Spay and Neuter facts you may not know...

[SweetViolet]

I think most of us just assume that spaying/neutering is the best thing we can do for the future health of our furbabies. In particular, we focus on spaying as a way to prevent mammary cancers and/or pyometra in our girls.

But are you aware that spaying/neutering can have negative side effects, including a significantly increased risk of other cancers? My Fox Terrier, who was spayed long before I got her, suffers from one of these cancers, an aggressive one, and has had three surgeries in the past 9 months to remove tumours. The vet tells me we will have to put her down before the year is out. Would she have been spared had she not been spayed?

If you have not yet spayed/neutered your furbaby, you need more information before making the decision; if your furbabies have already been spayed/neutered, you need to know what kinds of risks they now face so that you can be alert to their symptoms.

Please read What you don’t know could kill… | The Angels Weekly and whatever your decision, may your babies live long and healthy lives.

[Lucia]

I had only heard the positives regarding spaying when I had Twinkle done, so this made for some interesting reading. It's great to have all the information available so that you can make an informed decision xxx

[cheryl19]

That may be true and I'm sorry about your Fox Terrier, but all you need to do is go in your home town shelter and see all the cats and dogs that will be put to sleep because no one will take them

[shell820810]

Originally Posted by cheryl19

That may be true and I'm sorry about your Fox Terrier, but all you need to do is go in your home town shelter and see all the cats and dogs that will be put to sleep because no one will take them

Well I made the spay decision and it was the wrong one. And I didnt make it because of unwanted pups. I am a responsible owner, and I would never have taken my eyes of Millie when she was in heat, not least for the risks to her of mating with a bigger dog.

I think there is 2 separate arguments here, and people are using the "health benefits" argument to control the amount of puppies, and thats the wrong reason.

[SweetViolet]

Originally Posted by cheryl19

That may be true and I'm sorry about your Fox Terrier, but all you need to do is go in your home town shelter and see all the cats and dogs that will be put to sleep because no one will take them

If your dog will not add to that population, then why do you need to spay? My Pekingese lived 14 years without spay and never had a litter. She also never had pyometra or any form of cancer, either. Conscientious pet owners can prevent unintended breeding.

If your intent, in spaying/neutering your dog is to prevent other problems, like pyometra or cancer, then you NEED to be informed of the potential harmful side effects of the surgery. Like the person above said...she had never heard the other side of the issue. Neutered males, for example are 4 times more likely than intact males to develop prostate cancer...did you know that?

I do not spay unless it is medically necessary...and I have never had to deal with an accidental litter, either. Of course, it takes a high degree of awareness of your pet, but the people here at YT seem to be extraordinarily aware of every little thing that goes on with their babies. I think they deserve to be fully informed BEFORE they make a choice that could have tragic consequences for them and their little sweeties.

[SweetViolet]

Shell, your situation with Millie really touched my heart...it literally made me hurt. I immediately began doing research and was horrified to discover the things in the article. Particularly to find that my beloved old Foxy's cancer was much more common in spayed females than intact.

I agree with your summation that "people are using the "health benefits" argument to control the amount of puppies, and thats the wrong reason." I believe you made the best decision possible with the information available to you--I also suspect that if you had had this new information as well, you might have made a different decision.

In all my years of dog ownership (more than 50), I have had only one spayed...she was a breeding bitch who developed pyometra after her third litter was weaned. Of course, we had her spayed and she lived out her remaining years as a beloved family pet. After seeing two Yorkies pass on in as many weeks here at YT from complications of spay, the only way Puddin' will face that knife is if the vet says it is medically necessary.

Again, I am so sorry about Millie. I wish I had done this research and published it before your tragedy.

[JoshieBoy]

Thank you for this information. I believe neutering and spaying is a personal choice for every owner to make that will affect their dog's life. I believe in neutering and spaying animals, but I will keep this information in mind. I am going to neutered Joshie. I do not want him marking in my house, and I hate trying to stop him from trying to hump my Shih Tzu (Hey, he is a dog). I saw on a dog-training show that neutering male dogs helps to prevent male aggression between male dogs. I like the benefits of neutering and spaying my dogs. I know all surgeries are risky. All owners need to do what is best for their dog. I think people stress fixing animals, because so many puppies do not find homes. Unlike most owners on Yorkie Talk, many owners do not monitor their dogs when they are in heat and get puppies that do not find homes unfortunately. I agree that this information needs to be shared with the public, so that everybody can make an informed decision. I am sad that Millie and the OP's dog might have been affected negatively by getting fixed.

