When should you spay a dog and should you spay them at all? there are a lot of people who say the risks of spaying a female dog at any age are too great. What is the truth though? What are the real risks and benefits of spaying your female dog?
The traditional , dogmatic view that all bitches should be spayed at around 6 months of age has more recently been challenge as more studies look into the risks and benefits of our female dogs undergoing this operation. Rather than make the decision easier though, the choice has become more confused. It is not as black and white as some would have you believe.
If you just want my recommendations then I feel that the benefits of being spayed certainly outweigh the potential drawbacks and so all female dogs who are not going to be used for breeding should be spayed.
For small breed dogs I would still recommend spaying at around 6 months old before their first season. For larger breed dogs however, where there is no risk of them becoming pregnant and where they can be successfully managed while on heat, I recommend delaying this operation until they reach 1 year of age or a little older.
Is this the right decision for you? Well, here are the potential benefits and risks of spaying a female dog which you can discuss with your veterinarian to reach a decision you are completely comfortable with.
The first benefit is a reduction in mammary cancer. It is generally well accepted that the earlier a bitch is spayed, the lower it's chance is of getting mammary cancer. It is said that if spayed before their first season a dogs chance of getting this disease is reduced by around 99.5%. If spayed before their second season the risk still falls by about 94% and if before their third season by a respectable 75%
Spaying a bitch at any age will virtually eliminate the risk of pyometra. This is a life-threatening condition that affects 1 in 4 entire females by the age of 10 and generally requires emergency surgery to cure. Even with treatment 5% of dogs will die and without treatment death is an almost certainty.Another very significant disease prevented by spaying.
Video - the emergency pyometra: • The Emergency Pyometra...
Our final major benefit of spaying is an increase in life expectancy. On average it seems that spayed females live on average 26% longer than their entire counterparts
There are still some other benefits of spaying your dog however which include:
- Preventing uterine and ovarian tumors, although these are very rare
- Eliminating pregnancy related problems and the risk of cesarian section. These can be fairly common in certain breeds
- Reducing sexually transmitted diseases such as Brucella and Transmissible Venerial Tumors.
My final benefit of spaying is a benefit to the population as a whole rather than an individual. Every year around 1.5 MILLION animals are killed in US shelters. In Australia an estimated 200,000 animals are killed every year and in the UK this number is around 20,000.
So those are the benefits but what are the side-effects and risks of being spayed and do these risks vary depending on what age a female dog is spayed? Well there are some risks to spaying a female dog and some of these are more serious than others. As for whether these downsides outweigh the benefits, that is up to you.
The risks include incontinence, some ligament injuries, weight gain, some cancers, and finally certain autoimmune diseases.
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8 сен 2024
