Dog spaying

Spaying is the term used for sterilising a female dog or cat. The actual operation performed is an ovariohysterectomy (removal of the uterus and the ovaries).
Any dog that is not going to be used for breeding should be spayed at six months of age.
Breeding of dogs is something not to be entered into lightly. Indiscriminate breeding has many implications such as unwanted puppies, health problems for the bitch, and producing offspring with inherited problems from parents that have not been properly screened, such as hip dysplasia and dilated cardio myopathy. Should the dog have problems giving birth a caesarean section may be required. The bitch may not produce enough milk to feed the puppies adequately and you will have many sleepless nights bottle-feeding puppies.

Advantages of spaying

Spaying will:

• Avoid unwanted pregnancies
• Prevent the passing on of inherited defects and diseases
• Avoid the problems of ‘on heat’, spotting of blood, having to keep males away
• Prevent problems where some dogs on heat do their utmost to get to a male, even getting lost or involved in an accident
• Prevent infections of the uterus (pyometra), which may be life threatening
• Prevent false / phantom pregnancies
• Significantly reduce the chances of mammary tumours in the bitch later in life, if done before her first cycle.

Alleged disadvantages of spaying

A dog that is spayed:

• Is prone to weight gain. This is not true if the dog is fed the correct amount of a balanced food, without too many treats or tidbits
• Cannot be a guard dog. This false as removal of the uterus and ovaries does not in any way detract from the dog’s intelligence and ability to guard
• Will change in personality. The only way the dog will change is to become more focused on you, rather than trying to find a mate
• Will only feel maternal if it has had one litter. This is untrue as it is purely a hormonal effect after birthing

The Operation

An incision is made through the skin and the muscle layers into the abdomen, just behind the belly button in the mid line. The uterus and ovaries are found. The surgeon ligates (ties off) all the blood vessels, etc., so that the ovaries and uterus can be safely removed. When the uterus and ovaries are removed three layers of sutures are used to close the muscle, subcutaneous and skin layers.
Your dog should be ready to go home by 5pm the same day.

As you can understand it is important that you keep your dog rested so that the wound can heal. This is often easier said than done as the dogs feel so well after the procedure. Exercise on a lead only is strongly recommended for the first 7 days after surgery. The stitches need to removed two weeks after the operation.