To Spay or not to spay????

[JackLover]

Ok with all the talk of the pros and cons of Spaying i am curious to know what all of you have decided? Also a reason for your choice would be great

[anaconda]

I think that unless you are thinking of breeding or showing your dog, (and you should only breed if your dog is true breeding stock) or if your dog is a rescue, you should neuter your dog. I am going to neuter Finn as he is a golden/lab mix and therefore would not fit those guidelines.

[anaconda]

Oh dammit I just realised this post was about spaying not neutering ARRRRRRRRRGGGHHHHHHH

Just pretend this is a reply to the neutering thingy, OK?

[JackLover]

Thanks but all i wanted was your personal choice, which is you choose to Neuter but this is the Spaying poll which is for bitches, I need the info for a friend who is studying the fact why there is so many unplanned litters being born

LOL i just posted the same time as you lol

[anaconda]

Sorry AARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGHHHHHHHH-covers mouth to stop from going on until doomsday

[Shalva]

I absolutely would spay any bitch not being bred....... I would however wait until they had at least one estrus (heat) cycle before spaying.

An intact bitch runs the risk of mammary tumours but also of pyometra a very serious sometimes fatal uterine infection. The more often a bitch comes into season without being bred, the higher the risk of pyometra.

This is outside the fact that having an intact bitch is a pain in the neck.....

I personally have all my dogs intact.... simply because I show and breed.

as far as neutering even though thats not what this is about..... I require in my contract that people wait until at least 18 mos of age at the youngest to neuter.... although I prefer my boys to be intact.... I do believe its healthier. I am however neutering one of my boys in december or january due to seizures that are exacerbated when my girls come into season.

S

[JackLover]

So why would let a bitch have a season first? This will just increase her chance of mammay cancer

[calgal]

My personal take on this is to spay, unless your showing a particular breed and want to keep the line healthy.

[Shalva]

i really don't want to type this all out again.....

however while mammary cancers do increase .....

spaying prior to maturity is associated with:
cardiac hemangiosarcomas
hemangiosarcoma
osteosarcoma
endocrine disorders
incontinence
I could go on and on and on

If you did a hysterectomy on a 12 year old girl you would not expect them to grow up normally. i have the data on this and would be happy to share the citations.... however in my mind..... some of what I listed on there is far less treatable than mammary tumour.

I would and require my puppy people to allow their girl to have one heat cycle prior to spaying.... its just better for the dog.
S

[BellFounder]

There are only two circumstances under which it is acceptable not to spey a bitch in my mind.
1) she is from champion stock and WILL be shown/compete in field trials etc and later bred from herself should she make the cut in the show ring/field, this is known as "bettering the breed"
2) she has a condition (heart condition etc) which makes the anaesthetic infinately more risky and in this case the cons of the operation outweigh the pros.
Any other reason isnt really a reason its an excuse made up by people who are irresponsible dog owners for not doing the right thing both by their individual dog and by the dog population in general.

[JackLover]

Ok i thaught this would happen but there are other topics about spaying, could everyone please just say what they have chosen, yes I asked why but with as little facts as poss, everyone has different opionions and thats fine, but I just want to know what you choose

[yesiames]

Originally Posted by Shalva

i really don't want to type this all out again.....

however while mammary cancers do increase .....

spaying prior to maturity is associated with:
cardiac hemangiosarcomas
hemangiosarcoma
osteosarcoma
endocrine disorders
incontinence
I could go on and on and on

If you did a hysterectomy on a 12 year old girl you would not expect them to grow up normally. i have the data on this and would be happy to share the citations.... however in my mind..... some of what I listed on there is far less treatable than mammary tumour.

I would and require my puppy people to allow their girl to have one heat cycle prior to spaying.... its just better for the dog.
S

woah woah woah so much information! i thought i did research
and none of the ill effects of spaying before the first heat cycle came up...

most of the websites said that spaying before the heat cycle is the best way to go... (i guess i didn't do enough research then?)

i just got sammi spayed about a week ago (before her first heat cycle) and this was after talking to a couple of vets/and our own...

did i make a mistake?

[Giny]

I feel that a "pet" dog should be spayed.

[BellFounder]

Originally Posted by Shalva

i really don't want to type this all out again.....

however while mammary cancers do increase .....

spaying prior to maturity is associated with:
cardiac hemangiosarcomas
hemangiosarcoma
osteosarcoma
endocrine disorders
incontinence
I could go on and on and on

If you did a hysterectomy on a 12 year old girl you would not expect them to grow up normally. i have the data on this and would be happy to share the citations.... however in my mind..... some of what I listed on there is far less treatable than mammary tumour.

I would and require my puppy people to allow their girl to have one heat cycle prior to spaying.... its just better for the dog.
S

Actually what you have is out of date data, the most recent citations suggest these findings were merely incidental and actually a speyed bitch has no greater chance of developing these conditions than an intact bitch and speying before the first heat cycle does NOT adversely affect the development of the urinary tract as previously thought. And yes lots of little girls have grown up without uterus's or with faulty hormone-production in their reproductive tract and not even noticed until they started trying to have a baby.

[TribalRats]

I feel that a "pet" dog should be spayed.

I agree Giny. In my opinion a pet should be spayed/neutered.