What is spaying?
Spaying is an ovario-hysterectomy surgery. This involves surgical removal (-ectomy) of the ovaries (ovario-) and the uterus (hyster-), as a sterile procedure. The surgery is only performed by a licensed, experienced veterinary surgeon. This is exactly the same surgery as would be done on a person, under very similar surgical conditions and anesthetic.
Should I have my dog spayed?
We recommend spaying all female pets who are not going to be used for breeding or showing, as an important part of basic preventive health care. This decision is made easier knowing the benefits that you are making for your pet’s future health.
What are the advantages of spaying my female dog?
- Prevention of heat or estrus.
- When in “heat” the female experiences an urge to escape in order to find a mate. This urge is eliminated – thereby reducing roaming and keeping your pet safer.
- It eliminates the possibility of false pregnancy following the “heat cycle,” during which your dog will go through all of the hormone changes and often all of the signs of pregnancy, when not pregnant.
- Prevention of a potentially life threatening uterine infection called “pyometra,” during which the uterus fills with up to 2 litres of pus.
- The prevention of breast cancer. A female dog spayed before her first heat cycle (about 6 months of age) will be 500 times less likely to develop mammary cancer when compared to an unspayed dog. The more heat cycles a dog has, the greater her risk of developing mammary tumors a few years later. We expect to find breast cancer in any female dog who is not spayed, by the age of 8 years old!
- Elimination of the risk of uterine and ovarian cancer.
- No risk of pregnancy.
Are there any disadvantages?
Most of the perceived disadvantages are false. The most common misconception is that the dog will become fat, characterless, or useless for protection.
Obesity is probably the most common myth of spaying, and is the result of overfeeding a dog at the time of her life when she needs less, not more food. Spayed pets usually eat about the same amount of food that they ate before surgery, but they tend to expend a little less energy because spaying reduces sexual interest and roaming. When this happens, some pets may have a tendency to gain weight. You should always monitor your pet’s weight and, if necessary, adjust the amount of food being fed. Proper nutrition is always important.
There is no scientific evidence that letting your dog have puppies will have any calming psychological effects or make her a better pet. Spaying doesn’t cause a change in personality, guarding instincts, intelligence, playfulness or affection.
When should the operation be performed?
The surgery should ideally be performed just before the first heat cycle. We recommend spaying at six months of age.
Are there any dangers associated with the operation?
Ovariohysterectomy is a major abdominal surgery, requiring general anesthesia. The surgery is performed by an experienced veterinary surgeon using high quality materials under sterile conditions. With our modern anesthetics, blood pressure monitoring, the standard use of intra-operative intravenous fluids, and our experienced monitoring staff, the risk of anesthetic complication is exceedingly low.
Before surgery, your pet will be given a physical examination. Pre-anesthetic blood testing is performed to assess your pet’s internal organ function, in order to design a safe anesthetic regimen specifically for your pet. Regardless of your pet’s age or health status, we will work with you to do everything possible to keep your pet safe and comfortable.
What happens during the surgery?
The anesthetized patient, lying on her back, is shaved around the surgical site, and the skin is prepped with sterile solutions for surgery.
The procedure involves making a small incision just below the umbilicus and surgically removing the ovaries and uterus. There are sterile dissolvable sutures at the sites of incisions internally, as well as holding the abdomen muscle layers together. The same suture material holds the inner layer of the skin together, then skin sutures are placed. These are removed in about 10 days. The patient recovers from anesthetic in about 5 minutes, is sitting up in about 15 minutes, and walking within an hour.
Analgesics (pain medications) are administered before, during and after surgery, to provide a comfortable recovery. Our highly experienced operating room nurses are with your pet during the full recovery period to ensure that no problems can arise.
Are there any post-operative precautions that I should take?
When you get home, offer only small amounts of food and water at a time for the first night. Normal feeding can be resumed over the next day or two.
Rest and restricted activity are the primary post-operative care you should provide for the first week or two. Most dogs can resume normal activity about a week after surgery. Until then, leash walks, no running or climbing stairs and lots of rest are the rule.
Your dog’s incision needs to be checked daily and the tiny skin sutures will need to be removed at your follow-up visit. Everything will be carefully explained to you after your pet’s surgery. The emergency clinic is open all night, and all day on weekends and holidays, should any unexpected problems arise. Please give no home medications without approval from our veterinarian.
Almost 100% of the time, patients recover “too quickly,” and keeping your dog quiet is the toughest job of all!
