is ava too small to get fixed?
 

tomorrow ava has an appt to get neutuerd, i am really nervouse being that she is itty bitty. Any words of encouragement and/advice. shes 9 months, is this a good age? :aimeeyork

itty bitty is not a very accurate description. How much does she weigh? We recommend spaying to be done at 6 months, but it can be safer to wait a bit longer on a tiny girl.

Haha sorry, she is 5lbs

5lbs is very acceptable and not considered "itty bitty" she will be fine, ask the vet to do preanesthetic blood testing and use Isofluorane gas only.

what is isofluorane gas?

There are lots of YT members that have had females weighting 2 , 3 , 4 pounds spayed without having problems .

Your fur baby is at a safe weight and age to be spayed. As mentioned above, Isoflourane gas and prior blood work is the best for her. Also, if any baby teeth need removing this is the time to do so while she is under. You might wanna discuss this with her vet tomorrow prior to her surgery.

She ought to be fine at 5 pounds. Don't take offense to this but females get spay and males get nuetered.

here ya go took this off a website to make it easy for you to understand

Isoflurane gas anaesthetic
All pets are maintained on a gas anaesthetic known as, Isoflurane. Isoflurane has minimal affects on the heart, is not directly toxic to the kidneys, and does not need to be broken down by the liver to be removed from the body. Isoflurane is also safe for mature pets, or those with liver and heart disease.

actually neutering means to render incapable of breeding either sex. :)

Your little one should be fine...Magic was only 3 pounds when she was spayed and she did great, no problems at all!! They used the gas and did the bloodwork on her before hand....talk to your vet about your concerns if you are still worried. But I would tell you she would do excellent!!

Cali is 3.12 lbs and 7 months old and I have been to afraid to make the appointment. Is it ok to wait until she is a little bigger?

You just be very careful around male dogs, being pregnant or even aborting a litter might be worse than the spay.

I was just wondering, what size is considered 'itty bitty'? ;)

Ah, thanks for clearing that up. I've been having to correct myself because I say neuter all the time for either sex... No need anymore! ;)

I was hoping to wait until March and hopefully she will be over 4 lbs. She is never around males so that won't be a problem. I would never want to put her health at risk.

I really do agree with you. My little girl is 3.5 pounds, she is almost 8 months. I want to get her spayed, but am procrastinating cause I'm a little scared. I have all the boys fixed, but my niece has a little dashound who isn't neutered at my mom's house. We were over the other day and he really wanted to be friends (if you know what I mean). I had to carry Robyn except when we put Doodle in the house for a bit.

My vet made me wait until Bella was at least 3 pounds and she flew through with flying colors.

I know feminvstr told you about isoflorine but there is even a newer one that vets are using but either will work. The other name is Sevoflurane. Just make sure you ask your vet what they will use.

Have the blood work done and her teeth checked and she should be good to go.

My Tiffany is 7 months and weights 1.9 lb., I am having her spayed next month.

I have two tiny females and have made the decision not to spay either of them because I do not feel the benefits outweigh the risks for them and my vet does not believe in removing body parts unless it is in the individual dog's best interests. My little gilrs have no risk of getting pregnant since thay are house dogs and never leave the house withiut me. They are constantly supervised.

There is plenty of evidence that the reproductive hormones serve important purposes all over the body and for the entire life of the animal. The vets in other countries like Spain are more progressive than ours and do a less invasive procedure like a tubal ligation to prevent pregnancy but leave the animal with it's necessary and God given organs.

There is evidence of cancers contracted more often by neutered dogs than intact dogs and there is a possibility of a female becoming incontinent after spaying, sometimes years after.

Anyway, I feel strongly that a pet owner should not feel pressured to have this major surgery w/o being advised and educated about all of the pros and cons. I feel that a lot of vets just insist on it as a matter of course if a person is not going to breed a dog, but I feel that this is major surgery and needs to researched thoroughly before the decision is made.

If you decide that neutering is in your baby's best interest then I would also ask for the sevoflurene gas, I would consider a less invasive procedure like laporoscopy, tual ligation and/or laser surgery to lessen the trauma involved.

Good luck with your decision and if you want more of my point of view, please PM me and I would happy to give you citations for my views and resources for learning more.

Good luck to you and your baby. :)

Syd got spayed at 5.5 months and she was about 5 lbs (maybe a little less). She was fine.

Thank you everyone for alll the advice. Ava is at the vet right now and i feel a little better knowing that they are using the gas and are doing the pre anestetic blood work. still, im a nervous mommy until i hear shes ok.