To spay or not to spay?

[carmen in nj]

Originally Posted by Millies mamma

Millie has a vet appointment next week, she is only 13 weeks right now, but am going to ask when she could be spayed,.- I am thinking it is arou nd 6 months, but not sure. Thanks again for the advice!!!

Females can to into heat at 7 to 8 months so depending on weight, I recomend to have your females spay at 6 months, even tho my son who is studing Vet Medicine, just told me the other day that they been reconsidering the very early spay and neuter , and studies show that we should wait until the grow plates close, but still is just a study so far..

[Yorkiemom1]

Originally Posted by carmen in nj

if you are not breeding , is best of spay, it will prevent mamary cancer and Pyometra, which is a horrible infection and your girl can die from it, so please have your girl spay as soon as you can..
hugs and best of luck..

'nuf said...nothing for me to add!

[gracielove]

I almost lost a darling little dog due to a uterine infection. Pyometra. It happened to her during her first heat but it can happen at any time to an unspayed female. I was blessed that my vet was able to save her. Many die.
Why take the chance? It is a real risk to your pet not to spay. Yes there is cancer as well as Pyometra. There is also the risk of a male dog smelling your female in heat and jumping a fence and killing her before you can do anything to stop it. Why put her through the stress of heat cycles? They bleed for two weeks.....like a period.

Spay her and get it over with. It's a safe and easy procedure and she will not be stressed again for the rest of her life by the hormonal cycle.

[southernbelle04]

I would vote for spaying as well.

[tinalove]

Spaying also helps prevent certain diseases and cancers. Since you have no intention of breeding her, I think it is best to spay her. Accidents and mistakes happen. You may want to broad her and have her groomed in the future. I believe in spaying and neutering . Males should be neutered just as females should be spayed. Breeding is a difficult and expensive task. We should leave that to the experts. I feel we should all help control the pet population in our own way. There are so many stray and unwanted animals in shelters now. It is very sad. Just think you would be helping your furgirl and helping the community.

[P Hudson]

So glad I came to this thread tonight. I came here looking for all the reasons I should have my little girl spayed tomorrow. She has an appointment to get it done, and having had a hysterectomy myself, I know she will hurt from the surgery.

We unfortunately missed her first heat. She had a split heat, so we've had to cancel two spaying appointments already. Then one thing after another and she is 13 months old.

I was sorry to read here that since she's already been in heat this spaying won't protect her from some of the cancers but it will keep her safe from a whole host of other things that could befall her if she weren't spayed.

And still . . . I feel so guilty when i look at her. She's about six pounds, the size of a small newborn baby--not small by Yorkie standards but still it's all I can do to keep from crying. Silly I know.

And to the people who are on the fence about spaying, you do NOT want to go through a heat cycle, let alone two a year. She was miserable, my husband and I were miserable, and my 12-pound male Yorkie, though neutered, could not stay off of her, so I'm assuming he was pretty miserable in his own way.

Also, we'd open the door a crack and she would dart through our ankles and run outside--talk about a heart attack. We were just lucky she did not get away even though we were with her all the time. You can't just assume you can protect them every second; they get very determined and crafty.

[Rescuemomma]

I'm glad to hear you decided to spay! In case there's any question it was the right thing let me share an experience with you. I use to be very active in showing IGs. I've raised a couple litters. My last litter my beautiful Aiyana was born. Being solid white I knew she'd likely pass on very recessive genes if bred so I had no intention of breeding her, but fell in love the moment she was born and knew she's always be with me. I decided not to spay her thinking I could use her as a filler in the showring until I finished her sister. Then maybe I'd spay her. At 9 months something was horribly wrong. She has a bad seizure and when taken to the vet her liver enzymes where off the charts. Her kidney values where low, and we nearly lost her. We got her well, but off and on for the next 2 1/2 years every time I was thinking of spaying her she's get sick again. I spayed/neutered everything related to her, and had every intention of spaying her but she was never well long enough. Then November 2011 she crashed hard and was diagnosed with Addisons. Brought her through the crisis but still struggled with her health. Come June she was finally doing better but foolishly we decided to give her a couple months before spaying her. July she came into heat. Then August last year hit with my worst fear, she became very ill again very quickly and was diagnoses with closed pyometra. She was in bad shape but we had no choice but to do an emergency spay. We nearly lost her. Blood transfusions, plasma infusions, and lots of ICU care and thank god we pulled her through it. Her Addisons symptoms resolved and we have since questioned and found she does not actually have Addisons. She is off all prescription drugs now, and aside from an occasional GI problem or issues with her allergies - she's doing great! Chances are if I'd spayed her young she never would have gotten so sick and certainy wouldn't had almost died from Pyo. Never again will I keep a pet intact. Aiyana is my heart dog, my heart and sole - and my decision to not spay her young nearly cost me my treasured little princess. There is so much that can go wrong, not to mention the behavioral and long term health benefits. There is never a question in my mind on if you should spay a pet or not - it's always on their best interest to not have to deal with the added dangers and risks of being intact! As long as you carefully choose your vet and make sure they are using the current protocols and using an IV catheter in case of emergency, risk is minimal - and much safer then the risks of not!

