To spay or not to spay?

It’s lovely to hear how much people care for their dogs.

Im happy to leave my dogs overnight with the cone. It’s the only thing I’ve found none of them can get off. 24 hours wearing it always leaves them coping well, wounds heal.. I take it off if I’m there to discourage wound licking x

Like MayBee70 the vet provided a surgical body suit for my dog when she was spayed earlier this year. It was easy to pull up for her to have a wee. I came down in the morning next day, however, to discover the post op suit in a pile in the corner and a bare dog! this happened most nights as the suit wasn’t a perfect fit and little teeth managed to tear it off. Fortunately she left the wound alone.

She also had a small umbilical hernia, which is quite common repaired at the same time as the spay so only one op.

I just got a surgical suit from the vet.

I’m now researching ‘baby grows for her. I think trying to sleep with a cone would be worse than sleeping in rollers like I used to do!

I know I’m a worrier but I turned my chairs and sofa round so she couldn’t jump on them and slept on the floor with her for two weeks. Got used to rolling the recovery suit back when she needed a wee. I met people on the beach that were letting their dogs run around almost straight after the op but, as my vet said, just because it’s healing well on the outside just remember there’s a lot going on inside. She was very thirsty post op so I boiled chicken water for her to drink and then liquidised some chicken to put her medication in. I was extra careful because she’d has a suspected womb infection at the time. She was three months post season but had been losing a bit of blood and something abnormal had shown up on her scan. My vets a worrier like me too.

My dog has recently been spayed, I didn’t hesitate having seen the trauma pyometra caused my friend and her dog.
It’s very straightforward, my dog wore the ‘baby grow’ for 2 weeks (so much better than a cone), had liquid paracetamol regularly, check up after 48 hours and 12 day. The main thing was trying to stop her jumping around after the first 24 hours! She had to have restricted exercise to 2 x 10 minute walks a day - she’s used to more like 3 hours!- so that was a bit tedious but obviously necessary.
By the time 14 days were up you’d never know she’d had anything done, that was 7 weeks ago now, we’re on holiday and she’s just back from an hours chasing seagulls on the beach ??

Can you let me know how it goes please Molly? Thanks ?

Well we’ve set the date and she’s had a pre-op check. Thanks for all posts.

I’m all for spaying and avoiding the problems the other posters have mentioned. I think you will find your Vet would advise spaying, ours does. Also it is quite an inconvenience when your bitch is attractive and attracted to all the uncut dogs around.

Yes. Gracie’s op was so simple and uneventful that I can’t even remember anything at all about it.
And I’m an incredibly anxious, worry-prone person.
The cat’s op went similarly smoothly.
My previous dog wasn’t spayed, she hardly ever came into season and didn’t make a mess.
But she had terrible mood swings, and I think that she really wanted to mate.
I’d definitely do things differently for her now.
So - a definite yes from me Molly

It costs a bit more but micro surgery is a lot kinder for your dog, so please discuss this option with the vet. The dog recovers more quickly and less chance of post op infections.

It applies to male dogs too. We had an entire male who developed a benign tumour on his anal glands at a young age. This was successfully removed but the vet advised having him neutered as a malignant growth was likely to occur otherwise.
It’s amazing how quickly animals recover from operations. I think back to the pain from my C section but there seems to be no comparison with spaying fortunately. They bounce back incredibly quickly.

MayBee makes good points
My females have all been bouncing 24!hours after spay. It’s usually problem free other than keeping them from leaping about too soon. Then no more distress lasting 3-4 Weeks for the female, the risk she may get out, and the inconvenience if her season falls when she’s booked in for boarding so can’t go

Having worked for a vet I can assure you if you have no intention of breeding then most definitely have her spayed and there is no need to wait until she has her first season. We saw so many unspayed bitches with pyometra.

Mollygo they seem to recover from ops much faster than humans do. These days vets are v good with making sure your pet stays pain free, too.

My little girl is 5 months now and we're wondering the same thing. I didn't have my previous dog done, but I remember the mess and inconvenience of her seasons. Like you Mollygo I don't like the thought of putting her through an operation though.

Until my dog nearly died I just thought that people had their dogs spayed for convenience and I thought vets recommended spaying just to make money. And then other dogs I had needed to be spayed in middle age because they developed mammary tumours.

The only female dog I've known was when I was a child. We didn't have her spayed because it wasn't a thing then. I just remember there being an awful lot of mess when she was in season.

Yes, I agree with everyone, get her spayed. There seems to be a growing band of anti neuter owners. I didn’t spay my first dog till she was 8. Seasons no issue until she was 7, when she became obsessed with finding her Prince. That combined with teenagers meant she was out overnight once. I was searching, calling etc. she arrived home at 6am with the Scottie dog who lived up the road. I phoned my vet who said bring her in, I’ll spay this morning, we don’t want a litter at age 8.
All my dogs have been neutured, never had any problems. Two of my females were wretched, miserable throughout their seasons. That combined with the desperate 8 year old convinced me.
My male lab was neutured recently. He’s already calming down

Yes definitely have her spayed Mollygo apart from the benefits mentioned above it also helps prevent mammary tumours.

You need to get it done soon as you don’t want to have it done on the run up to her next season.

Most definitely have her spayed. Not only does it save mess and unwanted male attention, it prevents the birth of yet more unwanted puppies.

She will recover in no time and you’ll have a job to keep her from racing round and jumping.
Protect her wound with a doggy babygro, so much kinder than a scary plastic cone round her head.

Spay.