[SweetViolet]

Originally Posted by JoshieBoy

Thank you for this information. I believe neutering and spaying is a personal choice for every owner to make that will affect their dog's life. I believe in neutering and spaying animals, but I will keep this information in mind. I am going to neutered Joshie... I agree that this information needs to be shared with the public, so that everybody can make an informed decision. I am sad that Millie and the OP's dog might have been affected negatively by getting fixed.

Please read up on the symptoms of prostate cancer in dogs, as well as hemangiosarcoma (what my Foxy has), and bone cancer in dogs. Neutering Joshie will put him at greater risk for these conditions, so it is important that you know what the symptoms are so that you can recognize them if they show up, so that you can get him early treatment.

[JoshieBoy]

Originally Posted by SweetViolet

Please read up on the symptoms of prostate cancer in dogs, as well as hemangiosarcoma (what my Foxy has), and bone cancer in dogs. Neutering Joshie will put him at greater risk for these conditions, so it is important that you know what the symptoms are so that you can recognize them if they show up, so that you can get him early treatment.

Oh, I will keep the symptoms in mind. I added the link to my favorite's folder so I can reread the article. I have a strong feeling that Joshie will be OK.

[Angiedoo]

My monkeynut will not be spayed and neither will the boy that we will get in the future be neutered.

I am sure that if you keep an eye on them both you will not have a litter. I however would like Bella to have only one litter, I will make an great effort to see that all the pups go to good loving homes. I will become a private detective for this trust me.

If no one wants the pups, the more the merrier I'll keep them all!

P.S. Hello Dawn me misses you
I worked to 7pm last night

[SweetViolet]

Well, if you keep Bella in britches while she is in heat, your boykie will go crazy wanting to mount her, but good pants will keep him from doing any damage. What a lot of people don't know, however, is that the girl is not safe once the bloody discharge is done...she gets a nearly clear discharge after that (kinda straw-coloured), and that is when she is most likely to fall pregnant. So get Bella some britches and keep her in them until the clear discharge is done as well!

PS we miss you too. Puddin' needs her playmate! And you have just got to see the adorable party dress I made Puddin'---grandma is coming next week to visit!

[Angiedoo]

Ah I can only imagine how cute that must be.

Im going to try to make a way to see you this weekend, even if it is for half an hour, Bella and Puddin' play so well together!

I have a ton of things to do this weekend once again!!!!

I will definately give you a call!

[hugz4all4]

Thanks for the info I will put it in my favorites as a future reference. I am truly sorry about your dog.
I am a firm believer in spaying and neutering, all of my animals have been fixed and any future animals that I get will be fixed.
There are pro's and con's to everything in life but I feel that in this situation the pro's definitly out weigh the con's.

[hugz4all4]

Originally Posted by shell820810

Well I made the spay decision and it was the wrong one. And I didnt make it because of unwanted pups. I am a responsible owner, and I would never have taken my eyes of Millie when she was in heat, not least for the risks to her of mating with a bigger dog.

I think there is 2 separate arguments here, and people are using the "health benefits" argument to control the amount of puppies, and thats the wrong reason.

IM so sorry about your Millie

I know that in your case the circumstances are different and I certainly can understand why you wouldnt spay another pet.

But your right, there are 2 seperate arguments here, but both are vaild. I choose to fix my pets for both reasons.. I feel that the cancer issue is higher in non fixed pets than it is in fixed pets. I have spoke with my vet and was given a ton of research on BOTH sides of the subject and again, the pro's outwieghed the con's for me. I havent heard of one dog (other than this morning on this forum) that has gotten cancer from being fixed. Im not saying it doesnt happen, It just doesnt happen enough for me to change my mind about not fixing my pets.
Yes, fixing your pets does help the pet overpopulation issue. I have read several threads on here about "oops" litters. They didnt want puppies, had the 2 dogs in 2 different areas of the house, blah blah blah, but they still got to each other anyways. It happens every day.

[bcrass2]

Ok...we are up early to take our male lab to be neutered. Wow... we are sitting here talking about the article. The last two males we owned that we neutered both died of bone cancer. One was a stray we picked up. He was a silkie terrier. His nails were an inch and a half long. They had dried concrete on them. We took him in and gave him all our love and the best care any dog could ever want. He lived 5yrs with us before his back legs started shrinking. We took him to the vet and he determined he had bone cancer. It broke our hearts. I have always strongly believed in spay and neutering. Our greyhound also had bone cancer. The article is definitely food for thought...