Health Issues in spayed/neutered Animals - Page 2

VBK9, you did read the second part of my sentence, no? And you read where I stated that I could not present a quarrel towards that type of thinking. It was not an attempt to bash veterinarians in general, and I do not think that you interpreted it that way. I am happy to say that why all veterinarians are businessmen/businesswomen, the vast majority that I met do have a conscience and a love of the animals that they treat. I do know that some will really press the owner of a puppy to spay/neuter as soon as possible, and as a breeder, that is where I disagree. I usually advise the client of my concerns, but in the end tell them that their veterinarian is a trained medical professional and that the decision is theirs upon the advice of their veterinarian. If they are happy with the way their puppy looks and acts, then I guess that it is okay with me. Bob-O

Animules, now that you mention that I saw the same thing occur just before I ledt western Arkansas. The county of my former residence did pass a dog licensing bill that required the owners of intact animals to pay an additional fee (I apologize that I do not remeber the amount) when the dog received its annual rabies vaccination and license. The monies generated are supposed to help fund the annual spay/neuter programme and provide operating funds for the shelters. I recall an annual spay/neuter clinic where this surgery was available for a low cost-I think about $70.00 per animal, but evidently it was not successful, hence the new "tax" on an intact dog or bitch. Bob-O

I know you were not vet bashing Bob-O, just trying to add some humor. My county is the same, licensing is about 1/4 the cost for an altered animal vs an intact one. Here, though I don't think it makes a difference, complience with licensing your dog is very very low!

Licensing fee in my township is more for intact dogs, proof of Rabies shot, and the small fee is $5 for spay/neuter or $10 for intact. Anything over 4 you can get a Kennel license for $50. Health issues, I am not 100% sure of where I stand. Cheyenne who will be 5 in Feb. we spayed this spring. She has had a terrible problem with digestive issues and I wouldn't get her spayed until she was stable for more than 6 months. She was my first female but I listened to all the advice about never out of sight and alway on leash. I live out in the country and at that time I didn't own a male. One day I took her out for potty time and she was acting strange the minute we stepped out the door. She kept looking behind us, I turn around and coming around the corner of the house was a male yellow lab intact. Cheyenne is bouncing around like Mom Mom can we keep him, the male is looking at her like "Yea baby" come by me. I am trying to get her in the house and keeping me between him and her hind quarters. So thank you everyone who every posted great information. The male was abandoned from a Field Trail (know that becase of his training), he didn't have any form of ID, no chip, no tags, no tatoo, but had a collar. I tried to find his owner, but no one wanted him. So instead I found him a new home with some distant relatives of my hubby who we see every so often. The dog is fine. I have a male who will be 4 in Feb. Still intact and I might let him stay that way. He has allergy problems and I don't want to mess up his system. I have a young intact female and I am more than careful when she is in season. Both are in crates, behind metal gates and Cheyenne the Alpha bitch is between them. If any dog is out of place or sick she raises the roof. If I can I take the male or female with me, so I know that they can't get togeher.

animules in my town, its less expensive to register a dog that is spayed/neutered i think by 25.00 i forget now... they dont require proof. idiot me is honest too, i could save some money but with my luck i would get caught yes either way, documentation has to be proven. this documention that i have is quoted with Vet reference and years etc... its worth the paper its written on perhaps but how will we ever know? i will stand to not neutering/spaying prior to maturity though with males...and females waiting until at least a year old and down the road something may GOD FORBID occur that may have me change with a situation... i even offer the pet homes of the female that she can stay here from either day 1 til 21 or day 5 to 18 etc... so that way they dont have to deal with that one heat season. i had a smart a$$ vet of a puppy buyer of mine, who i had used a few years ago, scare the daylights out of her in regard to spaying her female by 6 months and having this poor woman call me in tears after she had already agreed to my suggestions... the vet and i went back and forth in emails, respectfully and she said who am i to control what she does, its her dog and i had to say that the home signed a contract to abide by all breeder suggestions and also would not hold me liable if something occurred coincidentally etc.. ok.. so the home was so upset and crying and i said to her i do not want her to be upset that she can spay the female and i would never take her away because of that..but she has now taken the responsibility of this and if the female develops any conditions stated in the contract prior to one year old etc... i am not responsible to give her another puppy (but anyone that knows me, knows i would do it anyway because that is how i am) the pet home and i are very close... but the vet, on her own xrayed the females hips the day of the spay without asking the client, charged her for it and then told her the puppy had early signs of HD....she wanted to have xray proof in the event the dog did have HD prior to a year to show me.. and then she told the home she has to put her on all these meds... and i said i want to see the xray myself... the first one was a side view!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! how the HELL can anyone see HD on a side view i thought, i remained calm and concerned incase there was a definite sign of this so we could put the puppy on Ester C and Cosequin DS.... and finally about a month later i got the correct view with crappy positioning and clarity of the xray, i thought, but anyway sent it to germany and guess what??? The prelim xrays were fine and every breeder I knew said there were no problems in their opinion with that xray except the positioning was terrible!!!! they were even better than an xray that was probably a fast normal xray for a different puppy... and they werent worried about that... so needless to say i shared this with the pet home and they were very happy to hear this, BUT i also told her that doesnt mean she wont ever develop HD regardless of genetics or not.. we never ever know.

