[CorkyMax]

Dog Spay Surgery, From Start to Finish

Personally I don't agree with that early spaying mentioned.

[Deafdogsrule]

Originally Posted by CorkyMax

Personally I don't agree with that early spaying mentioned.

Neither do I. I prefer spaying/neutering after my dogs reach maturity, as there are alot of health risks for early spay/neuter. Especially with males. Of course, if there is even the slightest chance your dog will get pregnant, than spay before the first heat, as that's the greatest health risk of all! not to mention adding to the dog population!

I have to confess. Mouse is 3 years old and not yet spayed. Though she is allergic to metal (yes, even surgical stainless steel) so I have a real risk for spaying her... however as she has phantoms, and is a dachshund, she is at a much higher risk of Pyo (cant spell the rest of the word lol) so she really does need to be spayed... I'm just terrified I'll lose her during or after her surgery!

[threenorns]

were my dog a female, she'd be spayed - i've known too many ppl who nearly lost their dogs due to pyometritis and it cost a wracking fortune to treat. i also know someone who tragically simply couldn't afford the emergency surgery on her pension (cost ranged $1500 and up by the time you add medication, anaesthesia, extra cost for spaying mature animal, hospital stay, etc) and had to have her dog put down.

as he's a male, no way. he's already not a candidate for vaccination (he had an allergic reaction to the second shot and the vet told me each shot will result in a worse reaction and the risk of death goes up pdq) and i'm not increasing his risk for obesity, bone cancer, hemangiosarcoma, geriatric dementia, etc.

[lange]

Originally Posted by Deafdogsrule

Neither do I. I prefer spaying/neutering after my dogs reach maturity, as there are alot of health risks for early spay/neuter. Especially with males. Of course, if there is even the slightest chance your dog will get pregnant, than spay before the first heat, as that's the greatest health risk of all! not to mention adding to the dog population!

I have to confess. Mouse is 3 years old and not yet spayed. Though she is allergic to metal (yes, even surgical stainless steel) so I have a real risk for spaying her... however as she has phantoms, and is a dachshund, she is at a much higher risk of Pyo (cant spell the rest of the word lol) so she really does need to be spayed... I'm just terrified I'll lose her during or after her surgery!

Do vets ever work with lasers? Although probably hard to come by those who might..

[threenorns]

heh - as if. i'm still trying to figure out why vets have a white and woolly when i ask why can't i just get my dog vasectomied? i mean, considering that the so-called main purpose of neutering is to prevent puppies, i fail to understand why the ONLY option is whacking 'em off. why not just snip the tubes - best of both worlds - dog is totally intact, just can't make babies.

[Deafdogsrule]

My vet will do a vasectomy, and he does use a laser, but the incision forceps and such are all surgical steel, not to mention the table, the kennels, the bowls... etc. Even he's worried about her getting an infection due to not healing properly with the allergy... but it's going to have to get done. Pyo is a scary thing!

[DobermanGuy]

Originally Posted by CorkyMax

Personally I don't agree with that early spaying mentioned.

I thought that the entire article was lame and left out a LOT of details.

Especially as it pertains to the question of 'Are there any risks associated with spay surgery?'. That article left out many important risks that owners NEED to be aware of BEFORE they make their decision.

On the negative side, spaying female dogs
• if done before 1 year of age, significantly increases the risk of osteosarcoma (bone cancer); this is a common cancer in larger breeds with a poor prognosis
• increases the risk of splenic hemangiosarcoma by a factor of 2.2 and cardiac hemangiosarcoma by a factor of >5; this is a common cancer and major cause of death in some breeds
• triples the risk of hypothyroidism
• increases the risk of obesity by a factor of 1.6-2, a common health problem in dogs with many associated health problems
• causes urinary “spay incontinence” in 4-20% of female dogs
• increases the risk of persistent or recurring urinary tract infections by a factor of 3-4
• increases the risk of recessed vulva, vaginal dermatitis, and vaginitis, especially for female dogs spayed before puberty
• doubles the small risk (<1%) of urinary tract tumors
• increases the risk of orthopedic disorders
• increases the risk of adverse reactions to vaccinations

I can cite sources for those facts if anyone needs to see them...

Somewhat related to this are recent studies that have shown an increase in longevity for female dogs that remain intact or are allowed to remain intact for much longer periods before getting altered...

I have owned female dogs most all of my adult life and have never needed to have any of them 'altered' to prevent an accidental pregnancy. Supervision works fine for me...

