Dog Spay Risks and Benefits
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 พ.ค. 2024
- I often get asked about when or if a pet should be spayed. Due to some of the associated medical concerns, the answer for one pet may not be the answer for another. My goal today is to share my assessment of the current information available so that you can better decide what makes the most sense for your individual pup!
If you would like to see the actual spay surgery, check out this video: • Dog Spay Surgery | Can...
If you have a male dog and would like information about neutering, make sure to check out my other video at • Dog Neuter Explained b... for more guidance!
My hope is to help make reliable information more available and accessible for pet owners, so if you have any topics that you would like me to talk about, please let me know in the comments below!
00:00. Spaying Overview
00:40. Why you might want to spay
05:46 Risks associated with spaying
08:44. Summary
For more information, check out the links below
Dog Heat Cycle
www.akc.org/expert-advice/dog...
Dog Pregnancy: Signs, Care and Preparation
www.akc.org/expert-advice/hea...
Anesthesia for cesarean section in the dog
lib.dr.iastate.edu/cgi/viewco...
American College of Veterinary Surgeons: Pyometra
www.acvs.org/small-animal/pyo...
Canine Mammary Tumors: Risk Factors, Prognosis, and Treatments
ri.conicet.gov.ar/bitstream/h...
American College of Veterinary Surgeons: Mammary Tumors
www.acvs.org/small-animal/mam...
Urinary Incontinence information
vetmed.illinois.edu/pet_colum...
Neutering of German Shepherd Dogs: associated joint disorders, cancers, and urinary incontinence
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/e...
I'm a vet tech and I just wish your videos could play in our lobby all day everyday! You explain everything so well! I am having to write a speech on the medical problems that a female/male dog could encounter if left intact and you are my main reference! You deserve so many more likes and views!
Oh my gosh! Thank you so much ❤️ You can't imagine how much that means to me!! I'm glad that you are getting so much benefit from the channel and utilizing the information :)
Thank you for the support 🥰
What time is best for Corgis
There are also many risk in getting them spayed. It’s really 50/50 chance
Thank you very much for sharing this information. The way it is presented is educational and easy to understand. I also loved that you shared pages of the studies you were referring to, that is something I really appreciate and so should everyone, as a sign of reliable information in which important content of the video is based. I agree with Baileigh about you deserving more likes and more views. What I think is happening is that most people refuse facts because they humanise dogs and tend to project this idea that they deserve to be mums and dads at least once. This is not my personal opinion, it is actually what is like in South American cultures. I am currently living in Chile and the dog situation here is horrendous with literally thousands of dogs roaming the streets, homeless, hungry and sick. Despite this inhumane scenario, pet owners continue to breed their dogs because they say it is their right. I have been trying to educate people here by sharing information that may change those ignorant perspectives, which lead me to your video. Thank you so much!
Super educational, thanks so much for this video.
Very educational video, I see so many almost demonising spaying and neutering dogs. I do plan to get mine spayed for two reasons but only when she's two years old. One is that so many people where I live let their in tact male dogs wonder around on their own, unattended. When she went through her first heat I had to drag her inside quick when one of their dogs got into the garden. (she wasn't on her own, she was not left on her own for five seconds and never is) and two is we don't plan to breed her.
Hi Dr watching it from Gambia thank you
Taking my 1yo rat terrier mix in for spaying in 2 days, thank you for the video!
You turned your dog into an object for your convenience. Good job.
i have been on the fence about this issue ever since i got my Lotus (pitbull). then she had a litter (planned), and i have now a 2nd female named Gaia (pitbull/boxer). since i live a very active life, these two are perfect for me. so active and so full of life. know about the statistics about joint problems in spayed vs unspayed dogs helps me alot. i want them to always be able to be active as i think this is ideal for them and their breed's disposition. also, i might breed gaia also, but i have not decided yet. until then, always responsible with my unspayed dogs, and wanting the best for them
Just spayed my Malinoi / German shepherd today.
She's 1 year old
Thank you
Hello I have a samoyed female puppy but on this tipe of breed do you recommend do the spay before 6 months o wait a little more ? I know this breed having hip dysplasia problems. I appreciate if you con give me an idea thanks
I have Jack Russell years old younger will they cause them to fight both dogs with front legs twisted
When should i neuter a male dog? He is 11 months now and escapes any chance he gets to find female its been almost a month now still he won't stop. Hes a medium-sized dog
I have a female golden retriever who's 4 years old, passed through 5 heat cycles. Is it too late to spay her and avoid the not spaying risks?
