Hi we haven't had ellie or abi done but wondered what everybodys opinions on it is it better to leave them or get them done if you are not going to breed?? Ours are 2 and 3 now is it better to get it done when they are young?


Lorri

ohhh what a subject!

personally i dont spay bitches, i know lots of people do but i think why operate if you dont need to???? there are risks if you do and risks if you dont!

i think if you can cope with the seasons eg the blood about the place then leave well alone, from what friends say a spey bitch isnt any better temprement wise, is alot harder to control in terms of weight gain and most end up slightly on the fat side even when fed the same as a not speyed bitch!

HOWEVER i am of course not against speying i would do it if it needed to be done and would say i think it depends on how responsable the owner is-YOU are the one who needs to protect you in season bitch from dogs and that can be a hard job esp if you live in a built up area with dogs all around you!

i know some breeders spey bitches after they are finished breeding but i wont until i have to- i think this is done so they can be sold on without the risk of having another litter- mine wont be sold on !!!

some people spay bitches very early before a first season some do it after so i dont think time wise they are too old i just think people dont think of it as such a big op because it is done so regularly, but it is!

i have a friend who has the opionion that they wont sell a bitch to be spayed " they dont do designer dogs!" i dont feel that way about it i just dont think its needed to be done as a matter of course,

all in all its upto you - ill be very interested to see what others say

( for what its worth i wouldnt castrate a dog for no reason either- if you see a castrated dog near a bitch in season to me they look sad, they know what they want to do but cant do it , they will never forget that erge and will always feel like they are missing something , to me a entire dog is much better being a pain in the backside than a dog who cant do his "job" !!! )

if in a medical way its needed it will be done- but not until then ..........

cheri

Thanx cheri and i think im with you i dont see the point in putting them through that for no reason espesially ellie as she has already had so many ops its just i,ve heard a couple of cases where one bitch died with mamoary tumours and the other with cant remember the name but its when the womb gets infected after a season and can be life threatning and the dog had to under go emergency surgery but she thankfully pulled through (non of these dogs were saints) it just got me thinking but i guess its a risk either way and having the op may be an unnecessary risk!!

Lorri

hi, i am so glad you started this topic as we had been thinking wether to have murphy castrated but have decided that as theres no reason to we arnt going to at the moment. we had thought about it as murphy still has his rear dew claws so they could be removed at the same time but after talking to the vet about them he said if they werent causing him any problems at the moment then why bother so we dont want to put murphy through an operation which he doesnt really need. mandy and murphy

I agree with Cheri on this.
I personally believe to leave well enough alone, If it is not causing them any problems.
We had three female boxers here with us who were never done.
They lived to be 14 years, 14 and a half years and 17 and a half years.

Regards to males, I knew someone who got their male done.
before this he was extremely quiet and gentle boy, but after the operation he was like a different dog and quite the opposite to what he was before!
Even a fly would send him into a frenzy. In the horse world, i think they call this a rick.
I'm not saying that this could happen to every dog but I for one would not take the risk.
Here we separate our females away from the males, but if you have no females in your home then I would really not worry about it and plus there is no stress in putting him under for an operation.

Sandra

Hi All,

I dont know if this is breed specific but my mum has 2 cocker spaniel boys and she had them "done" (as advised by the vet) and there coats have gone really wooly and get matted very easily, thier breeder said it was because they had been castrated.