# Getting her spayed and worried



## GSD246 (Jan 17, 2012)

Her last few heat cycles weren't great and the last one was really unpleasant. She suffered a lot. I had wished I did this years ago. But she was great. Though I never planned to bred her. 

All I want to know is what happens after? She's 9 now but she looks like she aged 3 years in the last few months. Right after I bought in the puppy it just looks like she kind of just relaxed. I would call it off but I'm not sure if she'd survive the next heat cycle. 

I overreact at times. And maybe this is just one of those times.


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## MineAreWorkingline (May 2, 2015)

What concerns you about her heat cycle?


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## GSD246 (Jan 17, 2012)

MineAreWorkingline said:


> What concerns you about her heat cycle?


She was getting infections around her uterus. Luckily It was not pyometra. It just seems like each time it gets harder on her. She use to be overweight so she has a lot of extra skin. I guess I was not keeping that area dry enough.


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## MineAreWorkingline (May 2, 2015)

If it is a matter of keeping her clean, I would explore options that would make that easier and more manageable for you before subjecting an old dog to major surgery.

What does your vet say?


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

If she develops pyo, you won't have a choice to spay her and she might be even older at that time. Can't you give her a physical and if healthy, and your vet is confident that she can handle surgery, I would spay her. MY dog Deja was spayed this spring after developing a mammary tumor. I am glad it's done and next time I won't wait that long.


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## Muskeg (Jun 15, 2012)

Agree with WD- my 8 year old got pyo and I caught it early but it was still an emergency procedure and $1,000 bill. She came through the surgery just fine- although her coat certainly changed for the worst. She is healthy and happy! 

Pyo is extremely common in intact females, enough that I will spay my intact girls at around age 8- 9. If I had no breeding plans, I would spay an intact female at age 3. 

It's important not to let internet experts tell you not to spay a female dog. Everything I've read and my own experience tells me that if a female is not to be bred, spaying at age 2-3 is the healthiest. If she is a breeding animal, spay at age 7-9 or whenever her breeding career is over.


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

I always was proud of Deja's sleek coat and it was one, only one, of the reasons not to spay her until....that mammary tumor scare. Then I realized how trivial the look of a coat can be compared to a healthy body.


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## GSD246 (Jan 17, 2012)

She had her physical a week ago. All the numbers were good. I'm going to go ahead and do it. 

My other idea was to just clean her 3x daily. But she hates the whole experience of it. Unfortunately she isn't getting any younger and so this might be my best active choice. 

So how long will she be down? This dog loves agility. She isn't nearly as good at it as she use to be. I lowered the bar and dropped a few things out of it to make it easier for her. Switched her from akc to cpe since they have a senior class. No idea why akc doesn't offer this. Maybe I'll also try to get all three dogs into field scent training. They all love it but I just never made the time to schedule the trials.


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## banzai555 (Sep 2, 2019)

I had my dog spayed at 3 years. I was told to keep her from running/jumping for 2 weeks, until her sutures were removed. Might be longer for your gal since she's older? The vets should give you an idea.


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

wolfy dog said:


> I always was proud of Deja's sleek coat and it was one, only one, of the reasons not to spay her until....that mammary tumor scare. Then I realized how trivial the look of a coat can be compared to a healthy body.


Did it affect her coat?


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

@GSD246 Do you need to title the dogs in scent? If you have the space and can set up your own trials, your dogs can have fun doing that any place. We can help you learn to do that.


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## GSD246 (Jan 17, 2012)

LuvShepherds said:


> @GSD246 Do you need to title the dogs in scent? If you have the space and can set up your own trials, your dogs can have fun doing that any place. We can help you learn to do that.


I don't need it. But she loves the attention she gets at trials. Often trying to strike a pose at the top of the aframe. It really hurt our times and she never did it in practice. But the audience loved it and so did she so I never said anything about it. Only other place I've seen it was when she decided to climb on top of a huge pile of snow. At the top she let loose the only howl I've ever heard from her. 

I know the scent trials have less viewers. Typically only the hider and handier. Had training for it and because I'm hard headed I ignored it. Practiced without my starting market but decided to hide my keys. No worry, I'll recognize it. Played with the dog for bit and then we got started. She kept pulling me the wrong way. I kept trying to correct her. Finally I gave in and she took me straight to my keys. That might have been one of the biggest jackpots ever. 

The biggest being when i left the door unlocked and the wind blow it open while I was gone. I come home to find my dog on the couch happy to see me with my front door wide open. No idea if she took herself to the bathroom while I was gone.


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

LuvShepherds said:


> Did it affect her coat?


