Spayed :(

[Laceface]

I waited 3 months after her first heat. And even then, I got a LOT of grief from people saying she was going to get cancer because I waited (??) and other such things. If I knew even later is better, I would have let her have another heat or two. She is little, so baby diapers fit and work, lol

 

[Shell]

I waited 3 months after her first heat. And even then, I got a LOT of grief from people saying she was going to get cancer because I waited (??) and other such things. If I knew even later is better, I would have let her have another heat or two. She is little, so baby diapers fit and work, lol

ahhh the good old cancer guilt trip. Every female dog has the chance to develop mammary tumors at some point in her life, spayed or not. Vets and some people seem to like to tell you that spaying them before a heat completely removes any chance of these tumors developing. I haven't seen any hard and concrete evidence to support this. I have seen an old girl with a mammary tumor and she had been spayed at 6mths old, never had a heat.

Now an unspayed female seems a little bit more prone to developing them later in life then a spayed female, but even then it's not a big risk increase (I say seems because there have been numerous studies, and in my personal experience with mammary tumors I have noted this. However, there is still nothing 100% concrete on this either.) Basic thing to understand is that any female dog can develop them, however they also aren't a hugely common thing. Other types of cancers are seemingly much more common then mammary tumors. For example, Rottweilers are prone to bone tumors, I have seen more Rott's with a bone tumor then I have mammary tumors (spayed and unspayed alike.)

 

[Teal]

There are two misinformed sides of the debate... one saying you need to spay them before their first heat, and one saying that they need to have one heat (or even one litter) before being spayed in order for it to be healthy.

I don't believe in either side of that debate.

Spaying or not spaying is not a determining factor, or even a significant one as Shell pointed out, in whether or not your dog WILL get cancer.

 

[Shell]

There are two misinformed sides of the debate... one saying you need to spay them before their first heat, and one saying that they need to have one heat (or even one litter) before being spayed in order for it to be healthy.

I don't believe in either side of that debate.

+1. Both sides of the debate are in essence just opinions, since there is no supporting evidence that either one is actually a legitimate timeframe for when to spay. As I said before, I feel there are many factors when considering what the right choice for your dog is, you have to do the research and take everything into consideration before making that decision

I forgot to add, my exotics vet also specializes in cancer treatments for dogs and cats. The last time I had one of our Ball Pythons in to see him, he and I had a lengthy discussion on spaying/neutering and cancer. Long story short, he basically agrees with everything both Teal and myself have put out there in this thread

 

[Laceface]

Well, I am glad I waited from everything I have read. She is a year old, and has had one heat. Even not considering those types of things, she has had plenty of neutral, and positive experiences in the vet's office, and on car rides before this traumatizing one. Since the other day, if we take her in the car she shakes like a leaf. She seems to think she is going somewhere bad, when before it was always to the park/vet where the only bad things were shots, followed immediately by treats, lol.

She is gonna go on every little trip with us for a bit, so she knows she isnt going to get hurt, the silly girl.

 

[codykrr]

ugh...man..this thread is making me have second thoughts.

we were told and have been planning to get our dog spayed next month(her 6th month mark) as the vet suggested. so now im a little confused.

the reason i was going to have her spayed to begin with is

1. i dont want blood in the house
2. i dont plan on breeding her.

but now its got me asking when i should do it..and if i should at all...:?

so what are the cons and pros. what could happen if we follow through and get her spayed before her first heat next month?

 

[Teal]

What COULD happen is that she will have weak joints from lack of growth/closing hormones and develop joint issues young in life (like hip dysplasia or worse). She could also develop spay incontinence. (personally, I'd rather deal with a heat every 4-6 months than puddles of pee every time she sleeps )

Dealing with a bitch in season is not as difficult as it seems, technically... the hardest part is keeping her safe from males. People think that they only need to keep the female separated while she is bleeding, and that is not true... their heat can start two weeks BEFORE they start bleeding, and continue two weeks AFTER - and they are usually fertile during those times. They can also have a "silent heat" where they don't bleed at all.
You don't have to have blood all over the house, either... doggy panties are very effective! My girls wear them, without any problems. They come in all sorts of cool colours... my bull terrier has pink camo ones LOL

It's great that you don't plan on breeding her, but you CAN keep an intact female without breeding her if you are diligent and use common sense - like not leaving her outside alone, or with a male dog! lol

In the end - it's up to you, of course. People think that vets are the end all, be all and the best source of information - which is absolutely untrue in most matters!

 

[Laceface]

Honestly, with a small dog heats aren't too hard, especially with just one. Buy a pack of baby diapers, cut a hole for her tail, tada, no messes.

From what I read, it is healthier for their growth to go through at least one spay.

I found a few links for you:

"A dog’s growth is for an important part influenced by its reproductive hormones. Taking away the internal re-productive organs at a young age, before the dog is fully grown, causes an extended bone-growth period, making the bones longer and thinner, with as a result an increased chance of skeleton problems."

