can't make the decision whether to spay or not

[iamannietan]

hi everyone,

my girl is 1 and half year old and she weight 3lbs
her 2nd heat had just ended
i plan to spay her before her 3rd heat

but i'm so worry about the surgery because i know some YT members lost their little baby because of the spay surgery

there is not possible for my girl to accidentally pregnant since she is my only dog in the house and i hardly take her out

the reason for spaying her is all about to prevent cancers in her future life

it's really hard for me to make the decision whether to spay or not to spay..

i don't want to lost her for the surgery..
i don't even want to take the risk if there is only 1% of chance for her to die on the surgery table.

do i really need to spay her to keep her healthy?
how high is the chance for our little one to get cancer if they r not spayed?

if it's possible, i really dont wish to spay her cause i really cant take the risk to put my baby to hell...

please advice

[Gennies]

I totally understand your fear as I just had to live through Bijou (my 9 week old puppy who's 2.7 lbs) going through surgery to repair a broken leg. I really thought she was going to die on the operating table, but she didn't. She was on pain medicine from the e-vet the night before surgery (which wasn't until 4:15 pm the next day) that caused diarrhea, even with all these things stacked up against her she pulled through! They do pre-surgery blood work to ensure everything is working as it should. I recommend you call your vet's office and ask for a session with the vet just talk about your fears and what they do to ensure your baby's safety while under.

I did a simple google search for you and came up with tons of information. Here's a link:

reasons to spay a dog - Google Search

According to the ASPCA's website here's the top 10 reasons to spay / neuter:

Your female pet will live a longer, healthier life.
Spaying helps prevent uterine infections and breast cancer, which is fatal in about 50 percent of dogs and 90 percent of cats. Spaying your pet before her first heat offers the best protection from these diseases.

Neutering provides major health benefits for your male.
Besides preventing unwanted litters, neutering your male companion prevents testicular cancer, if done before six months of age.

Your spayed female won't go into heat.
While cycles can vary, female felines usually go into heat four to five days every three weeks during breeding season. In an effort to advertise for mates, they'll yowl and urinate more frequently—sometimes all over the house!

Your male dog won't want to roam away from home.
An intact male will do just about anything to find a mate! That includes digging his way under the fence and making like Houdini to escape from the house. And once he's free to roam, he risks injury in traffic and fights with other males.

Your neutered male will be much better behaved.
Neutered cats and dogs focus their attention on their human families. On the other hand, unneutered dogs and cats may mark their territory by spraying strong-smelling urine all over the house. Many aggression problems can be avoided by early neutering.

Spaying or neutering will NOT make your pet fat.
Don’t use that old excuse! Lack of exercise and overfeeding will cause your pet to pack on the extra pounds—not neutering. Your pet will remain fit and trim as long as you continue to provide exercise and monitor food intake.

It is highly cost-effective.
The cost of your pet's spay/neuter surgery is a lot less than the cost of having and caring for a litter. It also beats the cost of treatment when your unneutered tom escapes and gets into fights with the neighborhood stray!

Spaying and neutering your pet is good for the community.
Stray animals pose a real problem in many parts of the country. They can prey on wildlife, cause car accidents, damage the local fauna and frighten children. Spaying and neutering packs a powerful punch in reducing the number of animals on the streets.

Your pet doesn't need to have a litter for your children to learn about the miracle of birth.
Letting your pet produce offspring you have no intention of keeping is not a good lesson for your children—especially when so many unwanted animals end up in shelters. There are tons of books and videos available to teach your children about birth in a more responsible way.

Spaying and neutering helps fight pet overpopulation.
Every year, millions of cats and dogs of all ages and breeds are euthanized or suffer as strays. These high numbers are the result of unplanned litters that could have been prevented by spaying or neutering.

(((((((((((Hugs))))))))))))

[Gennies]

I forgot to say how beautiful your baby is! I hope my Bijou's coat is at least half as pretty when she's older

[BLowry]

I completely understand your anxiety! I waited to have my 2 girls done. Sadie,6 1/2 lbs,was 3 yrs old and Lillie,4 1/2 lbs, was 2 yrs old. I had them done together. I was a NERVOUS WRECK!! In the long run, spaying outways not spaying. I would have blood work done before the spay and discuss all your concerns with your vet. Make sure they use either Isoflourine or sevoflorine (anesthetic) They are both good. However, sevo is a more gentle anesthetic. They wake up faster without alot of the side effects of the other anesthetics. Again. I would discuss all your concerns with your vet.

