[TrumpetBlast]

I know the pros and cons of desexing have been debated extensively. As she is 28 months and in her second heat cycle, I am leaning towards spaying her after the appropriate amount of time passes. I'm still not 100%, but leaning that way. My biggest hang up at this point are the stories I hear about behavioral changes; becoming anxious or fearful, etc;. Have any of you experienced this after a spay?
She is absolutely the PERFECT dog with the perfect temperament, and the thought of that changing is devastating to me.

 

[texasred]

I’m sure its old school, as it came from my vet that retired many years ago. She told me if I was never going to breed the bitch, then spay them by 4 years old. I didn’t do it with two of mine. I waited until 6 and 7. The recovery was harder on them, and my vet took pics of the reproductive organs that were removed. You could already see changes in them. Shine was 2 1/2 and breezed through her recovery. No change in her temperament, although I have heard of it happening to other dogs. Heifer is still very young. A high chance she will be spayed by 4 years old.

 

[TrumpetBlast]

I’m sure its old school, as it came from my vet that retired many years ago. She told me if I was never going to breed the bitch, then spay them by 4 years old. I didn’t do it with two of mine. I waited until 6 and 7. The recovery was harder on them, and my vet took pics of the reproductive organs that were removed. You could already see changes in them. Shine was 2 1/2 and breezed through her recovery. No change in her temperament, although I have heard of it happening to other dogs. Heifer is still very young. A high chance she will be spayed by 4 years old.

Thanks, texasred. Appreciate the wisdom. Just want to do the very best by my sweet girl, she's brought so much joy to my life.

 

[ivyinnc]

My girl was spayed yesterday. Her recovery the last 24 hours has been awful. My last 2 dogs came home from their spay and were acting normal within the hour I struggled to keep them calm and quiet. Ivy won’t walk won’t eat won’t drink. She won’t let me pet her at all. She will wag her tail and let other family members pet her, I really think she’s mad at me or scared of me bc I am the one who took her and picked her up. I am really hoping today she starts to act like her normal self bc it’s really pitiful and I was not prepared for this I was thinking how hard it was going to be to keep her calm, but she just has laid In the same spot for 18 hours now.

 

[texasred]

My girl was spayed yesterday. Her recovery the last 24 hours has been awful. My last 2 dogs came home from their spay and were acting normal within the hour I struggled to keep them calm and quiet. Ivy won’t walk won’t eat won’t drink. She won’t let me pet her at all. She will wag her tail and let other family members pet her, I really think she’s mad at me or scared of me bc I am the one who took her and picked her up. I am really hoping today she starts to act like her normal self bc it’s really pitiful and I was not prepared for this I was thinking how hard it was going to be to keep her calm, but she just has laid In the same spot for 18 hours now.

It could be the effect of the anesthesia. If so it’s only for the first day.

 

[Bob Engelhardt]

[...] Heifer is still very young. A high chance she will be spayed by 4 years old.

At the risk of hijacking this topic: have you considered breeding her? She seems to have many excellent traits/abilities that would be treasured in pups. Oh, wait ... spaying by 4 is not contradictory to breeding: she could be bred before 4 & then spayed.

 

[texasred]

At the risk of hijacking this topic: have you considered breeding her? She seems to have many excellent traits/abilities that would be treasured in pups. Oh, wait ... spaying by 4 is not contradictory to breeding: she could be bred before 4 & then spayed.

She’s still young, and would have to be exceptional in every way (once mature) for me even to consider it. It’s so much easier to buy a nice puppy, than to raise a litter.

 

[Dan_A]

Ellie was spayed a bit before her 2nd birthday right after her 2nd heat due to pyometra. She’s still the same Ellie! If you are that concerns you could do ovary sparing spay where they keep an ovary. Still goes into heat just no mess.

 

[TrumpetBlast]

Hey Dan_A, what were the signs that Ellie had? Shofe is at the end of her cycle (week 4) and stopped bleeding two days ago. Today I saw what I thought was pus on her vulva. I'm quite concerned, but the vet told me over the phone that it was just still her heat cycle and that she wouldn't have pyo until about 4 wks AFTER the end of her heat.
Other than being a bit more lethargic than usual, she is showing no other signs of illness. I'm still thinking of taking her to the ER this afternoon, as pyo is a big concern for me.

 

[TrumpetBlast]

Dan_A, what were Ellie's symptoms? Shofe just came off her heat (stopped bleeding two days ago) but I saw what I thought was pus coming from her vulva this morning. She is 2 1/2. A phone call with the vet was unhelpful (they just told me it was part of her heat and that she wouldn't show signs of pyo for another four weeks), and I'm wondering if I ought to just take her in to an ER vet to get an ultrasound or blood work.

 

[Dan_A]

After her cycle she had dark blood discharge after a pause. It’s also hard to tell because they clean themselves. She got very lethargic , low energy. Big warning sign. Finally took her to er vet on a sunday( not their best in), gave us meds. Monday next day is when I saw the puss pour out after I decided to squeeze a bit down and around that area. Back to er , and emergency surgery.

 

[Dan_A]

I’m sorry my reply was days late , work been very busy and haven’t been paying attention to my personal email or the forum. Please let us know how everything is, and I hope it is not serious.

 

[sherigo73]

I know the pros and cons of desexing have been debated extensively. As she is 28 months and in her second heat cycle, I am leaning towards spaying her after the appropriate amount of time passes. I'm still not 100%, but leaning that way. My biggest hang up at this point are the stories I hear about behavioral changes; becoming anxious or fearful, etc;. Have any of you experienced this after a spay?
She is absolutely the PERFECT dog with the perfect temperament, and the thought of that changing is devastating to me. View attachment 105301

Our Stella was just spayed a month ago. I haven't seen any changes in her, she is now 13 months old, so I'm not sure if the age has anything to do with it. As you said there is so much debate about spay, when to spay, etc. We didn't plan to breed her, so our vet had recommended we spay her after her first season. The reason given is that the more seasons they have the more risks there are with cancer. She's been doing great so far, and has healed up just nicely. She is still the same temperament as before Hope this helps