Small dogs do not need spayed?!

[MandiesMom]

Originally Posted by MyDearSam

Maybe the brother needs to be shown the numbers of runaway males and injuries related. Manly doesn't hold up against a 1500 pound car.

oh and

[Lil Sis]

wow... your friend is so lucky she has you to help her!!

I would get another vet..that just plain scares me.

[LoveNeverDies]

Originally Posted by Lil Sis

wow... your friend is so lucky she has you to help her!!

I would get another vet..that just plain scares me.

Thank you! I adore animals. I actually volunteer at a shelter in my area often, and we have had spay contracts for even smaller dogs... hence my concern.

[AnneJ68]

I'd say time for a new vet.....NEXT!!!

[KazzyK810]

Originally Posted by LoveNeverDies

I thought that is what the vet meant originally. She was requesting an appointment at around a year old for spaying. When I clarified and he asked what was going to breed her that is what led me to believe he did not want to do it at all. When checking out and making other appointments the secretary even told us the name of another vet when we told her he didn't want to schedule one, she said it was a common thing with him and a lot of people have changed vets because of it. So i am almost absolutely sure that he meant it as a general statement.

Some vets do not feel qualified to perform surgery on very small dogs....in a way I'd be glad the vet knows his limitations. Remember the college adage "C's get degrees"...not every vet out there is the best of the best.

IMO, your friend needs to find another vet who specialized in small animals.

[LoveNeverDies]

KazzyK, I agree. Maybe he didn't feel comfortable doing it. I just wish he would have referred her to another vet himself. I would hate to think he told that to other people, and that those people lost their babies or harmed their health not knowing better.

[capt_noonie]

Originally Posted by chachi

My neighbor is the same way they wont neuter their male cats for that reason so they spray all over the house

YUCK! How can they live like that? I'm sure it impresses people when they come over huh? How manly he and his cats are?

[Shelby&Seymour]

I DID wait a bit when my Yorkies were spayed / neutered. Of course it was before a year old, but not much. I wanted to make sure they were a little bigger and stronger..... of course, just a cautious owner. They were never in a situation where they could be bred at that time.

and FYI, although they are very snuggly and loving, Seymour and Seeger are very much "a guys dog". They are glued at the hip of my DH pretty much all the time!

[dawn27]

Thats a little crazy if you ask me. Of course she can get pregnant regardless of her tiny little size. I would think that for that reason alone she would have her spayed. A pregnancy for a tiny little girl like her would be all kinds of scarry.

Glad she is getting a second opinion, good thing you was with her to ask the right questions.

[MidnightUnicorn]

I know I'm late to this thread, and that the situation has been resolved.

But I want to mention that a small dog CAN get pregnant. My Tatiana is 3 lbs, and was pregnant before (with her breeder). She could not carry the pregnancy to term because she was small, so a cesarean was done to save her. Tatiana recovered, and her breeder decided to sell her (to me) because she couldn't breed (but can get pregnant).

Also, a small, intact female can still get PYOMETRA. Google this condition, if you're unfamiliar. It can be fatal, especially in a small dog because they can succumb quickly to the infection.

In my opinion, that vet is an idiot.

[Teresa Ford]

Regular posters on YT know I am pro spay and neuter. I had the "bumper sticker" before it was chic.
Working with rescues, I have heard people lie that a Vet said this or that and they never bothered to take the poor dog to a vet. I even had a lady tell me her Vet said males shouldn't be neutered because it went against nature. So of course her female had puppies and handing me the box said, "Here are the puppies, I don't want them." I wanted to smack her !
I would not believe a modern vet would say that, or that she was so small no dog could breed her. But because you heard it with your own ears, I believe the vet said it ! And I am appalled that a doctor would actually say such an incorrect thing ! I am glad I read the whole thread before jumping on to type a reply. Thank Goodness you were there to give her good advice. That is the good thing about YT we learn so much on here when we hear BS we know it is BS !

[capt_noonie]

Originally Posted by MidnightUnicorn

I know I'm late to this thread, and that the situation has been resolved.

But I want to mention that a small dog CAN get pregnant. My Tatiana is 3 lbs, and was pregnant before (with her breeder). She could not carry the pregnancy to term because she was small, so a cesarean was done to save her. Tatiana recovered, and her breeder decided to sell her (to me) because she couldn't breed (but can get pregnant).

Also, a small, intact female can still get PYOMETRA. Google this condition, if you're unfamiliar. It can be fatal, especially in a small dog because they can succumb quickly to the infection.

In my opinion, that vet is an idiot.

Very good point that we forget to mention a lot. thanks for bringing it up.

[Bentleysmommie]

My chihuahua was only 1.8lbs when I spayed her and no problems. I would wait but my husbands english bulldog was never spayed or bred and at 3 she got pimetra (don't quote me on the spelling) and they had to clean out all her organs. Surgery was $1800 very sad.

[Lovetodream88]

Makes me mad when bad vets give bad advise like that and people just believe them because you should be able to trust a vet! Did she think to ask about caner risks and an infection non spayed females can get that can kill them in 24 hours?

[Lovetodream88]

Originally Posted by LoveNeverDies

Thank you all for your posts! Considering your responses, and my constant battering she is going to schedule with my vet for a second opinion/spay. We suggested neutering the 3 boys but they are her brothers and apparently a neuter to him makes them less manlyish. My vet's practice is a father and son and both are very experienced with small dogs, they did spays on both of my Malteses. Thank you all, I love love love YorkieTalk.

If she waits for the female to go into her first heat before spaying there will be in inbreeding "accident". Does she know how an unneutered male will run away if he smells a female in heat and will lose all sense and can get hurt? It also makes he more likely to get stolen and used in a puppy mill.