Not to get my chihuahua neutered?

[wallowinwater]

She 8 now and I could never bring myself to put her through the operation as it seemed from my perspective unnecessary and cruel. I feel very emotional about it as she can't tell me what she wants, I know probably weird. There is very little chance of pregnancy as no male dog has ever shown an interest, I'm guessing cos she was so small. Vets always advised to neuter to avoid womb cancer or initially lower the chance of breast cancer. Breast cancer not relevant anymoreas she's older. I have been advised pyometria is a high risk to older small dogs. AIBU not to get her neutered? I'm worried about risk of her having op and no one can provide me with statistics about incidence of Pyo in the general population, just anecdotal including vet. Thanks

Well you should have done it years ago, and the risks would have been lower.

I would get it done now tbh.

Our old cat had pyometra because she wasn't neutered. Luckily it was noticed quickly and she recovered fast but it could have killed her.

Pyo is so dangerous especially if you don't notice the signs and it will cost you a hell lot more than neutering.
I suppose the question is could you live with the guilt if she died from pyo when you could've got her neutered and recovered in a few days?

I mean obviously you can't go back in time but it was a bit of a cavalier attitude not to when she was young. I still think it's worth doing now.

I felt the same about my cat, it didn’t feel right putting her through an operation but then I read up on pyo and got her neutered. I am glad I did. She is a lot calmer and more affectionate since she had the op. Obviously that’s a cat but it can’t be nice to have the innate desire to mate and never get it fulfilled.

I would get it done now.

A family member lost her 10 year old bitch to Pyo recently. She noticed her lying down on the lawn when she went out that morn and by mid afternoon she’d been PTS.
The PDSA deals with at least a couple of cases a week. I don’t know the risks of late spaying though.

Our clinic deals with hundreds of cases of pyo. The risks of pyo far outweigh the risks of neutering.

I would get it done now. I have a male dog so not sure about bitches and being in heat but I felt it was really unfair for my dog to be feeling intense urges to mate when he wasn’t allowed to, I had him neutered.

I have had 2 bitches that i didnt have spayed. They both got pyo. I will always spay now.

I neutered my beloved baby girl and she died on the operating table... heartbroken.

Pyo is potentially dangerous. You should get her neutered. I got one of mine done at 5 years old and she was much happier and energetic afterwards. I have no regrets. I also have a chi who I neutered at 4 years old. 8 isn’t old for a chi and I’m sure yours would be fine too. Again I have no regrets about getting my little girl neutered. She was great after, recovered quickly and I’m no longer stressed about the dangers of pyo.

I had a small dog spayed at about the same age and she was fine.

I would absolutely spay now as the risks are only going to increase from now on. Some vets do a keyhole spay if that's of interest, though you'd have to check if it's available for such tiny dogs.

If you can't make decisions in the best interest of your pet, you shouldn't have one.

Do it (and if you have a bitch in the future, do it earlier). My girl was done after her first season, she felt sorry for herself for 48 hours after her spay then was back to her normal self. My childhood dog was spayed at 6, we lost her at 8 to one of the mammary cancers that they are high risk for if neutered late or not at all.

For context, I’ve got an entire dog because I think the pros/cons for males are far more balanced and it was the right decision for him (so far) but for bitches I think it’s totally clear-cut.

Approx 1 in 3 entire females will have a pyometra at some point in their life. Each season increases the risk as it is hormonally driven.

We have ALWAYS had our pets neutered. Most of ours we got from shelters or rescues so they came altered. We recently had our youngest male neutered.

Animals should generally be neutered young due to a lower health risk at that age. Your best bet would be to check with your veterinarian and see what they recommend. When we had Gatsby done recently, we were told that if a cat is over 6 years old they do bloodwork prior to surgery and that they would recommend IV fluids. (Gatsby was only 8 months old so we declined both. He jumped onto a tall cabinet hours after surgery. He's fine.) Your vet will be able to advise you of any potential risks. They may be somewhat lower for your dog because small dogs tend to live longer; I don't think 8 is that old for a Chihuahua.

This is Gatsby postop.

Well if she gets a pyo she'll have to have an emergency hysterectomy which is much more risky than a planned one in a healthy dog, that's if you catch it in time. We had a lovely old dog in last week with pyo, unfortunately the owner left it too late and she died post operatively from septicemia. They're really quite common in older entire bitches. Also your dog has a 1 in 4 chance of developing mammary tumours, not sure why you think she's no longer at risk. Planned hysterectomies/anaesthetics are incredibly safe and routine in veterinary practice and dogs generally recover remarkably quickly.

Just asked my DH who's a vet and he said as she gets older it's almost inevitable that she'll get a pyo.

Mortality rate for pyo is 10%. Standard neutering, even at 8 years old, assuming she's healthy is negligible.

As an aside, I had a 5yo un- neutered female who developed mammary cancer through not being spayed.

My Dh lost his beloved lab to pyo. He has never forgiven himself. The amount of blood was a shock for him to see.

I'm getting my two girls spayed. (I've got chihuahuas too)

Madam is going to be done in a couple of months. This is after her 3rd season.

Puppy will be done in about 18 months.

I like, and the vets agree, to let the girls reach maturity before spaying. Depending on breed can depend on their age of maturity.

I'm dreading having her done but I know she needs doing for her own safety and wellbeing

Its a lot higher risk now that she’s older - talk to your vet and see what they advise. If you don’t, be sure to always keep her well away from unneutered males.

My friend's Staffie had Pyometra, became really unwell, and ended up having to have a hysterectomy, but she very nearly died. She was 9 at the time.

My staffy developed mammary gland cancer (she was a rescue dog and we got her spade as soon as we got her). She’s had to have all of her mammary glands removed on her left side. The same with my DHs dogs - they were never spayed but all ended up with cancer. Mine have always been spade and there has been no incidence of that type of cancer.

You should have got her done earlier but that doesn’t help the situation now. Speak to your vet. Sure it’s difficult to deal with during and after the op but seeing your poor dog suffer with something worse would be awful

Breast cancer not relevant anymoreas she's older.

It's actually the opposite; mammary tumours are more common in older bitches.

Pyometra would be my main concern however; again it is more common in older bitches. The more seasons they have the greater the risk and trust me when I say that performing an emergency spay on a pyo case is many, many times more risky and complicated than a routine spay on a healthy bitch. Emergency pyo cases are among my very least favourite things to deal with. I've never lost a healthy bitch in a routine spay, I have sadly seen many lost to pyometra.

Another person whose male dog is being left intact (unless a good reason crops up to change that) but who would have spayed a female as a matter of course, within the first year or so.

I'd choose spay over the risk of pyometra any day.