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guy · Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 11:20 pm Post subject:

i have had three ESS bitches all entire- they all developed cancerous growths around their bladders at about 10 years and were pts when life quality deteriorated. Only two were related.

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josie · Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 11:22 pm Post subject:

Are cancerous growths around their bladders connected to anything to do with their uteruses, Guy?
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Slate and Grey

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windem bang · Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 11:26 pm Post subject:

I once worked with a lot of spayed bitches and castrated males. The Guide Dogs organisation for obvious reasons has every bitch and every dog "done." Never, that I can remember,did it make any difference to the dogs working ability - that is any difference good or bad.

My only objection to having bitches spayed or dogs castrated is that all too often they go fat. I know many vets say this isn't true but in my experience it is true. Diet and exercise help a lot of course but if diet is used too much to keep the weight down then the dog may have little energy for work. In my limited experience of this, neutered dogs are more likely to scavenge - probably because they are dieted.

Bill T.

guy · Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 12:01 am Post subject:

Helen S · Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 5:37 am Post subject:

I had Liesel spayed because phantom pregnancies were affecting her temperament for working and for living with her. She flew through the op and was a job to contain on the lead for the required time before her stitches came out. She has not looked back since. It didn't make her perfect but it did improve things no end.

I don't think I would routinely spay/castrate without a good reason, but ease of management especially when you have several dogs, is a good reason in my book.

I may add that none of the spayed bitches which my family has owned has had a weight problem unless it had unsolicited access to large quantities of food by stealth, but then they always had loads of free running on the farm.

Helen S

Marjolein · Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 6:09 am Post subject:

Haven't had time to read all the posts, so probably this was already said, but the incidence of prostate cancer in dogs is very low. I wouldn't castrate for this reason. HTH.
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Bareve · Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 7:50 am Post subject:

We don't do routine spaying. We have had two emergency pyo's over the years - one successful - one not. The one that wasn't was my mum's pet Mini Schnauzer and she was, at the time, being treated for an urinary problem and I think the vet got confused/complacent/whatever and instead of looking for maybe another problem kept treating her for the urinary problem. TBH she was still eating but not herself and seemed to be peeing a lot. We did have her spayed but the toxins were already too advanced and we lost her due to kidney failure a few days later.

Our other emergency spay was so obvious and classical signs. 10.5 yr old wirehair bitch (never had a litter) fine one night when we went to bed but in the morning couldn't walk. She had a temperature, she was panting, looked very uncomfortable and didn't want to get out of the chair that she was in when we got up. She was half way between her season and when she "would" have whelped and she "felt" hard and full as if she was in whelp but she was clean and dry behind. Took her straight in and our vet "thought" it was a pyo by her symptoms so they admitted her put her on a drip whilst they did bloods to check there wasn't anything else going on and they concluded it was a pyo and she was operated on before lunch-time. Despite her age we collected her by mid afternoon and was congratulated by our vet for our quick response as it was a closed pyo and it had been caught in time. She recovered very well but as Bill said she had gained weight and we haven't changed her routine in any way and as she has never been a great eater sometimes she does not even eat 200 gms in a day.

From speaking to other people I believe that with pyo's it's pretty obvious there is something going on even if you cannot put your finger on it. I also believe that the bloods that the vet's can take and analyse these days tell them much more than they did with regards to diagnosis.

The medical reasons for us is whatever is deemed to be life threatening not just for convenience reasons.

HTH
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gummybear · Joined: 12 Dec 2007 Posts: 1 **Breed:**

newbie · Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 8:52 am Post subject:

My 2 cross breeds have both been done the bitch as she was a rescue from the SSPCA and it is part of their policy to do this and my dog as at the time we lived in a very large housing estate where there was lots of dogs running around including bitches in season obviously owners not bothered ! so for ease of living i suppose we got him done now he is 14 years old and only in the last 5 years has he put any weight on my cross bitch hasnt put any weight on at all and she is now 8 years old, but my sister got her Dobermann bitch done last year and she has piled the weight on so maybe different breeds are affected in different ways ? my other sister has a pointer also been done but no weight gain so who knows.
Just to add it hasnt changed their characters in any way and they are still as mad as ever !
About 2 years after the dog was done we got a Jack Russell bitch who came into season and stupidly i thought it would be ok to leave him and her whilst i went out to the shops OH how wrong was i ! Embarassed

i came back to find them tied i was straight on the fone to the vets telling him he hadnt castrated my dog properly so i took him down to the vets he had a feel about and assured me he had done the job and that my dog obviously just had a good memory ! needless to say that was the one and only time he ever done that and doesnt bat an eyelid at the tarty girls any more.

josie · Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 10:25 am Post subject:

Reading through all this, I'm even more sure it's the right thing to do for us. (It seems less clear-cut for male dogs so good luck Claire with the decision.)

We have a consult with Slate on Monday to discuss if we should have it done now or wait till midway through the next cycle. (Midway in cycles she is always having a mild false preg though, and it's not supposed to be during that. Got to say I am semi hoping he's going to tell us to wait so I can put all this off for longer Laughing

)
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Slate and Grey

Hairy or not, it's got to be grey!