Hopefully you'll reply, thanks!
Hi Dr. Meiggs, what's your advice on small breed dogs like Chihuahua or Pomeranian. Many breeders spayed them before they turned 3 months old. Is this good in term of their health. I've decided to get a Chi and not to rush it for spaying. Tq.
Depends a little on the specific breed but I usually recommend waiting until at least 6 months old
Please do your research on the effects of spaying dogs early in life. It’s so horribly damaging to spay puppies before they’ve developed fully. Best of luck and I hope you and your pup have a long happy life! 😊❤
Excellent video very educational...have a rescue 3yr female American Pitbull terrier professionally trained, very sweet. Had few liters I'm assuming by her presence. We are having her spayed July 7th 2023 7:30am she went thru one heat cycle may 5th. We were very careful had one occurrence small tiny male got into our 6ft fence (don't ask how he got in there questionable, LOL) but got her inside quick and she just looked at him like "WHAt are you doing here & no she's not interested" lol she thought he was going to attack me so she tried to chase him away //wow interesting and that dog got into our fence last week again she chased him away from me he tried to jump on me I guess but she prevented that last week. She's protective not mean to that little dog. She is a beautiful girl proud and easy going not fat so I think she could gain weight I won't know if she will change it's going to be a wait and see and I know 1st 24hr will be ...I will watch her closely monitor her.
Glad you found the video helpful :) hope everything went well with her surgery
@@EverydayVether incision inflamed so she had to go back to vet ...had it stapled (3) and fri july 21 will have it removed her 14 day visit. Problem is she will only eat hand fed hamburger ..chicken...pork chop....refuses dog food even beef/chicken stew , hates kibble which is fine with me not a fan of kibble even grain free. we spoil her and she is such a sweetheart being a rescue we got her all her needed shots checked her teeth ears she's in top shape just spoiled cuz we love her so much.
I have a puppy that was spayed and she does have urinary Incontinence, will this last a life time? Or it gets better with time? It has only been a month since she got surgery.
It does get better with time.Because the same thing happened with my female cat because she's vaccinated and spaye,except she didn't have urinary incontinence.
I have 2-1/2 year old pitty. If I was to spay her at this time how much does that affect the mammary cancer chances of at all. Also, if you leave the ovaries isn’t that a better option?
If the ovaries are left, the dog would still go through heat cycles and could actually even get pyometra in any of the remaining uterine tissue so I wouldn't really recommend that approach. The studies that I've seen suggest that there is no change to mammary cancer risk if spayed after 2 heat cycles so the most common reason I would spay at that age would be to prevent pregnancy. There's a lot of debate and research right now on best timing for spaying so it'll be interesting to see what information comes out in the next couple of years!
I want to spay my dog (husky almost 3years) but my mother is super against it because she thinks spaying is detrimental to their health,
Is it too late to spay or no? I really don’t want her to get any disease in her uterus and prevention is the best way to combat it
This is an older video but still hope can get some replies. I have a cocker spaniel that went in her first heat last November. By January she was in a false pregnancy that is just now almost gone. So around 4 months false pregnancy with milk in her teats and she has also lost a lot of her long top fur. She is 1 year 4 months now. Because of her long false pregnancy and loss of fur the vet suggest I get her full spay this month.
Would full spay or ovary saving spay be better?
Sorry to hear she had such a rough time 😔 I would recommend removing the ovaries. As long as the ovaries are still present, she will still have the hormones and it sounds like her body doesn't do well under those conditions
Isn't it beat to spay at 18 months to prevent bone cancers and to let the growth plated to close before u spay
My beagle female is 6 months haven't had her heat cycle till now . Should I spay her or should I wait for her first heat cycle and then go on with the process
There is a UC Davis paper that has come out that looked at the breed specific risks and timing of spay/neuter. For female beagles, they said that the recommended timing for beagles is “choice” meaning that there wasn’t a strict timing that was particularly better/worse for female beagles. Here is the full paper so you can check it out: www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2020.00388/full
If you were wanting to spay her soon, I usually recommend waiting for 3 months after the heat cycle. This gives the hormones time to go back down and for the internal blood vessels to become less enlarged. It makes the procedure easier to do and also easier on the dog.
We just got a pup of labrador and a bigger dog, don't know much information than this about the father. I know nothing about dogs, my husband had a dog before, i am now learning.
- what is the appropriate age for the pup to go through this procedure, as i know labrador has a higher risk in joints problems.
- i also read in the comments that it depends on when the growing of the dog stopped, so when would the growing be done in our pup?