 She was spayed in April. She did go into a major shedding spree a few weeks later. But it looks good now. Her diet is mostly raw by the way. Don't know if that has anything to do with it or if it is too soon to expect any changes.


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## Magwart (Jul 8, 2012)

I just had a foster dog that was at least 10 years old go through her spay surgery. She came through it flawlessly. I like fostering senior dogs, so we've done this for old dogs many times. The vet takes extra precautions with seniors (e.g., always run presurgery bloodwork, use IV-cath for fluids during surgery, BAER hugger for warmth and recovery temperature, carefully monitor during surgery and try to get in and out quickly to minimize time under anesthesia). In some ways, the seniors are _easier_ to recover because they're not hooligans like adolescents who sometimes try to run and play way before they're allowed to.


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## Sabis mom (Mar 20, 2014)

Magwart said:


> I just had a foster dog that was at least 10 years old go through her spay surgery. She came through it flawlessly. I like fostering senior dogs, so we've done this for old dogs many times. The vet takes extra precautions with seniors (e.g., always run presurgery bloodwork, use IV-cath for fluids during surgery, BAER hugger for warmth and recovery temperature, carefully monitor during surgery and try to get in and out quickly to minimize time under anesthesia). In some ways, the seniors are _easier_ to recover because they're not hooligans like adolescents who sometimes try to run and play way before they're allowed to.


You know I will pester you when Shadow goes in. I'm terrified!


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## Magwart (Jul 8, 2012)

@Sabis mom, LOL, I've got you! Just don't start fear-calling by sending out your worries to the Universe to call forth all the things that scare you! Try to decide now that it's going to be fine, because you'll choose a vet you trust who will take great care of her, and then you'll get to spoil her rotten for a week or two during recovery. You're the biggest variable in this -- if she senses you terrified, she'll reflect your emotions back, and both of you will expect something terrible to happen, and then she's got that emotional state going into surgery and recovery. I've literally NEVER lost a senior during a spay or even had a hint of a complication, and I'm spaying a lot of dogs that have had lousy care for most of their lives -- I go into all of these as "no big deal, it's going to be fine," and the dogs seem to believe me.

The complications I've seen have all been from poorly funded government animal shelters or "low cost/high volume" (cruddy) spay centers in the U.S. that churn through a bunch of dogs quickly, with inexperienced surgeons (sometimes vet student-interns doing their first-ever surgeries). I have a long-list of screw ups coming out of _those _places -- but a really good, private vet clinic, using best surgical practices, gets me good results.


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## GSD246 (Jan 17, 2012)

Magwart said:


> @Sabis mom, LOL, I've got you! Just don't start fear-calling by sending out your worries to the Universe to call forth all the things that scare you! Try to decide now that it's going to be fine, because you'll choose a vet you trust who will take great care of her, and then you'll get to spoil her rotten for a week or two during recovery. You're the biggest variable in this -- if she senses you terrified, she'll reflect your emotions back, and both of you will expect something terrible to happen, and then she's got that emotional state going into surgery and recovery. I've literally NEVER lost a senior during a spay or even had a hint of a complication, and I'm spaying a lot of dogs that have had lousy care for most of their lives -- I go into all of these as "no big deal, it's going to be fine," and the dogs seem to believe me.
> 
> The complications I've seen have all been from poorly funded government animal shelters or "low cost/high volume" (cruddy) spay centers in the U.S. that churn through a bunch of dogs quickly, with inexperienced surgeons (sometimes vet student-interns doing their first-ever surgeries). I have a long-list of screw ups coming out of _those _places -- but a really good, private vet clinic, using best surgical practices, gets me good results.



Thanks for that. This is far from a low cost shelter and they are doing everything you mentioned. 

It's my first dog. It's hard not to worry. I have to trust that I'm doing the right thing here.


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## Sabis mom (Mar 20, 2014)

GSD246 said:


> Thanks for that. This is far from a low cost shelter and they are doing everything you mentioned.
> 
> It's my first dog. It's hard not to worry. I have to trust that I'm doing the right thing here.


My dog is 10, with health issues severe enough that multiple vets had refused to spay. I'm about as panicked as it gets about this, but her heats are getting more erratic and it's clearly impacting her.
We can lean on each other ok?


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## GSD246 (Jan 17, 2012)

We can lean on each others. That's why I like these forums better than fb. 

It was successful! It cost me almost a grand but that included a cancer scan. They found some really tiny balls that the vet was worried about. She thinks it's nothing but will double check. I'll write up a bigger update later. But for now I'm very happy to have her home with me after the 6 hrs she went through that.


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## Magwart (Jul 8, 2012)

Glad she's home and safe! Paws crossed that you get good news on the no-cancer-scan.


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