To spay or not to spay
 

Hi everyone,

When we first got Nena (morkie) we wanted to breed her and that's why we didn't spay her. But her being as she is, we weren't able to (she didn't let the males and we didn't want to force her).
But now she is 4 years old and we wonder if it's still a good idea to spay her.
Rufus is spayed so there won't be any accidents happening here..

Any opinions?

my opion is spay her. my lola was spayed at 4 1/2 years old ...i just think its best not to put their body through heats if uneccessary.

rubymoon is right ON TARGET!!! Spay her. The repetative wear and tear and bombardment on the females system/body/uterus, that occurs when a heat cycle is experienced by an unbred female, from the hormones released by the un-impregnated female, causes all those health problems experienced by un-spayed AND unbred females, including the dreaded mammary and uterine cancers This is why, CONTRARY to popular belief, breeders that have actually researched and studied canine reproduction understand this is why it is best to breed your females EVERY cycle, in succession, and not skip cycles. You keep your ladies in prime tip-top, shape, and you breed them, with NO skipping between cycles....allowing them to be bred only once a year is not what is best for an unspayed breeding female. You do NOT want the bombardment of her uterus/reproductive organs by specific hormones released by an un impregnated female. These dogs are not being "abused" and "overworked" by breeding them every cycle....this actually protects their system from the damage caused by the release of the hormones. You are actually shortening the length of your lady's breeding timeline, perhaps even her life, by only breeding them once a year. The "overworked", "overbred", "abused" issue arises when you breed these girls and do not provide the required all encompassing nutritional support/medical safeguards required by these girls. These breeding ladies are just like atheletes and must be KEPT in tip top shape or they will break down and burn out. It is a continual effort to be sure they get not only the correct nutritional support dictated by the stage of their breeding cycle, but also the correct exercise and even down to the correct amount of light/sunlight. When you retire a breeding female, you spay her so you prevent the very bombardment by those "treacherous" hormones, which her being pregnant protects her from. Spay her. Sorry for the ramble, but I saw the opportunity to teach, and educate and show why breeding dogs is NOT something we take lightly...there is really an enormous amount of time and effort that goes into doing this and doing it corrrectly, so you dont abuse your ladies or create underdeveloped, genetically damaged, malformed babies. Every week that a female is pregnant, those little puppy embryo systems are doing a particular developmental something...you keep records of the pregnancy, so that if you have a litter and there are puppies that have some malformation or medical issue, you can pin point exactly what week in the development of the embryo that affected system was being "formed", and you then go back to your records and see if anything unusual happened during THAT week of the pregnancy. THIS is just touching the tip of the iceberg called "responsible breeding", breeding with ethics, integrity, and a GENUINE concern for producing healthy babies from healthy mommas. THIS is what all these show breeders/responsible breeders are quietly doing, not talking about it, just DOING it....which is why we go NUTS and get all frustrated and disturbed when we see people doing this, and they dont even know if their female was bred, by whom, or specific days she may have been bred on! We know there was no pre natal care given to the female to support the pregnancy, we know there was no support given to the stud, we know there was no concern for knowledge about health or genetic issues in either of the breeding pair....so we take a deep breath, shake our head, and walk away.

Females can get pregnant there whole lives and it gets more dangerous as they get older and accidents seem to happen so I would spay. If you don't spay you have to make sure she never is outside alone during heat and everything else. Also a good breeder breeds to better the breed and sense morkie is not a breed its not good to breed them.

Morkies are popular here in the Netherlands and that´s why in the beginning I wanted to breed her. I know they can get pregnant their entire lives and I know that it´s not good for them to get pregnant after 5 years of age (I made my research)...I'm planning on breeding her anymore btw..
But in 4 years there have been no accidents, in my neighbourhood they aren't many dogs that can cause and accident, and Rufus is spayed..
I was just wondering if it's a good idea to spay her just because she is 4 years old now..my vet said that it won't help against mammary glands tumors but it will make her stop going into heat (not that i mind the bleeding)..
And because my vet didn't tell me that there are going to be more benefits than only stop going into heat, made me wonder if I should spay her..

Every heat they have a chance of getting Pyometra which can kill a dog in 24 hours and as they get older the risk increases.

Hi there! I think your Morkie is adorable!! Now that she's 4 and you don't plan to breed her, I would suggest it is best to spay her.

The reason is (even though Rufus is fixed) - she could accidentally get loose and be mounted by another male (and a male that is too big could really hurt her). Also, there is research showing that spaying helps prevent certain types of cancer and totally prevents uterine cancer (due to the nature of what spaying is).

I believe it is best for her health so I would say to spay her :)

My understanding of the current research, is that even though she could still get mammary gland cancer, she won't be at risk for pyrometra, and less risk for some other cancers.

Also for me if I am not going to breed a female I spay her; I do think it is best in the long run. And btw this is not the decision I would make for males.

Best in the long run encompasses there can't be any accidental breedings, you don't need to track heats and isolate her during heat for her lifetime.

And for what it is worth, I think you made the right decision not to breed her.

Thanks for your opinions :)
I decided that it's best if I spay her
I called the vet and she told me that I have to wait for Nena to come in heat first and 3 months after that we can make an appointment.