- also, if she's gonna be an inside-leash dog, are there risks of her having medical problems, if she never mates? we would like to not spay her as it kind of goes against our view, but i wouldn't risk her getting sick later.
in my country it's very hard to find doctors who you can talk to in so much detail about these aspects. please help me and thank you very much for this video!
UC davis recently posted updated recommendations on timing of spay/neuter based on breed specific risks. For labradors, they recommend waiting until after 11 months old. Large breed dogs tend to do better with the later spay/neuter age. Here is the full article if you are interested: www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2020.00388/full
Hi Doc I have an American bully standard she 9 months and two weeks old when do you recommend getting her spayed please help
that is a difficult one. unfortunately, that is one of those breeds where there isn't a one size fits all answer. it is a matter of weight cancer risk with joint disease risk so I would base it on the body build and joint structure of the individual. Sorry to not be very helpful, but you would want to check with your vet directly on this one
I’m a little scared of my German shepherd dog getting spayed. She’s had her 3rd heat. I’m a little worried for her. 😢😢😢 should I be concerned? She has the surgery in two days.
We have 3 female German shepherds ages 3years ( 2 pregnancies completed)
And 2 of her female pups age 1.2 years ...one is on her first heat cycles the other will start anytime...when is the right time to neuter them .
Thanks
There is a newer study out now from UC Davis and they recommended beyond 2 years old for female german shepherds (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7359819/). No study is perfect though, so I would recommend using this information as a guideline and have a discussion with your veterinarian for a recommendation tailored to your individual pets :)
I have a 7mos shih-poo and unsure when to have her spayed. Do I wait after first heat or at how many months? TIA
In the case of a mixed breed, I often base the recommendation off of lifestyle and individual characteristics of the pet. UC Davis looked at breed specific risks and timing which did include both shih tzu’s and poodles. Here’s the study if you are interested in seeing the full article and break down of risks:
www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2020.00388/full
@@EverydayVet thank you for linking this 😊
Happy to help :)
When do you recommend spaying a Chihuahua? What are the pros and cons of spaying for this breed?
UC Davis actually posted a paper that looked at studies concerning breed specific risks. Chihuahuas were included.
Here's the study so you can see the updated data:
www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2020.00388/full
I have a 4 month old female Labradoodle is it safe to get her fixed? It makes me nervous cause I don’t want her to change or become moody. She’s my emotional support dog
There is a newer paper from UC Davis that compiled results from several different studies in order to determine best age to spay/neuter based on breed. For a poodle, they said "choice," but for labradors, they recommended waiting until beyond 11 months of age. I would probably err towards the side of 11 months, but it does also depend on individual pet and circumstances. I hope that helps :) Here is a link to their article if you are interested: www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2020.00388/full
Was hoping to hear about spay complications, as our 45 pound BMC is now missing her perfectly functioning spleen, due to a “nick to her spleen while trying to exteriorize the ovary”. Did they transfuse her? Did she code? Vet still has not revealed that to us, but will soon when we pick up the dog, which they kept overnight (“but don’t worry, we won’t charge you for the extra emergency care”). #BigHarma
I'm sorry to hear about that 😔 Complications can occur during surgery, but I havent heard of a spleen needing to be removed from being nicked. Personally, I tend to make a pretty good sized incision so i can see what i'm working with and reduce risk of traumatizing other structures. Viewers on youtube have critized me for the larger incision but ive never run the risk of nicking another organ. Im not sure how they would have nicked it bad enough to require removal. Once they tell you more, please share!
Same thing happened to me today! Got a call they had to remove her spleen because it got knicked. I'm so upset. She's only 8 months old and now missing her spleen. Has your dog been okay since?
@@arianajanay55update pls
Does spaying a female dog affect there growth development if they are spayed at 9-10 months old
It depends a lot on the breed. For example, a 9-10 month old Chihuahua is typically done with bone growth at that age. Larger breeds, like Great Danes, mature much later though so a spay at 9-10 months could change their bone growth
I’m bringing in my 7 month old pitty in a few hours to get spayed
I read that spaying your canine will likely negatively impact their endocrine system and can raise the risk of hip dysplasia. What is your opinion on this?
I haven't heard of endocrine issues but some dogs can have increased risk of hip dysplasia. There have been more recent studies that have looked at breed specific risks and UC davis posted a paper on it:
www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2020.00388/full
Spaying dogs before 6 months of age is HORRIBLE. you're not letting them grow the way nature intended. Those organs are there for a REASON. If you wanna keep your dog from breeding be sensible and keep don't let them out alone. That's a far better option than yanking their organs out because you're a bunch of lazy fucks.
