Honestly..
 

I have heard of some cases where pups/dogs did not make it through a spay/neuter surgery (heart stopped during surgery, anesthesia problem etc.). I want to know how many people have had this experience and how often do you hear it. Please do not give me the answer of spaying/neutering is a simple surgery and vets do it all the time. I am sure they do and I am sure it is a simple procedure that still carries an amount of risk. I am also sure people who have had experience of getting their dog done and never had a problem will sound more confident but I want to hear about the other side of the story. I am scared of getting my baby neutered and he is my only baby and I am not sure if I can trust any vets because if anything happens, it will be just another case that did not make it for them but not for the mommy.

I have heard of it happening 3 times on here. Only once when a dog was spayed. The other times were c sections

I don't know anyone who has lost a pet from this surgery, but I will tell you what my vet said when my Snickers had to have surgery (he was having bone plate surgery from an ortho vet surgeon to fix a broken leg when he was only 3lbs).......

He told me the bone plating was an easy surgery & that my dog would have a leg of steel after surgery & recovery time, but that he did need to make me aware of the risk of having such a small dog under anestesia. He said they are so little that they can possibly loose body heat VERY quickly & rarely, but sometimes they can die. He further said that because of the risks with a small dog, they would have him monitered constantly & take all precausions neccessary. I can tell you it wasn't easy to leave that day......but he gave me the confidence that every step would be taken to avoid the worst.

I would say, find a vet that you have confidence in & ask how they will moniter body heat & such during surgery.....have their bloodwork done prior to ensure its a healthy time for such a surgery.

i also have not read of anyone loosing a dog on here to spay/neuter although i know it happens a lot! i think it is relevant to their size... the smaller they are the bigger the risk... i think the best thing as parents to these little guys that we can do is going in knowing more than the vet thinks you do. i was completely knowledgeable about the type of anethesia that needed to be used and i drilled my vet with questions about "what if" i think he was taken back by my knowledge of eveyrhting and he took me very seriously.. i think if you can learn as much as possible and go into your vet asking every question out there you will feel better ebcause if the vet can answer you then you know you are at the right place, if he can't.. you better go find a new one. i think that some vets deal with little dogs a lot and others rarely see them so maybe you want to ask how many neuters he has done on a dog under 5 lbs and has he lost any... and go from there.... its tough and a neuter is an elective surgery but god forbid your little guy need another type of surgery it is best to know you are dealing with the best vet possible. let us know what you decide :)

Excellent post. I know everyone tells you "don't worry don't worry" but I was like you . I didn't want to hear that I wanted to hear the bad stories. But you know what? I didn't hear ANY! Just like human doctors, vets can also not know or not do something when necessary. My best advice to you is research everything you can about neutering and make sure your vet can answer all of your questions. Your baby will do great and he will be back to his usual self in no time at all.

It can be risky but not spaying or neutering can be riskier for their health. I think it's better to prevent health issues on a healthy dog than to try to repair / heal sickness on a sick one. Here's an example: Years ago we had a yorkie girl. My father was under the impression that females became fat and lazy after spaying and since she would always be supervised outside he didn't want to do that.

She developed pyometra and had to have a hysterectomy. This meant going under anesthesia when very sick. She survived the operation but I don't think she ever really recovered and the last year of her life she was sick a lot and ended up having to be put to sleep at age 5.

That being said, I had Debbie done at 7 months when she weighed 2.7 pounds. Since then she's been put under 3 more times for tooth extraction and cleaning and she's been just fine. She still weighs 3 pounds. I feel fortunate to have found a vet that understands that little dogs are different.

Thanks guys. I am already armed with a lot of information gathered from the Internet and from YT. I made another appointment for pre-surgical screening tomorrow. I do have to drill them with lots of questions because I can't feel that I totally trust them just yet. In the event that I feel they are not going to take care of my baby well during the surgery, I may have to change my vet because so far, I haven't have the feeling that I can trust them. But, they told me that the pre-surgical screening is with a vet techinician and not a vet itself?

How I wish the scientists will come out with a new way of sterilization without surgery. That would be great. Talking about that, I did read something that is like that called Neutrosol but I don't think it is going to be available just yet.

Wonder why it's with a vet tech and not the vet? My screening and any calls or concerns have been addressed by the vet that will be doing the surgery. I would find another vet just becuase of that. When I got to deal with my Dr for my physical I don't want to talk to the nurse about the procedure or my questions...that is why I am paying to see a doctor. Find another vet.

The neutrosol is available but a lot of vets dont' want to use it. I had asked my vet about it when I had first gotten Lex and taken him for his first check up.

I almost lost my Chi Zoey in July during a C-section. My vet was able to revive her. Worst feeling in the world. But now I too, am nervous about having her spayed. I also have a tiny cleft palate Chi, Tia.... I'm nervous as heck. Tia is 6 months old and should be spayed. I'm scared to death over it. After experiencing that it CAN happen, it scares the crap out of you. I still don't know what I'm going to do.

