Should I Have my Dog Spayed?
Love to read your Q&A. I have a two-year-old Pekinese.
She has not been spayed. No pups. Should I have
her spayed? Thanks Ursula.
Ursula
Cape Town, South Africa
Until recently it was an article of faith among veterinarians that spaying and neutering dogs and cats is always in their best interest. That faith has been shaken somewhat in recent years, but it is my opinion that the benefits of spaying your dog likely will outweigh the possible negative factors.
Spaying your dog will eliminate her risk of pregnancy, uterine cancer, and ovarian cancer. She will be less likely to get lost or be struck by a vehicle while seeking trysts. She will be less likely to be injured in fights or while mating. Spaying your dog will prevent her from contracting sexually transmitted diseases (it’s true–dogs can catch VD!). She will be less likely to suffer from a common and deadly infection of the uterus (or remnants of the uterus) called pyometra.
Dogs that are spayed before their first heat cycle have their risk of breast cancer reduced by nearly 100%. It is too late for your dog to reap this benefit, but it is an important piece of information.
Be aware that spaying is not completely risk free. Spayed dogs may be at higher risk of obesity and urinary incontinence. Some studies have linked surgical sterilization to increased rates of knee injuries (although not in Pekingese) and certain types of cancer. The surgery itself carries a very slight risk of complications.
Like so many things in life, the benefits of spaying your dog must be weighed against the risks. In my experience, the benefits of the procedure decisively outweigh the risks for the vast majority of dogs. I suspect that yours is among them. If you’re not planning on breeding her, then I would recommend that you have her spayed.
You have questions. 
Should I Have my Dog Spayed? – Vet Blog http://tinyurl.com/cb6daj
Thank you for your absolute honesty, Dr. Barchus! I agree completely (and did before this admission of the benefits vs. the drawbacks). I offer my personal observations from my own dogs; with the exact same diet, one spayed before 1st heat has remained near “before spay” weight at age one. She’s a Collie/Corgi mix. Another, a APBT/Catahoula mix that is incidentally blind, has gained several lbs. more than she should weigh, but it’s taken years for her to get at her present weight. She’s 8 yrs old.
Then we have the small fry, Chihuahuas and Chi mixes. All spayed at different times in their lives. One had two litters of puppies before she was 2 (accidents before I could manage the spay cost). She’s gained the most weight, and apparently has an underactive thyroid. She’s the daughter of a horribly neglected & starved Chi/JRT mix I rescued, and with 3 siblings, was born just a week after I took the mom in. She got up to 22 lbs. at one time, up from 14. With care, she’s back to 16 lbs. at the age of 6. I suspect the starvation of her mother, plus near fatal parasite infestation when born could be causes, but I’m no doctor.
Her sister had one litter of 3 (only of which one lived due to complications during delivery). She weighs very close to what she did before puppies and before spaying.
Their mother is 10 (estimate) now, and has trouble keeping weight on; she’s had a couple of strokes, but is normal weight, after an unknown number of litters (3 to my knowledge, but there may have been more before I saved her).
There are more in the Chihuahua group, but the distribution of too heavy or normal weight and litters, no litters, spayed before or after 1st heat and so on are approximately the same. The genetics are a little different, as the other group come from a mini Dachshund/Chi, but all have the same father/grandfather. All now have the same diet, an excellent quality low fat, dry food with a few treats tossed in occasionally.
So, it would seem that health, endocrine system functioning, and parasite problems all play a role. Again, I’m not a vet, but this is what I’ve seen with my dogs. All are spayed, and had I been better able to control what happened when I was at work and my other half was home (and before I rescued), all but one would’ve been spayed at the age of 7 months. I wouldn’t have so many dogs and I would certainly be a lot wealthier, as one cost me $850 for an emergency C-section.
The benefits DO outweigh the risks, especially if you make sure of the health of your dog and the skill of your vet before you spay.
Good balance of pros and cons, however, I’d just like to point out that the line, “She will be less likely to get lost or be struck by a vehicle while seeking trysts” is not a matter of health, but rather irresponsible ownership. Any dog that is spayed or neutered yet not supervised or contained properly can also get lost or struck by a vehicle. There are many responsible breeders that have never had an accidental breeding or a bitch get lost, into a fight, or struck by a vehicle during her estrous.