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And you'll find way more proving the altering side of the argument!

I am actually referring to PROVEN scientific studies that ALL vets are aware of and some simply choose not to share because they favor routine neutering of all pets.

I am not opposed to neutering...I simply want everyone to be able to make fully informed and educated decisions for their family members. :thumbup:

Loved the Billboard, btw!! Too funny!! :D

That billboard is hilarious! As for spinning things....just look at the news. It's only natural that if you think something is the best choice you will try to convince other people the same way. We all do it. This is definitely a decision that is very personal and everyone should make on their own, but facts for either position being known aren't going to hurt anything. Just because more people do it or say to do it doesn't make it the right choice for everyone. It doesn't make it the wrong choice either. There are alot of things that used to be the norm that we wouldn't even consider doing today. Informed decisions are wise decisions. My choice for Eleanor is not to spay unless some future health reason requires it. And if (heaven forbid) it does I'll cross that bridge when I get there. IMO I don't think that being unaltered is the best choice for us even though I do not intend to breed. I dont' think that a normal cycle is a health risk for a dog and the incidences of the diseases that occur in an unaltered female are (IMO of course) negligible.

There certainly a few vets who do not advise altering a pet that is not being used for breeding. However, in my 40+ years of dealing with vets, I have not met even ONE!. I have however, met males who have had testicular cancer and females who have had breast, ovarian and uterine cancer. I personally cannot see a valid reason for taking a chance with my dogs' lives and leaving those organs that are know to heighten their cancer risk. Believe me, humans are also beginning to think along the same lines. I am totally happy that I have had a hys..no worry about uterine or cervical cancer. BUT, ovaries were left and now we are testing to eliminate ovarian cancer. Now, how happy would I be had they been removed 35 years ago? Then, I could only worry about brain cancer, bone, blood, lung, GI and so on.
I do not mean to stray off topic but these seem to add a dimension to this discussion..

I was really scared about having Mia and Emmy spayed, but I researched for about 6 months in veterinary journals, I called many different vets at different teaching veterinary hospitals in the country, I also talked to the late Terri Shumsky for quite awhile about the subject and most everything I read and heard was the same...

For males neutering is more about behavior. Yes it does eliminate the risk of testicular cancer, reduces prostate hypertrophy, and reduces prostatic infections, but mainly it decreases marking behavior and aggression.

For females it is very much a health issue. 25% (1 in 4) of all 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 have personally known 2 dogs in my life, one owned by my mother and the other owned by a family friend who have died from pyometria and it was a very painful and slow death that could have been prevented. 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 and Emmy a better life.

I did choose to use laser for both of their spays, there were no stiches and their healing time was considerably faster.

Mia was 8 months old and was less than 2 lbs 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!

WOW - what a great post and I am so impressed that you got to talk to Terri Shumsky. Thank you for taking the time to post to this thread. You were able to put facts and figures together in a way that made very simple sense on why you should spay/neuter.

She was truly such an amazing woman, I was so saddened by her death. She contributed more to the yorkie breed than any single person in history in my opinion! And what made her even more amazing was that even with all she did she took the time to talk to little old me just about simple spaying!

I wish I could have met her and you are so fortunate to have. Yes, anything I have read about her was her true love of Yorkies and her mission/passion to help all.

Brit, thanx for your well-worded post about this subject. I know how difficult it was for you to make that decision...

I am still confused. There is so much information about both arguments. For every statistic FOR spaying, there is one on the same subject AGAINST spaying! AaaarrgHHHH!!!!!! :( I'm leaning towards NOT having her spayed. Partly because the vets here only specialise in COWS and other farm animals. There isn't the option of laser surgery here either. It the basic knife, hand, chop thing. There is a lack of proper animal meds, unless you're a cow. They give human meds for some cats, I know this because a friend of mine has taken her cat for treatment. So I don't know what will happen with Mitzi. I guess I'm gonna have to think about some more. :(

I have an appointment with the vet to have Jasmine spayed next Wednesday. I know I'm going to be a nervous wreck. Also she will have to stay overnight and that worries me because she has never been away from me for over a few hours at a time. She sleeps with us at night. I don't want her to feel like I am abandoning her.
I am taking her to the vet my breeder recommended. He specializes in small dogs.
I made the decision based on the fact that I have two male dogs. One is neutered and one is not. I still work and my husband is home with them all day. He is not in good health and is losing his eyesight. He takes good care of the furbabies, but accidents are more likely to happen with them home with him. I would not take the chance of her having any babies as she is too little. I always worry about the mammary cancer. Her daddy is a little champion and the breeder says she looks just like him, but I am not going to take a chance with her.
I also had a hysterectomy at age 31 after 3 children and 2 miscarriages. I had a lot of problems carrying 2 of my children and was on bedrest with the last one for quite a while. Had a lot of problems for a year after he was born, so having the surgery was a relief.

When Lida had surgery, she developed a rare reaction to the anesthetic, we almost lost her. Our vet will not spay her now because of that and I'm afraid to get our little chi spayed because she is only 3 pounds and I don't know how her little body would react to the anesthetic. It's an individual choice that should be made taking all factors into consideration for each dog. Just my 2 cents worth.

I am in the market for a female baby...and I have been wondering the same thing about spaying or not. I'm considering the possibility of breeding in the future. You all are so knowledgable about your babies...can you "walk" us novices through what a typical heat cycle is like? Thanks so much.

It is for this exact reason that most vets recommend doing a full blood panel before they will put the dog under anesthesia...there are tests they run to see if the dog will have a bad reaction or not. Did you do the blood panel with Lida? Was any abnormality detected?

Size really doesn't play a factor if the vet knows how to treat toy dogs differently with the anesthesia. Mia was I believe 1.5 lbs when she was spayed, Emmy was less than 2 lbs as well. I know it seems scary but when you think about it they do surgery on guinea pigs and things even smaller, the humane society spays and neuters puppies as soon as they arrive, some as small as 6 weeks old.

This information has helped me. Thanks.