Chihuahua Crossing Forum Closed

JacobsBunch · Administrator

To spay or not to spay???

Elena · Senior Chi

Pixie is only 3 months...but I am already thinking:shall I do it in the future or not?I don't want her to have babies,and I don't want the house to become a mess during the "time"...But,at the same time,somebody told me that if I spay her she can have hip problems and put on a lot of weight....So I am confused like you...what shall i do?

6Chishere · Adult Chi

I'm a vet tech and i can say....Please spay your baby....The way I look at it, the risks of her ending up with mammary cancer, mammary tumors, or pyometra (infection in her uterus) get higher with every heat cycle that she goes through...Its so much easier to spay her once and not have the risks of dealing with these things. All of our babies are spayed and neutered. Ginger only weighed 4lbs when she was spayed and did fine. The weight thing is a myth. Usually what happens is owner's feel sorry for their babies after surgery and give them a little more to eat. Also a pets metabolism drops a little after surgery so you have to take that into account after surgery. Also, spaying will not cause hip problems, I've never heard that before. (and i've been a vet tech for 5 years)

A couple of questions you should ask the vet who will be performing your babies spay.

1. Do you do bloodwork before surgery?
2. Does the pet get an IV and IV fluids during surgery?

If the vet says no to either...RUN!!! These things are a must.

I dont know where you live, but we're in atlanta and the average cost is $200.00 but there are also quite a few low cost options (who still provide the same quality) in my area.

Sorry its so long, i hope it helps..

Jess · Senior Chi

Wow! I think 6chishere has really got that covered! I must admit, it feels great to have a Vet Tech (I assume that's similar to Veterinary Nurse?) around the place! I am sure you will come in very handy a LOT! So it's great you're here 6chishere!

I would also have to agree with 6chishere when she advises you to spay. For two reasons; the first is that it'll reduce the chance of all those nasty deseases that are mentioned above, but also, if your dog isn't an excellent example of the breed I would discourage you to not breed as doing that only serves to bring down the standard of the particular breed of dog. I completely understand that having a litter or two of pups is very fun and exciting, but that's not a good reason to breed. If you breed it should be to improve on the standard. This obviously, is not directed at you Heather, or anyone else in particular, it's just a general belief of mine as someone who takes this subject very seriously.

There is one thing I would check out first though. It was my belief that you should not spay a female dog before their first season. I may be ocmpletely wrong, but that's what I thought.

x

ChiMom79 · Administrator

It will of course be up to you, but I would certainly go with getting her spayed. For health reasons and her being so small, it is just overall the best thing for her. You got some very good replys here so good luck with your decision!

JacobsBunch · Administrator

Thank you all so much for your replies. 6chishere that was some great info that I didn't know about. I think i will call around and see about the cost and ask those importent questions you mentioned...maybe do microchip at the same time and just get it all done and out of the way. When do girls usualy have their first season?? Thank you again all it was so helpful you all are GREAT!

6Chishere · Adult Chi

your very welcome for the info. It is also a myth about waiting to spay until after the babies first heat. Even going through heat one time will increase the probability of having issues in the future because of the hormones etc involved in a cycle. (hope that helps) yes..A vet tech is the same as a vet nurse. The microchip is also a great idea, and i recommend that highly its permanent identification unlike tags and collars that can be removed.

We get asked constantly if we breed Chi's because we have so many and our answer is always NEVER. With our babies being small anyways, why chance it?

-- Edited by 6Chishere at 23:33, 2006-11-09

Jess · Senior Chi

This is a slight digression from the topic, but I was just wondering something. 6chishere, I am thinking of becoming a Veterinary Nurse when I am ble to study again, do you like it as a job? Can you give me any advice or info? I know training will be a bit different as we live in different countries, but I just had to ask!

x

-- Edited by Jess at 10:22, 2006-11-10

6Chishere · Adult Chi

to answer your question Jess, in all honesty..I love my job 95 percent of the time, but there is that 5 percent of the time that it just sucks. I love feeling like i've helped someone, or shared my knowledge with them, but sometimes you just get the clients who dont want to listen to a word you say and its so frustrating!! For example: we had a new client come in today because her previous vet put her on eye drops for an eye infection and it wasnt getting any better. Well we examine the dog and find a severe ear infection as well as an ulcer on the eye. The owner is totally cool about treating the ulcer on the eye and gets the meds etc, but when it comes to treating the ears she gets all witchy saying that she was just at her prev. vet last week and she didnt see how the doc looked in the ears and didnt say they were infected. Meanwhile, my boss and i are sitting here going HUH??!?!? thinking to ourselves that the dr, didnt do a good exam to begin with (seeing as the ulcer was very visible on the eye) Those are the cases that are frustrating. Your trying to do whats best for the pet, but some people just want to do that.

napolde · Kid Chi

I'm having Precious spayed in February but i hear all the talk about a mess during heat cycles and i'm a bit confused. When i had my Sharpei she bled so bad she had to wear pads during the two cycles she had before i got her spayed but my Chihuahuas do not make any mess or have any bleeding. They are the most neat little pair i've ever seen. Do some dogs just have more of a mess than others?

