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Would you get female dog spayed?

28 replies

MorbidlyObeseWhale · 20/07/2019 09:45

I’ve never had a female before ... would you get her spayed? If so at what age? What are the benefits of going so (apart from the obvious puppy thing!)

OP posts:
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QOD · 20/07/2019 09:47

Yes as they can die from a womb infection- pylometra or something like that
They can also be stolen and bred from
Bleed everywhere on season

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Soubriquet · 20/07/2019 09:47

Yes

Unspayed females come into season every 4 months. She will bleed and be a right pain in the ass

Plus she will be open to having pyometra if she is unspayed and that is deadly for dogs.

I have 2 females who haven’t been spayed yet. The oldest is 2 so she will be done soon

The youngest is 1 and I will be waiting one more year to allow her to mature first

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Walney · 20/07/2019 09:52

Yes! Ours is booked in for 1st August after having had a season. Apart from the health benefits of avoiding pyometra and certain cancers, it also stops phantom pregnancies.

Aside from that, there's social reasons. Ours hated being unable to socialise and was utterly miserable at being on lead, unable to run and play. It is cruel to put them through that twice a year.

Plus the obvious thing of stopping unwanted litters.

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StillMedusa · 20/07/2019 09:52

Yes but with the caveat that she matures first. My new puppy is a larger breed and it was stipulated in the contract not to spay her before 1 months or 3 seasons so until she is mature.
Not that I can imagine her mature as she's currently a 10 week old fuzzball Grin

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Bookworm4 · 20/07/2019 09:54

Mine were spayed at 6 mths, recovered quickly, no after effects. No need for a season and is definitely beneficial to their health.

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Walney · 20/07/2019 09:57

Mine is currently going through a phantom pregnancy after the advice of waiting for a season (she's our first girl, had lots of boys always neutered at six months). The phantom pregnancy is horrible and my poor girl is in a lot of distress, so future girls will most likely be spayed at 6 months as there's been no difference in waiting.

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LemonTreeLemon · 20/07/2019 10:03

Yes. 3 months after the first season is best.

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GrumpyMiddleAgedWoman · 20/07/2019 10:14

The evidence is that it benefits dogs to be allowed to mature first (physically and emotionally), before you whip away some significant hormones. There are pros and cons to neutering, but for bitches the main one is removal of the risk of pyometra (fatal if untreated and sometimes fatal even then).

This is a great summary of the risks and benefits, though it is now a bit out of date.

I think the short answer is, yes, spay, but wait until she's properly grown up first.

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QOD · 20/07/2019 11:29

I waited for my chihuahua to have a season first and she had a bloody phantom pregnancy and has been left with big saggy tits. We call her testicle tits 🙄
The spay itself really hit her for 6 and I felt so guilty but short pain (she had pain relief) for long term gain

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Walney · 20/07/2019 13:05

Mine breezed through her season but the phantom pregnancy has caused her so much distress and I feel really bad that she's having to go through it. She's clearly distressed and whining a lot, we've had to take her bed away to stop nesting.

If we had another female I would definitely spay at 6 months rather than waiting as it's horrible for her.

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Yellowweatherwarning · 20/07/2019 13:13

After paying 2k for a mammary tumour removed (cancer), I wish ddog had been spayed. The vet said the earlier the better as less reduced risk after more seasons. 90 % reduction after 1 season, down to high risk if no op. Other ddog is 5 and vet said no point having her done now. Too late for risk reduction.

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Flibbertyjibbit · 20/07/2019 13:37

Ddog booked in for spay end of August. Which is 3 months after her first season. She will be 10 months old when spayed. We took vets advice on when to spay. They said 3 months after first season is best to reduce tumour risk etc.

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Bookworm4 · 20/07/2019 14:25

@Yellowweatherwarning
Not spaying your 5 yr old? That’s bad advice from your vet, it protects against various cancers and pyometra, I work in rescue and we neuter all ages unless detrimental to an elderly dogs health. 5 is still young.

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Yellowweatherwarning · 20/07/2019 14:35

I take that on board Bookworm4 thank you. My childhood ddog had pyometra and it was an awful time. She survived but could have been prevented.
Will still go ahead as had planned for this summer. Had been dissuaded wrongly then.
Regards...

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Weatherforducks · 20/07/2019 16:38

My girl really benefitted from getting spayed, she had a phantom pregnancy and really wasn’t herself, quite distressed really. Also difficult to walk bitches in dog friendly places when in season because of the unwanted attention, her season seemed to go on and on.

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missbattenburg · 20/07/2019 20:33

Came acrross this detailed and balanced view and thought you might find it useful, OP:

www.wolftucker.co.uk/blog/neutering-your-dog-making-an-informed-decision/

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Maneandfeathers · 20/07/2019 20:35

I would always always spay bitches but I let mine have one season first

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Walney · 20/07/2019 20:37

Hmmm, not sure how balanced an article it is when it describes neutering as 'arguably a mutilation'.

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Walney · 20/07/2019 20:42

I dislike arguments that suggest it's done for the owners convenience, especially for females.

I have seen how upset mine was during her season, she's very social and loves playing. I think it would be cruel to keep separating her twice a year, so it's definitely not to make my life easier.

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Wombleish · 20/07/2019 20:57

I was too soft to have my beloved border terrier, Holly, spayed. At 11 years old, just before Christmas nearly 3 years ago, the vet found a lump in her mammary tissue during a check up after her booster. She had an operation to remove the lump and was spayed at the same time. She never recovered properly from the op and died exactly a week later, the day after Boxing Day. I was, and still am, heartbroken. Then the insurance company refused to pay out anything at all, as it was in the vets' notes that I'd been advised several times to have her spayed.

We got a tiny JRT a few months after we lost Holly and she's now two. I've put off having her spayed, again because I'm too bloody soft, but I've now come to my senses and she will be spayed next month. I couldn't go through all the heartache again with an older dog, new dog, Tilly is still young and very fit, although still tiny and I really believe it's the best thing to do for any bitch.

Sorry this was a bit long and rather sad, but I hope it helps prevent another poor bitch and its owner from going through what we did. So, yes, OP, please get your girl spayed, for her sake.

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Wombleish · 20/07/2019 21:03

My girls ❤️

Would you get female dog spayed?
Would you get female dog spayed?
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BellaVita · 20/07/2019 21:06

Yes. Ddog was speyed at 18 months.

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whiskyremorse · 20/07/2019 21:21

The bigger the adult dog, the longer you should wait to get them spayed. We had our vizsla keyhole spayed at age 3 after 3 seasons. It takes bigger dogs a longer time to grow to adulthood

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QOD · 20/07/2019 22:34

My baby gal is a chi

Would you get female dog spayed?
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namechanged2000 · 20/07/2019 22:43

You can get her the contraceptive jag a week or 2 before her season to stop it if you're undecided on when to spay.

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