[Mysweetbabies]

I am in the same boat you are. Daisy will be 1 in Dec. she is 2.4lbs. I don't know what to do either

[rtsmichele]

I have a 3 pound 11 month old girlie that I had spayed in early July. I was terrified, but totally convinced that it was the right thing to do. My mom's yorkie is 11 years old and 2.5 pounds. She had her spayed at my vet's clinic because he had worked with lots and lots of tiny dogs and was really comfortable in doing so.

Make sure you trust your vet and you (and your baby) will be just fine. Abbi (my dog) was dipsy for the next day and was running and playing the second day after her surgery. The most important thing you have to do is to MAKE SURE that you get some nutrition into your dog the night of the surgery. With them being so small they have no fat reserves to live on. So my vet told me to offer her anything that I could think of that she would eat.


Good luck!!

Michele :-)

[Britster]

Totally understand why you're so nervous! I do believe that the benefits of spaying outweigh the cons though and say you should do it!

[yorkie_mama22]

I had HORRIBLE anxiety to put my Stormy under to have reconstructive nose surgery. I thought 100% for sure something would go wrong, not because she was tiny but because of all the medical issues she has went through. Of course we did bloodwork before the surgery and had a surgeon who knew what he was doing and was very careful, she made it through. Please do bloodwork and find someone you can trust and has done small dogs before.

[LIL MIS' MAGIC]

I understand your worries about surgery on our little ones! You have some excellent advise concerning pre-surgery blood work!

But I will tell you after having to recently deal with emergency surgery on an unspayed female that developed pyometra and being forced to trust an emergency vet to handle a dangerous emeregency surgery.....I strongly suggest you find a good vet you can trust that knows little dogs and then do the pre-surgery blood work and have the spay done....it is much easier to deal with than the emergency situation I found my pup in.

Good luck!

[yorkie mad]

pre surgery bloodwork? You don't get that here in the UK. The vet met Tia when she was 3mths old for a health check and then she had her spay at 6 mths old , just straight in and done. You guys are much more careful there and thats a really good thing , it sounds like you couldn't be in safer hands.

[paulalowe6]

I understand completely why you would be concerned. Sounds like you have been given alot of good advice. I just wanted to say that your baby is absolutely gorgeous!!

[mimimomo]

Find a vet that has lots of experience w/small toy dogs. Luckily, I trust my vet & she says rest assured, in the shelters, they spay & neuter 2 lb puppies & as early as 6 weeks old. The ones sadly that lost their lives during surgeries like this is very unfortunate, but also very seldom.
Spaying your precious girl before she has her 3nd heat will reduce (sorry I don't have the percentage) mammary cancer, but spaying after if I recall, doesn't lessen the chance.
Mimi's daughter got spayed when she hit almost 3lbs @ 9 months & did fine.

[Mardelin]

Something that hasn't been mentioned here with unspayed/unbred females....with each Season that a female is not bred you increase the possibility of pyrometria.....How would you like to wake up or find your girl in a pool of blood or pus emitting from her vagina, you have a short period of time to get her surgery, where they'll do an emergency spay.....more chance of complications.....I've had a couple of my girls spayed at 6 months of age weighing 3 or 4 pounds...The procedure has evolved so much in the last few years.....Anesthetic is that, that is use din pediatrics......your girl will be put on heart monitors and oxygen is readily available....

[darnlora]

I had my Tootsie done 3 weeks ago, she weighed 4 pds 5 oz it is scary, she did fine!!!! At the same time had our oldest girl Teddi done she was 9 my husband was against it but I am glad I did!!!! After surgery our vet called me said it was a goood thing we had /teddi in to spay her she had pyametry and it was the last stage..... He told us she would have been dead in 2-3 days her infection was so bad!!!!!! So the positive reasons outweigh the our reasons!!!!!!!