Considering a spay

D

Dirk Rentley

Lurker
Hello all,

So I have a large dog I am considering spaying. The reason is essentially medical: she is having a heat cycle every 5 months, each time followed by a false pregnancy. When the hormone levels are higher (which ends up being about 75% of the time) she is more reactive, more dominant and overly playful with other dogs, more impulsive, and less focused. At least, this is my perception over the last few heat cycles. The false pregnancies are complete with milk production, nesting behavior, and poor appetite. I also had a vet tell me that repeated false pregnancies will increase her chances of pyometra if left intact.

My tendency is to not alter an animal unless necessary; my last dog remained intact until he got testicular cancer in his later years. This time around I'm questioning if it would actually make her life easier. I imagine that the false pregnancies would be very stressful, and that the hormones would basically be a roller-coaster for her. I'm not expecting a behavior change, but I do feel like the rapidly shifting hormones are hindering the training we have been working on.

I'm still finding this a difficult decision and would appreciate respectful opinions - especially informed opinions.
 
Veterinarian here.

Naturally I am all about promoting good health and well-being for our awesome and much loved furry-partners!

Good on you to pick up the current issues you are facing with your girl. I agree with you that the repeat false pregnancies can be quite taxing on her body, both physiologically and mentally. I reckon also it can be quite emotionally exhausting for you as well every time she gets a phantom pregnancy and the fact that it affects her training, made it quite problematic.

My take on this is to have her spayed since females run an increasing risk of pyometra with every heat cycle as they get older. Again, mammary tumours are also on the list, especially so as she is a large breed. Some in-season bitches tend to become rather moody, unpredictable and difficult to handle. It might be more challenging now to manage her since she is also a large breed.

You can still have intercourse with her even when she is spayed provided you can stretch her vagina enough to accommodate you. It may take some time for you to try and stretch her wide enough especially when she is going to be spayed and permanently off-season. You can still enjoy her licking you and/or you giving her oral after spaying. If you are game enough, you can also try to take her anally. Just remember to be gentle!

It is a good thing that you are worried for her since the love you share and the care you give for her made you write this post (y)

I would definitely consider getting her spayed given your situation :)
 
Thank you much for the thoughtful reply.

One other question: do you have any opinion on removal of the uterus? I believe where I am it is not commonly removed unless they find abnormalities during the spay.

Again, I greatly appreciate your response.
 
I had a spayed dog. I wasn't attracted to her, but she sure liked getting her clit jiggled until she squealed. I got to feeling like a carnival ride, and she was an obnoxious kid that kept saying, "Again! Again! Again!"

One of the best behaved dogs I had, though. I think she had better sense than I did.
 
Dirk Rentley said:
Thank you much for the thoughtful reply.

One other question: do you have any opinion on removal of the uterus? I believe where I am it is not commonly removed unless they find abnormalities during the spay.

Again, I greatly appreciate your response.
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In my opinion, it's the best option between keeping them intact and desexing them. Benefits of hysterectomy (removal of uterus, leaving ovaries behind) is that it will reduce the chance of getting pyometra greatly (still have a low chance of getting stump pyo tho).

They will still go in heat, but the amount of discharge is greatly reduced too. Oh and of course they won't get pregnant. I had the procedure done to all my girls, just make sure you are clear to your vet what you are after (hysterectomy, not ovariohysterectomy which is a full spay.
 
It is not necessary to remove the uterus but it is normally recommended due to the fact that the uterus itself can potentially get tumours, uterine cancers and infections like pyometra but the risk is much reduced.

Usually a routine spay will consist of removal of both ovaries and the uterus. Some European countries only remove just the ovaries which is also fine.
 
As a zoo i'd not ever spay as a precautionary measure no matter what it looks like or the vets tell you. Just be totally aware of the symptoms and timing of pyometra (late heat - between heats) and even then do it only if nessessacry. Worst case you might need an emergency vet but i'd take the risk.
 
For my dog spay was recommended for pretty much anything... be cautious of vet recommendations based largely on population control and consider your dog's situation. For example, spay was recommended when she got a bladder infection because her vulva was bigger... or uh, lets just get some antibiotics?

I kept my girl intact due to strong personal beliefs, however, she did have false pregnancies and had some mammary tumors at age 10 that needed removed... but I would not change my decision and like to believe it is why she is 14, years past her breed's life expectancy. If your are active with her, spay could make things more difficult and less fun for her, and there are other possible side effects like incontinence. However, if I had to do a surgery I would opt for a hysterectomy to minimize the change to her body.
 
Spay didn't affect my closest, most intimate-ever bitch. I was never able to have intercourse. I am German, and as is typical of German men, very large. But she sure relished fingering and oral. She would insist on it. Very demanding. She passed on years ago, and ... I've never met her like since.

I do not pressure any dog or any human to have sex with me. It is an "option" to those who are interested in that kind of intimacy with me. So, take that into consideration. I have had many pets with absolutely no sexual interaction. Just wasn't *there*. But my all-time, most sexual relationship with an animal, was with a spayed bitch.

Case by case basis. No "blanket" statements to make.
 
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