I have been doing a lot of reading to find out about the pro and cons of s/n. I have tons and tons of website that supports s/n due to the fact of pet overpopulation. I have also found these website...very few that tells a story beyond what the public knows:

http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog...st_that_t.html

The second link is research done on labs but it is still good reading based on results by real research.

http://www.littleriverlabs.com/neuter.htm

In this post, I am giving the link so that other members can read and make an informed decision. I am not DISCOURAGING s/n practice (so no bashing please) and I want the best for my baby's health in the long run because he is more than a dog to me, he is my kid. For me, I don't have a problem of having him contributing to pet overpopulation because I make sure he doesn't so for those who doesn't have the problem and is capable of controlling their Yorkies, and is in doubt like me of the benefits of s/n to their health, do read more and share it here so we can all benefit from it.

I also talked to a vet today. It seems that he thinks that for small breed dogs, it is best to neuter after a year old. He didn't tell me why because I think we are all under the pressure here to s/n but that was the best in his opinion.

This is a good reading too:-

http://www.animaladvocates.com/dog-b...egulations.php

my sister lost her gsd and my aunt lost her little jack but i dont know of anyone else.

My sister's best friend lost her dog, a border collie mix on the table from allergic reaction to anesthesia. She did not have pre surgical blood work done. When Cali was spayed it was done on an emergency basis while she was in heat because they thought she may have a intestinal blockage. I knew that she was going to have her spay done at the ER hospital by the board certified surgeon since she needed a liver biopsy at the same time for liver shunt so I had already had the consultation with the surgeon I just couldn't get myself to make the appointment as she had been so sick the first 6 months I had her. Then she went into heat and had the possible obstruction so I didn't have a choice. They couldn't do her teeth extraction because she was having trouble keeping her body temperature up so they had to bring her out. But they really monitored her well. They wouldn't release her for 36 hours after surgery.

One of the ladies in our Greyhound Rescue group lost her boy during a regular dental. Of course Greyhounds are tricky little buggers when it comes to putting them under. I have not ever heard of any other breed being lost during any type of "normal" procedure.

:thumbdown ummm....No. I dont' like this at all. The first thing a good vet / dr. does is try and allay any fears in his patient. I don't care how 'busy' this vet is, if s/he doesn't have time to sit and answer any questions you have face-to-face, then I'd say your instincts about not trusting "them" is right. It's sometimes hard to differentiate between being overly concerned about a medical issue, and truly not trusting a vet / dr. . I was so afraid I'd loose Abbie during spaying, or that infection would set in I almost made myself sick. But, if you don't feel comfortable with this vet, find another.

I would just make sure you do the preop bloodwork and make sure your vet uses Isoflurane during the surgery

when I had my 1st yorkie, Kloey spayed, she had a blood test done b4 surgery to make sure she could have the anesthesia. She did fine with it and came out great. But I lost her in July, she was hit by a car :(

There are Vets and then there are Vets. Blood work prior to surgery should be done if you are concerned and you can request she be on an IV to reduce trauma and keep her hydrated during surgery.
The major problem is Vets who do not know how much premed to give a toy dog. I prefer Vets who don't premed but mask them down first then procede from there.
I prefer a Vet with a lot of experience with toy breeds and very small dogs.
Vets are not going to admit to any wrongdoing you can bet on that just choose very carefully.
A high priced Vet is not necessarily the best and I find are often just overpriced, not necessarily good.

I know high priced vet are not necessary good and they are overpriced but I have difficulty looking for a good vet in Toronto itself and I have been searching high and low. If you have a good recommendation, please PM me.

Sure I will see who I can find for you and will PM you when I get an answer. As it is a weekend many show breeders are at a dog shows but I should get some input in a day or two.

I had Lexie spayed and I did a TON of research because I, too, had concerns and was worried about it. I checked what type of anesthetic they administer (absolutely NO BARBITUATES!!) as well as asked them about intubation (they should use the SMALLEST tube!) I also insisted on an IV so that if God forbid anything went wrong, they had a line in her. Do your research and homework- it will help ease your mind a little! I was a NERVOUS wreck the whole time so I understand!! Lex did great though!
Best of luck and feel free to PM me if you have any questions!!

Kris

I've heard stories and from that I made a decision not have mine spayed. That was 5 years ago. Primarily because there were doctors who were really unfamiliar with small dogs. And I was in school at the time and couldn't afford to take her outside the city to find a doctor. If I had to make the decision today I would do it but after researching the doctor

Do you know what is involved in the pre-surgical screening? Is it an actual appt before the surgury or is it done after you drop your pup off ?

I am a tech and i've worked with vets for many years. I've done pre-surgical screening on more dogs then i can remember. At the hospital i work at it involves an in house blood panel and an ekg. The ekg is run by a tech and the blood is taken by the tech. ALL RESULTS ARE LOOKED BY THE VET. In busy hospitals you cannot expect the vet to do everything. That's what tech's are for. We are trained professionals who, in most cases, go to school and are certified to do what we do. Every state in the US has different laws though and i don't know what htey are in your area so it many be much different then it is here.

I had my pup spayed when she was 6 months and she only weighed 3lbs. i was not even slightly worried because i have great trust in my vets. Find a vet you are comfortable with, but remember vets cannot do every little thing. If they did they would only be able to see minimal patients a day and only do one or two surgies a day. its impossible.

Thank you so much!!!!! I so appreciate that!