Humans get cancer too... you don't see people mutilating their kids because somewhere down the line they might get infections or cancers. Such a shit logic. Studies show that when dogs lose their hormones, the have a higher chance of getting 20 more different types of cancers. Dogs that are spayed have issues with their bones cuz guess what? Hormones are neeeeeded for their development and when you SPAY/NEUTER them you don't even let their bone plates close all the way. rendering them handicapped in the future. Dogs are living beings, not toys or show pieces. Get one to give them a good life, not to mutilate them cuz you can't deal with their natural life processes. This shit is illegal in Europe and rightfully so. I havent done it to my dog... please if you genuinely love your dog DON'T DO THIS TO HIM/HER!
Tiffany Russell,
I don’t ever recommend spaying prior to 6 months of age. I base the timing of the spay off of research, particularly the study from UC Davis. I do not recommend spaying dogs as very young puppies because, as you said, the hormones are important for growth and development. Different breeds have different risk factors though and some breeds appear to live longer when left intact while others benefit from being spayed. It all depends on the lifestyle of the pet/family as well as the breed specific risks.
I know that there is controversy in considering lifestyle of the pet. For example, from a cancer standpoint, it is better to leave a female golden retriever intact. However, if someone lives in an apartment or other situation where they are required to spay, the options are to spay the dog and allow it to stay in the same household, or refuse the surgery, forcing the owners to potentially have to rehome the dog. Obviously, this is a simplified example as there are other factors too, but I think it demonstrates my point. On paper, rehoming a dog, or never having one in the first place, is a simple answer. However, there are many many dogs out there in need of homes, including purebred. Being too stringent on the qualifications to own a dog will result in more dogs becoming homeless.
Going off of that, a real concern is the occurrence of overpopulation. If we reduce the unwanted litters or the irresponsible breeding, then we slowly chip away at the overpopulation. Less overpopulation results in less shelter pets which results in less euthanasia. Yes, you can argue that people should be more responsible, but asking irresponsible people to start being responsible is a dead end fight.
@@EverydayVet Have you read the studies of bone development and spaying? I urge you to read it.
@@ko7302 yes. The most up to date one is the paper from UC Davis that I mentioned above. Risks vary by breed and male vs female
I always thought incontinence meant something else lol
I have a two years old baby. She's been pregnant once. Is it possible to spay her?? Will it be a threat to her health??
It's still possible. I would recommend talking to your vet to see if it is the right choice for her
@@EverydayVet Ok, thank you.
Lot of apartment complexes require people to have pets vaccinated and fixed, microchipped and copies of vet records ,if they don't want their dogs or cats vaccinated and fixed then they can't keep them.
Can you just remove the ovaries? I’d hate my dog to get a hysterectomy….
Yes, it is possible to remove the only ovaries rather than ovaries and uterus. Once the ovaries are removed, there is no remaining function to the uterus. If you don’t mind my asking, what is your hesitation in terms of removing the uterus with the ovaries as opposed to removal of only the ovaries?
@@EverydayVet Pop says it makes hunting dogs worthless. I cannot verify this, as I have never had a running dog which had been fixed.
I haven't trained hunting dogs so I don't know :/
Thank you for replying. I don’t hunt, but my dad is from an era where his family kept Beagles to run deer and rabbits. He likes to sit on the porch and listen to them racing. He ‘claims’ fixing them makes them unable to run. I have no idea. I was hoping you could give me information refuting that claim, so we can get these dogs spayed to prevent more litters being born.
Unless the owner is not able to control the dog, spaying a dog is unnatural, barbaric and there are tons of scientific proofs that show you wrong. How would you feel if someone will remove your uterus and ovaries? You put first reasons the money….this is abusing of a small creature for human advantage.
That’s really messed up, but should always be an option like abortions
I’m talking about the spay part not everyone can afford puppies
But when you really think about it, it’s not really fair. We can go out and go party. And sex with other people but the dogs.
if people reproduce without ability to provide for offspring, there are support systems to help out. For dogs, they end up on the streets or in the shelter and many have to be euthanized due to overcrowding and lack of resources. it isn't really an apples to apples comparison
Im spaying my 9 month frenchbulldog soon but not sure if I should wait for the first heat.... the article doesnt specify on french bulldog so no answer on the joint problems 🥲
Unfortunately there are still a lot of gaps in the existing research :/