questions about spaying...please help me!
 

Ok, I know there are a ton of spay/neuter questions on here, and I've searched "spay" and read a lot of posts' to try and get some answers. Although I dont think mine have been asked.

Kelsey is 9 1/2 months now, she's about 8 1/2 pounds and I believe all of her teeth have came in. Lately I've been keeping a good eye on here b/c she is getting older and may go in heat any day now. I've noticed her behavior is different. She is laying around a lot and I've noticed her pee-pee (sorry I dont know what to call it! lol) is a little swollen, but then again I dont remember what it looked like before :confused: ...and also she's been licking herself a lot! Im not sure if it's b/c she's going in heat or b/c she just got groomed and she shaved her stomach and cut the hair around her privates, so she may just not be used to it. Im confused...and want to get her spayed...I'm just trying to figure out if she has in fact gone in heat. If she is....or will be soon...Do most vets have them overnight for the surgery? Will her attitude change while she's in heat? Do I need to take special care of her while in heat such as rub her belly or give her more water/food? And then after she has the surgery what should I do for her? Does she need special care..etc. Thanks! :p
Sorry if any of these questions have been answered...

When I said "give her water/food" of course I already do that..lol I just mean more than I normally do. :)

It sounds to me like she might be going into heat...at least maybe the very beginning of it...neither of my girls went through heat so I am not sure about all that but I do know that you can have them spayed during heat, it is more expense but it will save them all the yuckiness of going through heat....after surgery she will just need extra love as she takes a couple of days to get back to normal!!

Hi Nicole, i got your message lol - you crack me up!
Ok, it sounds like Kelsey is starting to come in heat now, i really dont know if other dogs behaviour changes, but Chelsey's hasnt! i have her in diapers as you know, because it can be quiet messy, theres no need to give her more food/water, then what she normally gets.
I bath Chelsey the normal way which is once or twice a week.

Her hormones might take a spin on her, it did with Chelsey, she started humping poor Chanel lol Chanel stood there wondering WHAT ON EARTH got into her sister :eek: and returned the favour by biting in her ears :eek:

Apart from that, Chelsey doesnt seem to care or worry about anything!

It does sound like she is going into heat. They pay a lot more attention to their private parts when they are getting ready to go into heat and they do swell up quite a bit. If she is in a few days whe will start to spot. Most vets will go ahead and perform the spay but it will be extra. Not sure how much extra but I know it is. The heat cycle normally last 3 weeks. When they are ready to conceive is 7 to 10 days I can't remember if that is into their cycle or after the quit spotting. Be extra carefulif you are planning on waiting to get her spayed until after her cycle I would just keep her inside as much as possible and take her out on her leash.

Attitude change probably depends on the dog. Only special care she would need if you are going to wait to have the surgery is maybe getting her some bitches britches I think this is what they are called. Sorry if they are not. I don't want to offend anyone. This just cuts down on the mess.

The last dog I had spayed was my chocolate lab she did not stay overnight. My vet will let them come home if they are doing well enough from the anesthesia and dont anticipate any problems. She fells they will be better off at home.

After surgery your vet will mainly recommend kepping her as calm as possible for a few days. Mine did.

I hoped this helped.

Sheila

She could be going into heat ..but I've been waiting for Gizzie to do so for a loooong time now LOL ....she's kidded me a few times that she may be starting too but all false alarms..my little girl is 14 months in Sept! Ana xx

If she is going in heat , your vet will ask you to wait two months before doing the surgery .

LOL thanks girl..i appreciate the advice. You have me laughing over here too. Have a good weekend! :D

holy moley! lol At least Im not the only one..haha. ;)

I think Kelsey is going into her heat. My vet told me that she prefers to wait to spay the dog at least one month after her heat cycle. When Gucci when into heat her private got very swollen, she slept a lot and was a bit crancky. She also bled but it wasnt that much.