Too small to be fixed?
 

I cant decide what to do about getting my little ones fixed. I am scared to death and have read too many bad stories on here. Tink is 1 1/2 years and 7 lbs so I am not as scared for her. But chloe is 2 lbs at 7 1/2 months. Is she too little to get fixed? I heard they live longer if you get the females fixed because it makes them less likely to get female diesese downthe road. Is this true? Any other really good reasons why I shoudl defiently fix my girls. I have NO desire to breed and dont need to worry about and "accidental pregnancy" as I have all girls and my dogs are inside 99.9% of the time. SO what do you guys think? I want to but need a pep talk or really good reasons that will make me do it. :D

Thanks for the post. My Gwen is only two pounds at three years and I'm scared to death to get her fixed. Skippy is a good size and is getting done on Monday. So please convince us they'll be safe.

i heard someone say about their dog, i think it was oliver, that she was 2 pounds and got through the surgery just fine.

but you might want to talk to your vet about it first.

Brittany had her darling little Mia fixed. She's very tiny , you might contact her or go to her website to see if she has info fo you. She has lots of info and good advice for tiny yorkie owners. I think she's Brittany123 or something like that on this forum, send her a pm. But her website is www.mylittlemia.com

Yes , it was olivier . It is posted at the I can do , I can do post .

Brittany123 does have neutering info on her site: http://www.mylittlemia.com/spaying.html

Its brittie123. Just wanted to correct that!

My breeder's pet yorkie, Daphne, was fixed later in life. I think when she was 7 or 8 years old. They never wanted to fix her before that becuase of her size...she is only about 2.5 lbs. But when they bought their own stud they had to. An accidental pregnancy would have been way more dangerous for her than the spaying. She came through the surgery just fine...even at her age. I hope that helps. :)

My Katie was 14 ounces at 6 months old when I had her fixed. I was frightened too but she came through w/ flying colors. Just make sure the doctor uses a GAS anesthesia called Isoflourane - hope I spelled that right. :D

Thanks for the info on the anethesia. Thats what I need to know. I cant believe your dog is that small! Holy cow!


I think I am scared because I sort of go to a country vet. They have been awesome so far with everything I have ever brought any of my dogs in for but I dont see a lot of prissy small breeds in there office. So I guess I am questioning their experience with neutering that size dog. I think I want to find another vet just to do that surgery but I also dont like going to someone I dont know. SO this is my dilema. I guess I need to ask my reg vet exactly what kind of anethesia they use and stuff like that and see what you guys think. ANy other questions I should ask my vet?

They will be putting a tube down her throat during the surgery. Make sure that they have one small enough for her tiny neck. You don't want a trachea problem.

Yes!!! Make sure the use a TINY tube! Also, make sure the VET does this .... NOT THE VET TECH!! This is VERY important because the vet tech is learning and training - he could make a mistake. Make sure you stress that the vet must do this!

Yeah she was very tiny for the operation. But now my little princess is full grown at 2.6 lbs. She's just so skinny and short! She has the cutest little short legs. I just love her. :D

When I had Codie neutered, he was 4 lbs at 6 months. But neutering is a much easier operation. All they do is basically castrate males. But for females there is a lot more involed. They remove the ovaries and uteris.

Mac was 2 15 oz when he was neutered but since one of his testicles was not decended it was a more involved surgery also he has spinal problems which complicated things. My vet specializes in small dogs. Mac came through just fine. We all worry about are wee ones.

Vet tech
 

A vet tech is not in training but actually is certified and in many instances, they are surgical vet techs and their only duty is to anesthetize and monitor our babies. Isoflourane and a newer gas, Sevoflourane (sp) are both very safe in the hands of an experienced tech. Very much like our anesthetists when we go into hospital. The surgeon does not put us under. The person trained specifically to do that does.
The most important issue is the health of the dog so the blood panel must be done far enough in advance to do a follow up on any abnormal readings to prove or disprove the results. Sometimes the tinies have underlying health problems that need to be uncovered before the surgery is to be done..
MAKE SURE THAT YOUR VET IS TOTALLY EXPERIENCED AND CAPABLE OF TAKING CARE OF TINY TOY DOGS!
Jesse, my little guy that I post about all the time, actually was neutered and had dentals done when he was under 2 years. He was perfectly fine and the only reason I left him overnight was to keep him on IV's til he was awake enough to eat.

I just made an appointment for Coco to get spayed on August 19. I made the phone call crying and shaking but I did it and it felt good. I asked all of the necessary questions and feel much better. My vet told me I could stay with her or provide her with toys or blanket of her own, so she feels more comfy. I think if you ask the right questions, Chloe will do great! Coco is also only 2 lbs at 5 months.