ChiMom79 · Administrator

napolde, I guess that must be the case. I know when Sassy was in heat, she bled and made a mess on the couch and bed and all. It wasn't extreme, but still messy. Some dogs will keep themselves very clean when bleeding, Sassy did, but she would stain things when she slept .

bluebrookchis · Senior Chi

Hello, I wouldn't think it would hurt to wait. I can see what she sees as a vet tech. But also those are ones that are brought in and somethings wrong. If you are unsure I say wait and see what she matures and and if you still feel you want her spayed then do so. Shes still young so I think you have time to decide. All is up to you in the end.

Meeker · Kid Chi

I just had Meeker spayed 4 days ago... it's been pretty hard on me...
My vet requires alll dogs to stay over night (for the reason that it keeps her activity level down)
She has been out of sorts since I picked her up... she hides under the couch and when I can get her out she scurries around and immediately puts her butt on the floor...
She wasnt eating for awhile (we think this was because she also had to have 2 teeth pulled)
I called the emergency vet because she was trembling alot and he told me that it was probably from pain... he recommended that I give her 1/2 a baby asprin....
She seems to be doing a bit better but this morning she wet the bed while she was sleeping... almost like she didnt realize she had to go..
I'm watching for infection... but her scar looks like it is healing nicely.
I thought this would be easier since she is 8months and I had heard that young puppies spring back quickly, but I guess it varies by dog...
I will happy when she is back to her old self and glad that this will overall improve her health.

ChiMom · Kid Chi

Meeker is trembling after her spay? Tucker was neutered on Wednesday, 11/22 and he shivers alot. Starting to quit now, but it seemed like he was really cold. I put a fleece jacket on him, wrapped him in a blanket and cuddled. He stopped shivering then. I gave him 1/2 a baby asprin when I first brought him home (he didn't have to stay overnight) and then another 1/2 baby asprin before bed that first night. He was shivery the next day, so I took him back in to be checked. He was fine - Dr. told me that sometimes these little guys do the shiver thing to express their displeasure with what is happening to them - Tucker has to wear a little brace to prevent licking the incision - and he is a real Drama King whenever I put anything new on him. Dr. said no problems, infections or anything to cause this. So I think it might be a chi thing? He's growling and playing just fine at the moment! Hope Meeker is doing better - these things are kind of hard on them and us moms worry about them! It's our job!!

Meeker · Kid Chi

Yeah one of the vets I talked to said that trembling tended to be a sign of anxiety,.. which could be caused by pain..
I had though she was cold too,.. and she seems to stop whenever I hold her close and pet her,.. I thought she was warming up, but she may have been relaxing...

I also filled a ziplock back with hot water and put it under her blankets and on her back and it made her feel better..
Yes, she is spoiled :)

I would definately reccomend asking for pain meds after a spay surgery

Ainsley · Adult Chi

I went through the same thing with Chewy and getting him neutered or not. I decided to because I think they stay more loveable if they are fixed. The costs around here are $148 for females and $138 for males. With everything it comes out to $200-$210. I would suggest getting your baby spayed to keep her healthy.

6Chishere · Adult Chi

Not all that are brought in have something wrong. we had a woman come in on friday who's pup was brought in for a routine spay. Bloodwork was totally normal and everything looked fine. We get into surgery and begin our spay it turns out that this pup only had 1/2 a uterus and 1 ovary. The typical uterus is Y shaped and she was missing one of her horns and one of her ovaries. This woman has seiously considered breeding this dog, and if she would have this dog probably would have died. Just another thing to think about. I'm not against breeding by any means, I've done it myself, but its always better to be safe than sorry.

Alison · Kid Chi

Molly is not spayed. When she is in heat I simply put a little diaper on her when she is in the house. There is not a lot of blood (she weighs about 4 lbs), but enough to ruin stuff. It usually lasts about 9 days.