through all this, I always tell my puppy people these are “my opinions and suggestions” with many years of experience behind those that mentore me and although I do not have a medical degree nor do I disrespect the profession, to always gather info on both sides and go with their gut. Before signing a contract with me, please ask your vet and others… and then we will discuss things any time they wish and I also share with them that anything I may share as findings can certainly change down the road with new research, that its ultimately their dog and hopefully they continue to respect my dedication and knowledge and the knowledge behind me i LOVE my Vets and they dont always agree with my thinking but we always keep the lines of communication open AND we discuss things and ultimately they know its MY DOG and I will accept responsibility as I will be doing as much research as possible to decide any course of action

I don't meant to beat this to death, but if spaying a bitch does nothing more than prevent pyometra it is well worth it. Anyone here ever see the uterus of a large breed bitch with pyo? I have and trust me when I tell you that I have seen quite a few, one from a bullmstiff that weighed over 8 lbs with horns as large as a fat man's arms. Removing uteruses that size is risky surgery and requires a very long incision and extremely careful removal. One little nick and that pus is going to spill into the abdominal cavity and cause peritonitis which is life threatening. An infected uterus can also rupture on it's own and result in peritonitis. Pyo also causes renal failure and bitches will die from that, few will survive in spite of state-of-the-art vet care. My very first dog, a mixed breed pound puppy, actually died from renal failure secondary to pyometra. it was my first dog and I was never advised of the dangers of not spaying a bitch. Most vets still think that spaying a bitch before she has her first season will prevent breast cancer and that benefit is reduced with every season thereafter. As far as relying on pet onwers to see that an un-neutered animal never prodouces, I myself would not trust that and have always required neutering on pet bitches. My first litters were bred before AKC offered limited registrations so that was not an option. Limited registrations do not prevent unwanted litters, they prevent registering them with AKC. Given all the splinter groups that register dogs today, it seems to me that the value of a limited registration is itself, well, limited.

Don't know if this has a relevance to spayed bitches but I am seeing alot of urinary incontinence in young spayed bitches and have heard this is related to spaying at an early age. I have personally never seen urinary incontinence in an unspayed bitch but don't have as many to choose from for a control group. It's not always easily fixable either. On the other hand, pyometra is horrible to see.

been there, lived pyo and to be honest... if i wasnt so in tune with my female i could have missed it and my vet even said to me "i respect your attentiveness towards your animals" i had a gut feeling and i didnt listen to them and brought her in the second i saw that gel like discharge and ran her right in...they told me to wait a few days... NO WAY i said, something isnt right... we thought she was pregant, well she was... but anyway... from what i have heard from others, you have to be in tune with your dogs... Pyo just doesnt kill it goes through stages and you have to be on top of it HOWEVER, that may mean just a "closed" Pyo, Blitz, whats the difference again? one is open and one is closed right? one can be treated with meds/hormones and maybe even cured to breed again and one you just gotta get them in ASAP right??? again, i am not suggesting all pet homes keep females intact, just keep them intact until maturity, keep their hormones to at least keep their growth rates normal to avoid any issues with HD IF i say IF they are predisposed... and we dont know that do we? this is a good topic, hearing both sides of the fence and folks open to hear the opposite of their normal ideals...

The open type can often be successfully treated with hormones while the closed type is tougher to cure. Treating a bitch with pyo is something a breeder is more likely to do than a pet owner I think. It is expensive, not easy on the dog, and most likely to happen again. I had a young bitch treated for pyo, she recovered, was bred the following season and whelped a nice litter. Afer she completed her American and Canadian championships, we spayed her. It would seem that it's an easy disease to diagnose early-on, but it's not always. Some older bitches can be in renal failure by the time the owner notices something is amiss. Even some vets miss it if there is no discharge and if they fail to question the owner asking the last time the bitch had a season.