[threenorns]

i've had ppl ask me if my dog is gay or still a young pup because he doesn't try to mount females in heat.

oh, he gets all excited and barks his fool head off and spins in circles but he just shoves his head up under their tail - he's pretty good at wheelbarrowing - but the moment he thinks to rear up, he looks at me and you can just hear the sheepish chuckle as he changes his mind. there's one bitch in town, i swear to gods she must be the doggie version of angelina jolie because he looooooooooooooooooooves her to death - a border collie, as it chances - and then i might have to say a firm "dandy! no! sit!". but that's about it.

certainly none of this bosh about hormones making him uncontrollable.

dizzy, loopy, ditzy - fine. but not out-of-control, raging at all the males, and certainly no need to lock up the wimminfolk. i think such uncontrollable "slave to their hormones" behaviour is partly bec of the preponderance of piss-poor dog owners and marketing from the vet industry.


btw: my mother's goldendoodle - was diagnosed with hip dysplasia about six months after she was spayed but to be fair, she had the symptoms before, just nowhere near as bad. she also has lick granuloma on her lady bits and spay incontinence.

and she's chunky - good part of that lays at my mother's feet but i'm pretty sure spaying didn't help.

[DobermanGuy]

Originally Posted by threenorns

dizzy, loopy, ditzy - fine. but not out-of-control, raging at all the males, and certainly no need to lock up the wimminfolk. i think such uncontrollable "slave to their hormones" behaviour is partly bec of the preponderance of piss-poor dog owners and marketing from the vet industry.

I agree completely.

I hear the same garbage about females and about how you should NEVER have more than one unaltered female around because of fights and such... They are telling this garbage to a guy that has a few unaltered females that have always lived together peacefully in the same home and that also get to interact regularly for hours on end with OTHER unaltered females - They act like normal dogs...

[threenorns]

isn't it odd: they're the first to point to the wolf pack as the gestalt of all that is dogginess but they carefully don't notice the fact that in any wolf pack, ONLY one male and ONLY one female actually breed - the rest of the females either do not go into heat or they segregate themselves until it's over. the males? no problem there, either - they mind their manners or it's stomp time from the breeding male.

[CorkyMax]

From DoberMan's post:• causes urinary “spay incontinence” in 4-20% of female dogs

That is the main reason I am against early spaying! Then because of the incontinence it causes--- too many unknowing people let their vets prescribe PROIN--the killer drug that was taken off the human market because of it's dangers!!---It has killed a lot of dogs and yet it is still being sold for dogs!!!

[Lunareclipse]

Originally Posted by CorkyMax

From DoberMan's post:• causes urinary “spay incontinence” in 4-20% of female dogs

That is the main reason I am against early spaying! Then too many unknowing people let their vets prescribe PROIN--the killer drug that was taken off the human market because of it's dangers!!---It has killed a lot of dogs and yet it is still being sold for dogs!!!

It is a lot easier to get a drug on the market than it is to take it off. The drug people made their money off of it, now they don't care about anymore.

[CorkyMax]

Yeh, I know, I hardly ever use the word pharmeceutical companies without having GREEDY in front of it!

[lange]

I had done my own research with Kuma not so long ago. I had concerns in spaying Kuma early and was on the fence. I opted for early spay since I rather her tinkle on occasion than get cancer. Yogi also sided with my vet in early spaying. No offense to anyone who disagrees, but for now I'll stick to early spaying pros over cons. I also don't want to deal with a female in heat. It was the main reason I took so long in owning a female.

[DobermanGuy]

Originally Posted by lange

I also don't want to deal with a female in heat. It was the main reason I took so long in owning a female.

Mine make NO messes in the house at all when they are in heat. They wear their underwear (and pads) and give us no grief about it for the most part. It is funny how when we go to put underwear on one of them the other dog will stand there waiting for hers too!

[threenorns]

my bff has a female - big one: shepherd/huskey mix - and there's no problem with her, either. she doesn't wear undies, though - my friend tried it once but laughed so much that the dog refuses to wear them.

i think her dignity got offended.

[DobermanGuy]

Mine did not really know what to think of them at first. They eventually figured out that if they took them off, they got sent to their crate - If they kept them on and left them alone, They got to hang out in the house and move about as they pleased!

We just happened to get lucky when we figured out that our boys old underwear (that the boys outgrew) fit the dogs butts perfectly! LOL! All we had to do was cut a small hole just below the waistband for the tail to go through and they stay on just fine...

The special doggie pants they sell at the petstores are EXPENSIVE! I can buy a ton of regular Haynes underwear for them if needed and still spend less money in the end!

[Deafdogsrule]

Mouse in her diaper LOL. Seriously, heats aren't that big a deal. I have two neutered males that she bugs for, umm... servicing? but they have no idea what is up with that crazy dog! and she leaves her diaper on, so not a concern for me.