[P Hudson]

Thank you, RescueMomma, for sharing that story. I'm so glad your baby pulled through and no longer has those health issues. That's a really scary and heart-wrenching scenario, and it should help anyone who's on the fence about spaying/neutering to climb down onto the right side of this issue, the side that's best for the dog.

[Rescuemomma]

Exactly why I shared that! I'm very very lucky it didn't cost me my baby! I love all my furkids - But Aiyana is my heart and soul, she's very very close to me - if I'd spayed her at 6 months, it's very likely I could have saved us both from alot of stress and sickness, not to mention thousands in vet bills! And she certainly wouldn't have nearly died from pyo. Her story is an extreme example - but it can and does happen to other dogs! The risk is not worth it - so many things can happen to intact dogs, unless you're an experienced breeder or being mentored by one and have plans to health test and breed to improve the breed and fully understand ALL the risks, then spaying and neutering is the best way to keep your babies healthy!

[gracielove]

Originally Posted by P Hudson

Thank you, RescueMomma, for sharing that story. I'm so glad your baby pulled through and no longer has those health issues. That's a really scary and heart-wrenching scenario, and it should help anyone who's on the fence about spaying/neutering to climb down onto the right side of this issue, the side that's best for the dog.

I also almost lost a beautiful little puppy to Pyometra. She went into heat right at 6 months and developed the infection. But that is only one reason to spay. As you know there are many. She will be a little groggy from the anesthetic for the first day or two but she will be fine. It is amazing how much faster and easier it is for a dog to recover from such surgeries than for a human. Once it is done your little girl will have a beautiful carefree life to look forward to.

[gemy]

Originally Posted by carmen in nj

Females can to into heat at 7 to 8 months so depending on weight, I recomend to have your females spay at 6 months, even tho my son who is studing Vet Medicine, just told me the other day that they been reconsidering the very early spay and neuter , and studies show that we should wait until the grow plates close, but still is just a study so far..

Well Carmen unfortunately it is not just one study but many, that point to early spay/neuter consequences. And they are far reaching. I do have a thread on here about it.

having said this, is not about NOT neutering but when you do it. As always females of any species seem to be more complex.

But the risks of mammary cancer are only increased a bit if you let the female have one heat prior to spay.

The risks/benefits for males are pretty clear, the risks do NOT outweigh the benefits for neutering. This is based on research at this point in time.
Here we are talking about health risks. Nothing else.

I advise my puppy buyers of females, to spay after growth plates close. And they must keep the young gal safe over her first heat, and I tell them how to do that.

This is for a large breed dog ... however I would counsel this for Yorkie owners as well.

[nanahas3]

How old are they before the plates quit growing? Our little girl is only 1.12 lbs at 5 months and the vet is suggesting we wait until she gets bigger to spay. We didn't have Laddy done before because he was our only dog and never around others but since we got her he has an appointment for next week to be fixed.

[jnsdrexler02]

Originally Posted by Millies mamma

Thank you very much I didn't know about the types of cancers. So I will defently have her spayed. I am new to the yorkie breed so I have a lot to learn that is why I am so grateful to have found YT

Welcome to YT.....you are going to LOVE it!!!! I had the same question as you when I first found YT and I was given the same advice. I spayed my baby shortly after her first "heat". Let me tell you...........the "heat" is no fun but the spaying was a very easy recovery and I'm so glad I did it!!!!

[P Hudson]

Well, Annabelle was spayed this morning and I'm glad that's over with. As gracielove mentioned, she's a little groggy--I'm typing with one hand because she's sleeping on my other arm. One of the perks of being a dog is that she'll probably sleep through the worst of it without a lot of effort. You don't seen many canine insomniacs.

Also the vet gave us something for any pain she has for three more days. I was reading the paperwork from the vet and one of the meds she is receiving or did receive is ketamine. The name looked familiar, so I looked it up: it's the street drug called Special K. So she may actually feel better than I do right now.

[swilson0053]

Hey shannon cocoas appt is may 24 to br spayed