She should be fine...we had Magic spayed at six months and she was right at 3lbs...she did great, we just made sure they used the gas and that they had the materials for a pup her size...we talked to the vet and asked all the questions and knew exactly what to expect....

I had my little Raisin fixed and she was 2.7lb's. It was absolutely fine! My vet also urged me to do it for health reasons. I lost my Tiki because she developed a uterine infection at the age of 16 and I had to decide to have her fixed or watch her die. I had her fixed, but she just could not meet the challenge of surgery. She survived a week and then succumbed. I swear she could have lived to 20 if it was not for this.

If you have a good vet, I would not worry. Or don’t worry to much. Any surgery is scary and makes us all a basket case, but it is recommended.

Sue

I am sure she will be fine and you will be glad to have it done and over with. I share your concern though. I have a 3 lb girl that will be spayed in a couple of months.

Yay, you did it! Are you going to take off that day from work??

My Lacey is 3 lbs now at one year and was very very tiny when she was spayed. When I talked to my vet she told me she had done hamsters and it would be ok. Lacey came through like a charm, the vet said she had the smallest organs she had ever seen. If I can find the paperwork I'll confirm the weight but she was done at 5 months and I was scared to death. Chloe, who is larger had more trouble, Lacey was playing the next day, never had a pain that I could tell. Not to worry, it will be fine.

Oh Jennifer I remember well when you had Katie spayed you were a wreck! ;) I think we emailed back and forth all day didn't we!:)

I have done a ton of research of anesthesia and toy dogs, especially tinies, if anyone needs any direction!

25% (1 in 4)female dogs get mammary cancer unfortunately. Spaying before the first heat reduces the risk to less than 1%! And spaying after the first heat but BEFORE the 2nd heat reduces the risk to 8%. After the second heat their chance of getting mammary cancer are just as high whether they were spayed or not, but pyometria is a high concern and is a very common and deadly disease, so in my opinion no matter how old they should be spayed to help prolong their life and give them a better quality of life. I feel pretty strongly about this, its just not fair to your pets not to spay them because you're "scared", I just knew it was something I had to do to give Mia a better life and something I will absolutely have to do with Emmy as well.

Mia was 8 months old and was 1 lb 10 oz when she was spayed, as long as you do your research and make sure the vet is taking all the necessary precautions your baby will be fine!

I was a TOTAL wreck! I'm so glad I had you to comfort me because I was a mess. It's really frightening when you imagine such a tiny baby being cut open. But if anyone needs any advice, e-mail Britt because she is the one that told me the right questions to ask and what to look for in a vet. She has a whole section dedicated to this on her....I mean Mia and Emmy's website :D www.mylittlemia.com

Britt, I go on your website almost everyday just to look at the pics! :D

Awww you're so sweet! It is THEIR site LOL! :P

I actually got that fact from Terri Shumsky when I was doing a lot of research on spaying and anesthesia, we talked for a long time about it. She just passed away recently but she bred yorkies and worked with vets for 30 years, she was definitely a yorkie guru.

And yes, it is high! Its astounding!

At the shelter that I volunteer at, we see a lot of dog's (and not necessarily puppy mill dogs) but just every day house pets whose owners give them up because they get (in the owners limited, narrow opinion) too old (like 9 or 10 which is NOT too old). But these dogs who have never been spayed or neutered have tumors. Not EVERY single one but a lot of them. It's devestating.

I volunteer at the animal shelter here and its the same thing. People dont want to pay for the expensive surgeries to have the tumors removed so they just give them up. I don't get why some people even get dogs in the first place.

I know Britt! If you're not willing to invest money into your dog's health, or give it up when it gets sick or old, why even BOTHER to get one? It doesn't make sense. And some of these people act so heartless and "casual" about giving up their dog. I'd NEVER give up my babies. It's just unthinkable to me. And I'd never give up my dog because an apartment or condo does not allow pets. If my dogs are not allowed, then it's OUT OF THE QUESTION for me to even consider moving there.

I just got my Abby back and she seems to be doing fine. She is 7 months and 3.3 lbs. I must admit that I put if off for a few months. I normally get my pups fixed around 5-6 months, but I have never had one so small.

But Abby is doing very well and she didn't even get any pain meds.
She was a bit sore though. She stayed the night at the vet after her surgery and the next day when I picked her up I kept her in an x-pen so she wouldn't move around a lot. She believes she in invincible!

Good luck.