alternative to spaying?

[DogsInShanghai]

Dear all!

I own a spaniel-terrier female dog, Molly, whom I found when she was 2-3months old (I live in China) and a doberman male thopmson. needless to say that wenn Molly goes in heat, our house is a mad house. I am fairly lucky, because Thompson seems to cope ok for a male, but it is still a madhouse every 6 months for 10 days (the other days he doesnt care).

I have been trying to have her spayed for one year now, but she had an unknown infection and then fever, always when we went to the vet. it took us months to find out that the fever was stress. so I took her for car rides, give her rescue remedy (to calm her down) and so on. her imune system doesnt seem too good.

now again, next week I am starting the next attempt of spaying, if she has an infection, fever or anything else the risk ist too high to have her spayed the traditional way, is there any way of having a dog neutered without a big operation and without drugging it.
I am also afraid of the whole operation, even though the vet neuters 3 animals a day and is booked fully all the time. am i ioverreacting?

is there any other way, with less impact on her imune system to neuter her?

if I neuter Thompson it doesnt mean he will not react when she is in heat, he is already 3 years old.
also i read a lot of things about having male dogs castrated - change of their body odor and change of character if theyre neutered too late...

does anybody have any advice?
it would be greatly apprecaited!

[KOPsRobyn]

Hi there,

Unfortunately, spaying is the only way to guarantee that Molly won't come onto heat and become pregnant. There are a few different injections being used but these are not widely available and have a number of undesirable side effects. Although all operations carry an element of risk due to the anesthesia, the risk with spaying is very minor. As this is one of the most commonly performed procedures in a vet's surgery, your vet should be well acquainted with technique and so you can rest assured that she will be in the best hands.

It would be advisable to have Thompson neutered as well. It will result in lower testosterone levels, which will reduce the chance of dominance aggression developing. On top of that, there are also health benefits, as castration reduces the risk of him developing prostate problems in the future.

I hope this helps!

[LetsPlay]

Hi there,

just out of interest, what is your view on waiting unitl after the first season to have a female dog spayed?

I have heard many conflicting ideas about it and would be interested to know what you personally think.

I have read that there are important hormones that help to turn a dog into a mature dog, not just physically but also mentally that only start developing during the first season, therefore it's best to wait until a few months after the first season.

The next thing I heard is that the risk of developing some tumors/cancers increases by 8% if spayed after the first season and increases to around 18% if spayed after the second season and then rises more steeply after that.

Are these possible health risks managable (i.e. if my dog developed one of these tumors/cancers can they be treated) or are they real bad and possibly fatal?

So far I have always waited until the after the first season, and had no problems with it, or had male dogs neutered when they were a year old or more.

Thanks
John

[kjd]

John,

I had one unspayed female. She died at 10 of mammary cancer. Personally, I think the risk-benefits would say spay after the first season. I am not a vet.

kjd

[vmullica@comcast.net]

I just got a 12 week old Great Dane, the breeder told me not to get him done until he was a year old so he can mature, he is champon blood line I don't know if that makes a difference,I have always had my dogs done at 6 months old and now I don't know what to do. The vet said 6 months.

[kjd]

vmullica,

Champion bloodlnes do not make a difference. However, tell your vet what the breeder suggested and ask him what he thinks. He will probably go along with the breeder. If he doesn't, he should give you some excellent reasons for doing it on his schedule, not the breeders.

kjd

[DogsInShanghai]

Hi letsplay,

I have done a lot of research regarding spaying on the internet and the common differences are that in the US the vets recommend spaying before the first heat, because by spaying a dog before the first heat you can reduce any kind of cancer to a minimum, I think less than 1% or so.
Most European vets suggest spaying after the first heat for the reasons your breeder mentioned. also big dogs go into heat a lot later than little dogs.
(my friend has a hungarian grayhound and she hasn't been in heat and she is 16months old)
I personally think spaying after the first heat sounds logical so the dog can fully develop.
however I am not a vet.
hope the info helps.

[DogsInShanghai]

Hi Kopsera,

thank you very much for your reply regarding spaying. do you have any experiance with castrating dogs (male) when they are already 2,5-3years? I have heard about their change of smell and that some can get strange if you castrate them that late? any experiance with that?

your oppinion is very much appreciated!
have a good day!

[crazycrayonmom]

I've always spayed or neutered my dogs at the first opportunity. They've all developed normally. Idk what development happens after the first season. In fact, my vet recommended I neuter Max between 4-6 months of age. The new thing he said that I haven't heard before was that by that age they should have all their adult teeth in. The vet takes the opportunity of the pup being under anesthesia to check their teeth and pull any baby teeth left. He says if baby teeth fail to come out they could cause problems. It's the first time I've heard this one.

[vmullica@comcast.net]

Originally Posted by kjd

vmullica,

Champion bloodlnes do not make a difference. However, tell your vet what the breeder suggested and ask him what he thinks. He will probably go along with the breeder. If he doesn't, he should give you some excellent reasons for doing it on his schedule, not the breeders.

kjd

kjd, thanks for your in put, the vet said the samething as the breeder , Iam going to do it when he is 6month, he is already jumping the other dogs and he is only 3 months old, don't think I can wait for him to fully mature at 1, I will have my hands full.