to spay or not to spay?

popadom

Hi i have a girl caviler king charles just gone 2 years. Ive been thinking baout getting her spayed since she was younger but no one explained seasons so i kept missing my chance.

The vet said something about every time you miss a chance to spay it increases the chance of cancer by 20% and that freaked me out.
Im not intending to have puppies .
I have a few worries:
personalitly-will it change?
food-i stuggle to get her to eat dog food and worried shell put lots of weight on with this and she end up obese.
health-will it improve anything?
her-she was so depressed last time she was on anasethic. And refused to come near me for days.


I know i sound moany but she is like a kid to me, my first dog on my own so i worry. Could anyone help.

bagginslover

Personality-anyone who tells you yes or no for certain is lying, until you have it done there is no way to know. As she is older it is less likely to change her though.

Food- yes, she will bemore suseptable to putting on weight, but this just means you keep a closer eye on her weight-most vets will let you pop in and weigh your dog for free if you are registered with them, so its pretty easy to do.

Health-yes,absolutely! it will cut her risk uterine cancer by 100%, as she won't have one any more! same for Ovarian cancer. It will stop her getting stressed out during her seasons,and will stop amerous male dogs trying to get at her (and possibly injuring her, and you in the process).

The anaesthetic sounds quite normaltoo, it can take a few days for them tog et the drugs out of their systems, so if she was a little out of sorts before,its was probably just that.

The benefits really do out weigh the risks, and if as you say you don't want to breed from her (and shouldn't unless she is an outstanding example of her breed with all the relevent health checks-even if crossbreeding IMO) its the only way to ensure that doesn't happen.

ali-t

I agree with bagginslover that you won't know the impact unless you get it done BUT please research first. I currently have one spayed b1tch who is 8 and with hindsight possibly wouldn't have had her spayed. I have an entire male that I won't get neutered for health reasons. I got my b1tch spayed as she was having phantom pregnancies and I was told that they would get worse with each season but there are also negative side effects to spaying and neutering too.

My view on the situation is that I am a responsible dog owner and have managed (with great ease!) to ensure my b1tch doesn't get pregnant (prior to her spay) and that my dog hasn't impregnated any b1tches and won't get the opportunity. I am not an expert on cavs but please do some research that extends further than views on a forum so you know what you are getting into.

If you would like, I can post some links to research on the matter.

scaredy_cat

there is also a condition un-speyed !!!!!es get called a pyometra - basically the uterus get infected and fills with pus, this can kill. If you are not breeding from your dogs, it is more sensible to get her speyed.

popadom

ali-t wrote: »

I agree with bagginslover that you won't know the impact unless you get it done BUT please research first. I currently have one spayed b1tch who is 8 and with hindsight possibly wouldn't have had her spayed. I have an entire male that I won't get neutered for health reasons. I got my b1tch spayed as she was having phantom pregnancies and I was told that they would get worse with each season but there are also negative side effects to spaying and neutering too.

My view on the situation is that I am a responsible dog owner and have managed (with great ease!) to ensure my b1tch doesn't get pregnant (prior to her spay) and that my dog hasn't impregnated any b1tches and won't get the opportunity. I am not an expert on cavs but please do some research that extends further than views on a forum so you know what you are getting into.

If you would like, I can post some links to research on the matter.

Hi
what were the side effects?
If you have those links id really like to see them! thanks!

orlao

Yes, yes, yes.

TBH unless you really want a litter from a top class proven ( either in the show ring or as a worker) b1tch then spaying is the most sensible thing to do IMHO.

Yes, there is always a risk with anaesthetic but it is small, personally I've never seen spaying change temperament and while some b1tches do suffer slight urine incontinence it is rare and treatable - again IME.

On the plus side - no seasons with all the restrictions they bring, no ovarian or uterine cancer, reduces mammary tumours by a huge percentage, no pyo , no risk of an unwanted litter - I could go on!

Tropez

You significantly reduce the risk of mammory cancer in having a female dog spayed. Of course, there can be complications and it is apparently more difficult to spay a dog as they get older.

Personality wise, I had all mine spayed before they were one year old and dogs generally change personality anyway as they mature so it is difficult to say.

You may see a reduction in the dogs energy levels that they would normally have while on a season. Some dogs (not all) go a little bit hyper during a season which you may or may not have experienced.

vroombroom

spey without a doubt.:money:

my girl was speyed in January and she is fine x

bored_at_home

i would definately spay / neuter any dog i have.
and while there if she is not chipped please get that fone too.
i am involved in rescue, there are dogs being put down every day purely because there are too many dogs being bred in the uk.

i understand you are not planning to breed from her, but there is also a rougue dog who jumps into your garden cos he can smell your !!!!! in season, and high rate of dog thefts in the uk. this is often unscrupulous people trying to make a few quid, an unneutered !!!!! would be stolen, immediately put in pup and bred from, whereas one with a spay scar and a microchip (het spay showing in her records too) has a good chance of coming home after being dumped.

then theres pyometra too, a horrible horrible disease in unneutered !!!!!es.

peachyprice

Unless you intend for her to have a litter I can se absolutely no reason not to spay her.

Deing depressed for a few days after the anaesthetic compared to a lifetime of unfulfilled seasons? There's no contest.

suki1964

I would have a !!!!! spayed unless I wasnt concerned about her having a litter with any old dog she met

I don't mean to be flippant btw but as a dog owner I know how dogs can be around a !!!!! in season, no matter how well trained.

If I wasn't prepared to rear and home a litter of pups Id say spay