To spay or not to spay....?

[Denise1175]

Hello everyone, can i just ask for a little advice regarding my papillon baby Lucy.
I say baby as thats what she is to me, when in reality she is now 18 months old and having her second season.

What i would like to know is would you advise having her spayed?

I have had so many conflicting views on it, that my head is all over the place with it.

Can I just add, that she is an extremely small papillon, a very small papillon for her breed and we were told this when we went to see her as a puppy.  She only weighs 3 and a half lb.... tiny little mite she is.
Sometimes after a hearty meal she can weigh 4 lol...... which is few and far between as she is a very fuzzy finicky little eater.

I worry about the anaesthetic, which i know is a risk to any dog, but its just her size that worries me more than anything.
My vet is all for it, wants her spayed to stop any risk of uterus problems later in life, which i totally understand, but its other people saying no to me.

Please give me a little advice or if anyone out there has had a tiny toy dog spayed would they let me know.

thank you so much, Denise :)) xx

[ginger899]

That made me laugh! A whining Bernese, and a flirty Papillon! What an image! You'll just have to tell him "She's out of your league boy. Dream on."

[Denise1175]

Thank you all so much girls, I know its what I have to do now.  
I would never breed from her being so small and i'm not a breeder anyway... so wouldnt venture down that route as I have no experience. I know myself she is too small to be a mummy, although she would have been such a good mother.

We also have big boy ~ a Bernese Mountain Dog, and yep chalk and cheese they are!.. but you can guess who is boss...you guessed ~ Lucy!..
She is now flaunting herself whenever she gets the chance, the little floozy... so thats another reason to get her spayed before the next time and with her coming into season every 6 months or so I think its the right thing to do.

I will definately have a good talk to my vet first and make sure she is very fit for the operation...
In the meantime I have a whining Bernese and a flirty Papillon.... lol... not good ;0)

Thanks a million ladies, I know in my heart its the right thing to do.... and yes your right I'll be pacing no doubt about it when the time comes.
I'll be booking her in for January all being well and I'll keep you all posted.

:)) xxx

[deadgamegrrl]

Hi!

I haven't had tiny dogs but I had English Bulldogs for years, and they are very 'iffy' with anesthetics too.  Before any of mine had surgery the vet ran a variety of tests to make sure their hearts etc were healthy.  One of my bullies had a serious heart problem which was first found in one of these routine pre-op tests.  Other than her, all my babies were spayed/neutered.  I figured it was better to do it while they were young and strong than possibly having to put them through it in an emergency situation later, when they were in a stressed and weakened state.
You will worry and pace while it is being done, but I think you and your baby will be fine!

[ginger899]

Tell me about it! My dog is a really tough girl (though she is sweet gentle and affectionate) Her heart is strong, she has no problem with her other organs....but the night she was in the vet hospital I was almost CONVINCED something might happen to her under anesthetic! I paced up and down all night like a mother hen! Couldn't sleep a wink. Kept thinking "I wish it was me, in there instead of her, having this surgery"

Her surgery was scheduled for 8.30 am. The vet asked me to call at 8 -see how she was. She was doing fine, but I was still biting my nails! I couldn't keep still, and went for a long walk with the phone in my hand all the time. I was praying for her, couldn't eat my breakfast..... They told me to call at midday, and if anything happened or they needed to speak to me they would call before then. Well that phone of mine was a sweaty mess in my hand! Of course they didn't call, and bang on midday I rang them, to be told all was well, and she was doing fine, and the surgery was a complete success.
I still didn't believe all was well. I kept thinking something could still go wrong! I didn't relax till 4pm when I went to pick her up, and there she came, still a little sleepy but trying to wag her tail, wearing one of those ridiculous 'lampshade' collars....
Phew!
It was all up from there.
I know surgery and anesthetic can be more sensitive with very tiny animals, but a good vet knows what he (she) is doing. I do understand exactly how you feel. It is scary of course.
But if your dog is young, fit and has a good heart, that's a big plus.
I am pretty sure tiny though she is, she would be OK.

[txgal58]

It sounds like you feel breeding is too much of a risk.  Good for you on leaning towards spaying! It improves their health so much not to mention the length of their life!  Sorry Denise, I can't answer to having a tiny dog spayed but the younger your dog is the easier going under anethesia will be.  If you do not have a long experience with your vet you may want to look for another first.

My son has a 9 yr old Samoyed he always thought he would breed but never got around to it.  About a month ago she got sick (not sure the symptoms) but emergency surgery and $1500 later it turned out to be some type of uterus infection.  If they had not caught it when they did it would have been even more expensive or she would have died.  I don't know your circumstances but my son is not a breeder and should have spayed her in the beginning.  My last three miniature schnauzers came from rescue groups so I am always singing that tune too lol!
I hope you feel comfortable and confident about having your little Lucy spayed.  They are just the cutest things!

[Denise1175]

Thank you so much Ginger for your reply.
This is exactly what I do worry about.  My mothers labrador had the same problem your gorgeous girl had too, luckily she survived hers too.

I think if Lucy had been a stronger, hardier breed, then i wouldnt hesitate at all.
My vet is trying to reassure me that her heart is strong etc etc... and i do think its just me worrying unnecessarily...

I just look at this tiny little scrap of a dog and think..... I cant do it... it would devastate me if i lost her under anaesthetic.

I'm sorry, i sound like i'm arguing with myself here dont i lol.... I think possibily I need another trip up to the vets with her and a good chat about the procedure.

Thanks again Ginger for your speedy reply.
I'm so pleased your dog is well now after her ordeal.

:)) x

[ginger899]

I don't have a tiny dog, mine is about 28lbs.
She was 'entire' until quite recently. She was always a very happy healthy dog. She had had a litter of pups in the past before she came to me, but was totally well in herself.
Then one morning in October she developed Pyometra very suddenly. Fortunately I was aware of Pyometra and its symptoms, and rushed her to the vet. She was on I.V. and antibiotics within 4 hours of her symptoms starting (at first I wasn't entirely sure what was wrong with her, and thought it might be just a tummy upset, and that's why it took 4 hours!)
When I got her there the vet took her in as an emergency, and the next morning as soon as she was stabilized, and he was sure her kidneys hadn't suffered from all the toxins in her bloodstream from the infected womb....he removed her womb and ovaries.

He told me I had got her in very very fast, and that is what probably saved her life. Also he said, even if her life HAD been saved, if I had delayed a few hours longer bringing her in, she could even have developed kidney failure.
Fortunately I was home that morning. If I had been out all day at work, my dog would have died. From being a fit healthy dog the day before....the night before....she could have been dead by the time I got home!

So the "womb problems" thing, from being a vague concept (that I thought might never happen as she was so generally well) -became very very real and very threatening that day.

Pyometra is extremely common in unspayed females. And it is dangerous. I'm not just saying all that to scare you, but you may feel, like I did "the womb is a natural thing! Why SHOULD anything go wrong? It very well might not! Why put her through spay surgery?"

Of course there are always risks with surgery. It is very rare though that things go wrong, so long as you have a good vet you trust.

My dog has been very well indeed since her surgery.

I know a tiny toy dog is a different case. Hopefully someone else will comment who can advise you better.