyone tell me when my baby Amy is due to come into her first season, she is 4 months old? Also how long does a season last? I really don't want Amy to have a litter, but am not sure about having her spayed, the operation does sound quite serious. Can anyone give me advice on the pros and cons? Thanks Topsy |
Welcome Guest! | |
05-26-2009, 11:02 AM | #2 |
Don't Litter Spay&Neuter Donating Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: So Cal
Posts: 9,874
| I've heard that it's better to spay...for females, the benefits are higher than not spaying. If done before her 1st heat, the chance of mammary cancer is zero. It also varies when a female yorkie comes into heat for the 1st time. Mimi's wasn't until she passed her 1st b-day, but I've heard some as early as 7 months.
__________________ |
05-26-2009, 12:03 PM | #3 |
YT Addict Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Northants, England
Posts: 313
| /agree with mimimomo I've decided that I will spay because I think the pros for the dogs health outweigh the risk of surgery. This is a very personal decision, though, and there are people on this board that lost their babies to the spay or complications thereafter. There are tons of research articles on this and lots of thread on YT, you would be best having a read and then speaking to your own vet to discuss your own pup. My vet has recommended spay at 6 months or when the pointy canine teeth are both in together before the babies go out. But since she just had orthopedic surgery, I will see how that all goes before deciding on whether I do before or after the first season. |
05-27-2009, 02:58 AM | #4 |
Yorkie Talker Join Date: May 2009 Location: england
Posts: 22
| I have spoken to my vet today, he believes you should not spay until 3 months following the first season. He thinks there is less risk of incontinence. Still not sure. I will read the threads regarding this as you suggested. I wonder why vets all seem to have a different opinion on this subject? |
05-27-2009, 04:40 AM | #5 |
YT Addict Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Northants, England
Posts: 313
| Probably for the same reason human doctors do There is still a considerable amount of research around and it's humans with the decision making...plus, some people medical and verterinarian update them themselves in different ways. |
05-27-2009, 08:11 AM | #6 |
Yorkie Talker Join Date: May 2009 Location: england
Posts: 22
| Yes I think you are right, and I have decided to have her spayed. Still really worried about this procedure though, especially after having read about other owners and their doggies having really bad experiences following surgery. |
05-27-2009, 09:10 AM | #7 |
YT Addict Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Northants, England
Posts: 313
| I understand your concerns totally, it's especially difficult as this is elective surgery...tough choice and I went through the same crisis of conscience in case anything goes wrong.... I'm changing vet as I am not comfortable with the one I have right now, I'll let you know what they say, too! |
05-27-2009, 10:00 AM | #8 |
Yorkie Talker Join Date: May 2009 Location: england
Posts: 22
| Yes please do let me know. Hope everything goes well with your new vet. |
05-27-2009, 11:53 AM | #9 |
Donating YT 500 Club Member | poppys spaying hiya just thought i would join the debate on spaying , poppy is almost 2 and a half now , she had her 1st season when she was 8 months , and she was spayed 3 months later when she was 11 months , everything went ok thank god , and i am so glad now she has been done , personally i think its for the best if they are not being mated hope this helps , love jill n poppy xx |
05-30-2009, 05:52 AM | #10 |
YT Addict Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Northants, England
Posts: 313
| As promised, I had a conversation with the vet on this today. He explained the pros and cons thus:- If you spay, there is virtually zero chance of mammary cancer. The cons of spaying is the possible urinary incontinence. He said it like this, his words, the more seasons you let the dog have, the higher the risk of mammary cancer and the lesser risk of urinary incontinence. So it's a choice and a balance, personally (he said) I would rather have issues with urinary incontinence which are treatable (very treatable with many options) than cancer which is less treatable. Still, it's down to personal choice, there is a risk with the anaesthesia etc, etc. But it made me more certain that I would spay Bluebelle at 6 months. Not sure if this helps or not... |
05-30-2009, 06:33 AM | #11 |
Donating YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Abbotsford, BC
Posts: 2,060
| Urinary incontinence doesn't reflect an increase or decrease chance with age of spaying. I have a girl that I had spayed at 3 years old, months after weaning a litter and before her next heat. A couple of years later she developed urinary incontinence. UI is treatable with hormones, she gets stilbesterol once a week. Stilbesterol is a very cheap drug so costs are minimal. The dosage is goign to depend on how much of a problem the female has. You want to be sure you have a vet very experienced in surgeries and especially on Toy breeds of dogs. For extra precautions, you can have a presurgical blood test to be sure liver/kidney is functioning normally and during the actual spay, you can ask she be put on an IV. They charge a little extra for these but not that much and they do come out of the surgery a little better if they are on IV during the procedure. |
05-30-2009, 12:09 PM | #12 |
Yorkie Talker Join Date: May 2009 Location: england
Posts: 22
| Hi Thanks for all the help regarding this issue. Your vet explained it really well, much better than mine, who did not seem to want to be bothered answering my questions. I really did not know that there was a risk of mammary cancer, this does make the decision easier to make. Are the risks of incontinence increased if the the doggie is not mated, or does it not matter either way, does anybody know the answer to this? Tinksmum - did your vet think Bluebelle should have a season first? |
05-30-2009, 11:54 PM | #13 |
YT Addict Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Northants, England
Posts: 313
| Hi topsy, no he didn't. Entirely my choice... |
Bookmarks |
|
|
| |
|
|
SHOP NOW: Amazon :: eBay :: Buy.com :: Newegg :: PetStore :: Petco :: PetSmart