"Extended research has also found an increase in incontinence with the early spayed females"

http://www.luckydogs.info/pdf/Web_-_Spaying_or_neutering_-_Pro_s_and_Con_s.pdf

http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/askdr/pediatricSPAY.htm

If you can easily keep her from other dogs, don't let the fear of the mess make you decide to spay before a heat. It really wasn't that hard to keep track of. There are lots of signs before they bleed, and as I said, diapers work awesome to keep things clean, and you don't even need to have doggy diapers, baby diapers work fine!

 

[Laceface]

Teal- have you ever used those flashy pants things? We tried those on Quinn, someone gave us a pair, and those things are horrible! They did not stay on at all. We went with baby diapers, and those worked wonders. Especially with a onesie on top, helped em stay still, lmao.

 

[Teal]

I had to google "Flashy pants" because I've never heard them called that LOL I didn't really get any definitive results, but yes.. I just use the panties made for dogs, with velcro.

I don't see how they could really make a functional one for small dogs, and everyone I know with small dogs use diapers too.

 

[Laceface]

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ddtwFgIg3-U/SBhB5xN20UI/AAAAAAAAAL0/udiSgSbcqOc/s400/Photo+196.jpg

Those are flashy pants. They tie on, are frilly tastic, and ick. They don't stay on, and I know Quinn thought there was an animal on her butt, lmao

 

[Teal]

LMAO What the H*** is THAT?! I would NEVER put that on my dog. EVER.

I am trying to find a picture of the type of panties I have for my dogs, and I am not finding anything remotely close! Weird!

Picture "granny panties" for women, with a pretty pattern (my girls have camo) and a hole for the tail.. and velcro at the top. I guess I need to take pictures of mine! They were made and sold locally at market in Portland, OR.

 

[codykrr]

yeah....i dont want puppies...nor blood. gross. :barf::barf::barf:

im pretty set on getting ours spade. but when? she was born, Oct. 29th 2009

that puts her right at 5 months old. the vet(which i am not saying is right nor wrong) said he prefers to do them around 6 months.(our vets seems to push spay and nueter...but he also owns and funds a dog shelter...so unwanted dogs is what he is trying to prevent.) now i dont want Chloe to randomly leak pee everywhere(our furniture was really expensive) and i damn sure dont want her to die young or something. so at what age would you suggest getting her spayed?

being raised in the sticks, we never thought of spayed or nuetering our dogs. my dad bred hunting dogs(AKC labs) and no he wasnt a puppy mill..lol

our male probably should have been nuetered after a while. because he roamed off almost 15 miles for some action...:clap: so this is all new to me.

and from research, there are so many mixed opinions on the subject i cant really seem to get a straight forward answer.

 

[Teal]

If you live with a woman, you won't have any trouble living with an intact bitch... you won't see the blood either way, unless you have to change the puppy pads... and really, it is NOT that bad.

Yes, there ARE a lot of mixed opinions... but it's your dog. Find which opinion you agree with most, and go with it.

If you want to know WHEN to get her spayed, I would say, the later the better... 1-2 years.

 

[Mack&Cass]

We got Finnigan neutered when he was 11 months old, so not quite a year. My mom's boxer female is 'intact' and Finnigan was driving everyone crazy. He wouldn't eat or sleep, and when we would take him up to our room to give Bella (the boxer) a break from Finny, he would just whine and scratch at the door. He was also getting really defiant and peeing on absolutely everything. Luckily, he couldn't reach Bella (she's a 70lb boxer, and he's a 25lb puggle) but he sure tried. He even actually....uh....well, got excited in Bella's mouth one time. Honestly, the horniest dog ever. Since he's been neutered, he obviously doesn't do any of that stuff anymore, but he still humps her when she's in heat.

Cass

 

[Teal]

Sometimes, it needs to happen.. especially with males. I have personally noticed less issues with neutering males early, than spaying females. Because spaying requires an invasive surgery that is in close proximity to other internal organs, it can cause a lot more problems as far as the actual procedure goes.

My male APBT was neutered at 7 months or so, for being an unreasonable horndog. This was several years ago, when I was doing rescue and was on the "spay/neuter em all!" boat. But then I did my research and got out from under the crazy rescue crowd, and realized that such a mentality is not the way to go.

 

[codykrr]

yeah, im pretty sure id see blood. and ugh:barf::barf

 

[Shell]

Sometimes, it needs to happen.. especially with males. I have personally noticed less issues with neutering males early, than spaying females.\]

Again, +1 to this. I have noticed the same thing.

I have to add, I just clicked on the flashy pants link and um... wow, that poor dog lol

 

[Laceface]

Yeah, flashy pants are very common in petstores here. They come with little pads that stick in em, but they fall off all the time.

Cody: With my girl at least, she didn't bleed much at all, just a few drops really. And with a diaper, you don't have to see it, same as with a baby. You have a wife, right? Just make her take care of it if that is what you decide to do.

 

[Teal]

Cody... grow up. Unless you have this life threatening fear of ANY sort of blood, you are being a bit immature right now. Sometimes people have to deal with "gross" things, it's part of life. You have a dog, it's your job to do what is best for HER - not what is best for your sensitivity

Sorry... it just gets to me when people get "grossed out" by simple things that are a part of life.