Is spaying my female dog worth it for health and behavioral benefits?

It's not true that Chihuahuas are not prone to cancer, every dog has the chance of developing cancer. The problem with keeping Peanut unspayed is it will increase her chances of getting mammary tumors, 50% of which are malignant, and she will be at risk of developing a pyometra. A pyometra is an infection of the uterus that is fatal without treatment. When a dog develops a pyometra, it requires an emergency spay which can cost thousands. If you spay her now, it would only be a couple of hundred dollars. As I said above, if you keep her upspayed, you will actually be increasing her risk of cancer. A dog who is spayed before her first heat has a 0.8% chance of developing mammary tumors. One who is spayed after her first heat has an 8% chance, while a dog who is spayed after her second and any subsequent heats has a 25% chance. You can see that's quite an increase in risk. It's best for her health to have her spayed, and I strongly urge you to get it done. Best of luck.

There is absolutely no reason not to spay your pet, unless of course you are purposefully wanting to breed Bella. Spaying pets early (before their 1st heat cycle), reduces the chance of mammary cancer to less than 3%, which is a huge deal. There is no decrease seen after the 3rd heat cycle. However spaying Bella will still prevent her from ever having a spontaneous infected uterus or Pyometra event int he future. Which is an emergency situation that would require immediate surgery if Bella ever developed this. And considering that a Pyometra event is much more common in small breed dogs like the Maltese, this is reason enough to highly consider spaying her.

How cute is Bailey!!! I recommend spaying Bailey at 6 months of age. This will allow her to be spayed before her first heat cycle. The pros about spaying her at 6 months is decrease risk of breast cancer when she is older, decrease risk of pyometra ( pus filled uterus) and patients recover faster/ faster surgery due to smaller blood vessels and less fat. Some recent studies in the U.K. Recommend spaying at 1 year of age to decrease issues with bones but as a general practice I do not see this helping in most of my patients.

Hello. I can understand your anxiety, & there are some studies to suggest that some breeds are better off being neutered after a year or so of age, but for the most part, there is no danger & there is no greater likelihood of advanced disease in these animals. I always remind people that many women need to have hysterectomies for various medical reasons, & while the vast majority of these surgeries happen after puberty, there is no known significant increase in cancer, Alzheimer's, endocrine disease, etc. in these women. You will be hard-pressed to find any veterinarian who has been in practice longer than 20 years who will say there has been an uptick in medical problems in neutered animals. Pets are living longer & healthier lives because of this, & while we are still not making a huge dent in the pet overpopulation program & the number of puppies & kittens euthanized each year, we are trying. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Not really, at least not a proven benefit. some believe that it can prevent incontinence in the future which is more common in spayed females in general but this has not been proven. at out surgery we usually recommend having a female dog spayed at the age of 6 months, before her first season.

Being spayed doesn't make a dog dependent. In addition, not being spayed doesn't guarantee a long life. Dogs who haven't been spayed are prone to cancer just like dogs who are spayed. In facts, dogs who are spayed before their first heat are at a significant less risk over developing mammary cancer than dogs who are spayed after the first heat (0.8% vs 8%) and after their second heat (0.8% vs 25%). In Bella's case, however, she would still have a 25% chance of developing mammary cancer because if she is spayed, she will have had at least two heats. In my professional opinion, it's best to have a dog spayed if you aren't going to breed her. It prevents her from developing a pyometra, it keeps her from accidentally getting pregnant, it eliminates the often annoying behaviors that occur when a dog's in heat, it saves you from dealing with male dogs who want to mate with Bella, and it eliminates the mess and small from a dog in heat.

Thank you for contacting PetCoach with your question about Lav. I've heard many owners quote the UC Davis study, and there are a number of things wrong with the study. Check out this article on it: https://humanepro.org/magazine/articles/deconstructing-spayneuter-debate Not spaying her can cause a pseudopregnancy reoccurrence, but it doesn't increase her risk of mammary tumors. That's already going to be 25% because she's had more than two heats. Keep in mind, 50% of mammary tumors in dogs are malignant. She is eight years old, so she is already at a higher risk of developing cancer simply because she is an older dog. She is also at risk of a pyometra, which is an infection of the uterus that is fatal without treatment. The treatment for a pyometra is spaying the dog, which is an emergency during a pyometra and can cost many thousands of dollars. In all honesty, it's best to spay her. It will keep her from developing a pyometra as well as a pseudopregnancy, and it will keep her from getting pregnant if she accidentally mates. Dogs over the age of six should never have puppies. In my opinion, it's best for her to health to get spayed asap. I hope this helps!