AboutPatti Expertise To date, I've owned 7 dogs, all of which have lived into old age.
Having cared for them in all stages of life, I feel I can offer sound advice to other pet owners, and people considering getting a dog.
I am knowledgeable about the AKC (American Kennel Club) dog breeds, training and exercise, caring for sick and elderly pets, feeding, as well as many holistic treatments pets can benefit from.
My only request is that you write me using standard English and punctuation.
Experience My life experience in this field is more like "on the job training" rather than an actual degree in animal welfare. You may benefit from my experiences over the past 30 years.
Aside from the dogs I've owned, I'm also involved in "breed rescue" and have fostered several dogs, all of which have been adopted to wonderful "forever homes".
I find helping people who want a dog very rewarding.
Question Vets always want you to spay your puppy at 5 or 6 months. I feel like it is too young. They claim your dog is at greater risk of cancer if you don't spay them before their first heat. I find that hard to believe since it is a normal body function. Can spaying too young stunt their growth or harm them in other ways? Betsy H
Answer
Hi Betsy,
Vets recommend a female be spayed at 5 or 6 months of age because they get the most health benefits if they're spayed before the onset of their first heat cycle.
There are no benefits in allowing a female dog to have a litter or to go through a heat period. It is actually healthier for your dog never to experience a heat as it lessens the dog’s chance of getting mammary cancer (the most common malignant tumors in female dogs) and nearly eliminates the risk of pyometra (a deadly uterine infection) which otherwise would affect about 23% of intact female dogs, reduces the risk of perianal fistulas, and removes the risk of uterine, cervical, and ovarian tumors.
Spaying also eliminates the risks of pregnancy and delivery. Research indicates that dogs spayed prior to it's first heat have less than a half of one percent chance of experiencing mammary cancer as compared to an eight percent chance after the second heat. You may find that hard to believe, but it's true.
Female dogs also tend to be better pets once spayed, as they do not experience a heat cycle every six-to-nine months. Heat cycles bring hormonal changes that can lead to personality changes. During their cycle females must be confined to prevent unwanted pregnancies. Repeated heat cycles may subject the reproductive system to uterine and mammary cancers as they age. Some female dogs experience false pregnancies that can be a bother to deal with and uterine infections that can be fatal.
Female dogs do not generally get fat simply as a result of spay or neuter surgery. Like other mammals, they gain weight if they eat too much and exercise too little or are genetically programmed to be hefty. Weight gain that follows sterilization surgery may be linked to those hormone changes but will be aggravated by continuing to feed a high energy diet to a dog that is reducing the need for energy as he reaches his adult size. Excess energy in the food becomes excess fat on the body.
The down side with spaying is female dogs have an increased risk of developing "spay incontinence" (a hormonal condition), increased risk of recessed vulva, vaginal dermatitis and vaginitis, and orthopedic disorders.
Unlike neutering a male dog, for female dogs the situation is more complex. They do gain important benefits from being spayed. The number of health benefits associated with spaying can exceed the associated health risks of not spaying her. Whether spaying improves the odds of overall good health or not, probably depends on the age of the dog and the relative risk of various diseases in the different breeds. You should talk this over with your veterinarian.
