Hello! We own a baby Maltese who is coming up on puberty really soon. We have been trying to decide whether or not to get her spayed.
Having been told that not getting her spayed would most likely result in ovarian or uterine cancer (which is totally ridiculous), the idea of spaying her immediately became suspect. I have been told all manner of horrible things that will happen if we allow her to go into heat and don’t get her spayed. Personally, I think it’s inhumane and unfair not to allow her to have at least one litter of pups. From my experience, spaying a female animal causes a lot of resentment from that animal and ruins their personality more so than with male animals.
I would like to know what to expect if I do not choose to spay my dog.
Thanks in advance for your responses.
Hmmm……..
I doubt that your dog would resent being spayed. Maybe she would resent being bred to a dog that she didn’t choose!
Uterine carcinoma is rare (except in bunnies). Ovarain tumors are also rare. Pyometra(a uterine infection) and mammary tumors are common in unaltered females.
Philip McHugh, DVM
Park Veterinary Hospital
Durham, NC 27713
From a veterinarian: It is always your choice whether or not to spay. The information you have is a little bit incorrect–ovarian and uterine cancer are possible in intact females but not very common. The bigger concerns are uterine infection (pyometra)–which is deadly–and mammary (breast) cancer. These occur in more than 50% of older unspayed female dogs.
The risk of developing pyometra is highest in middle aged and older female dogs, and less common in the young, although my own breeding dog I had years ago (a Lab) developed a pyometra at age 3. Once a dog is spayed, they no longer have a uterus, so they no longer have the risk. If you decide to use your dog for breeding, it is wise to spay after the last litter you choose to let her have, so as to elimiinate this risk in her later years.
The risk of developing breast cancer later in life depends on the age at which a dog gets spayed. If a dog gets spayed before ever having a heat cycle, her chances of ever developing breast cancer are almost zero. Each heat cycle she goes through, even if she never gets bred, increases her risk. After 3 years of age, the risk of breast tumors is as high as if she never gets spayed–very high chances. So using her for breeding then spaying her later does not decrease the chances of breast cancer. Breast cancer starts as a non-painful small lump and does not need to grow bigger to kill–it can send some of its cancer cells through the bloodstream to other parts of the body without even growing, and once it has spread, it will be fatal. If you catch it before it spreads and remove the tumor, it can be a total cure, but if any tumor cells have already spread they can often be still too small to detect and then grow later after the tumor was removed.
I’m sorry to hear that in your experience spay causes “resentment” in the animal. That is a very popular misconception and behavior studies have found no evidence of it and in fact have found the opposite–that if anything they are more people-oriented after spay. Unfortunately, people want to believe dogs should have a litter because they think it would be fun and cool and puppies are so cute. In reality, breeding gives the dog health risks, doesn’t always go well, and adds to a very serious pet overpopulation problem that causes many unwanted pets to get euthanized for lack of enough homes.
Currently if every dog and cat in this country had a home, every human being in this country would own 6 dogs and 14 cats. Not every family–every person! If every female dog had just one litter averaging, say, 6 pups (small breeds have less, large have more) half male and half female, then in 5 years your one dog would have produced 726 more dogs! Where will they all find homes? What if everyone did this?
Calculations:
Your dog has 6.
3 are females and have 1 litter of 6 each: that’s another 18.
9 are females and have 1 litter of 6 each: that’s another 54.
27 are females and have 1 litter of 6 each: that’s another 162.
81 are female and have 1 litter of 6 each: that’s another 486.
6+18+54+162+486=726
All because everyone wants to have 1 litter for fun! Or because their dog is just so wonderful that all their pups would be just like them and be wonderful. (That logic is faulty–are you and your siblings carbon copies of your parents?)
Consider this: which is more important–your dog or the puppies she might have? (Is she a top example of her breed with no defects to pass along and coming from championship lines so that her puppies are really valuable?)
If your answer is that it is her puppies that are more important, then your dog’s longevity and freedom from sex-related health issues is not as important as those puppies! If this is the case, plan to breed for more than one litter. Start showing her soon and get her some credentials and start lining up the studs for her, expect that if you want a good stud to breed with her, then she’ll need to have something good going for her, for a stud owner does not want poor quality pups to come from his lines, so they will have some requirements in order to allow a breeding with your dog. Expect to also have to do brucellosis and other health testing when she is breeding age. Be sure to read about dog breeding and whelping and puppy care so you are prepared–there is a lot to know! Start breeding at the third heat cycle when she is physically and emotionally mature enough to be likely to be able to deliver the pups without a C-section and be a good mother. Breed one of every two cycles, or, if you need to push her, 3 out of every 4 cycles. Plan to retire her from breeding about age 6 or 7, as delivery problems become more likely later on. Spay after the last litter. Expect a lot of veterinary bills during your years of breeding, and probably a lot of extra in her older age–many breeders find that the sale of the puppies doesn’t bring in enough to cover the costs of responsible breeding, but of course, everyone is sure they will personally be more fortunate than the average.
If your answer is that she is more important to you than any puppies she would produce (especially if you are not breeding so as to keep any) then why are you not doing what you can to give her the best chance for a long and trouble-free life? Do you really want to lose her in a bad whelping, a pyometra, or to breast cancer? Spay before the first heat cycle and prevent a lot of problems that could cost you a lot in her older age and may even make you lose her young.
People think vets push spaying for the money they make from the spay surgery. That’s really dumb. We make a LOT more on C-sections, pyometras, mammary tumors, sick puppies, and all those additional dogs that get produced by breeding than we could ever make on spay surgeries! If we were in it for the money, we’d be pushing for nobody to spay their pets! In fact, spay surgery is underpriced for what it really costs because veterinarians are committed to helping animals live longer healthier lives. Our job is to keep your pet healthy as long as possible. Is that what you want, too?
Melinda R. Burgwardt, DVM
Lancaster, NY
I think you misunderstood what you were told about spaying and cancer in dogs. Not having your dog spayed will not result in ovarian, uterine, or any kind of cancer. Ovarian and uterine cancer do occur in dogs. I cannot quote you statistics on their incidence but it is not very high and would not be my biggest consideration for spaying. The thing to be considered here is MAMMARY (breast) cancer. Mammary cancer is very common in older female intact dogs. Again, I can’t quote you statistics without looking it up, but we see it a lot. If you spay a female dog before she ever goes through a heat cycle you almost eliminate mammary cancer later in life. If you let them go through one heat and then spay, you reduce the incidence. If you allow them to go through 2 or more heats then spay them, the incidence of mammary cancer is roughly the same as if they were never spayed. This all has to do with the effects of female hormones. To me this is one of the biggest reasons to spay female dogs young – before they go into heat. (You think of your Maltese as a baby, but if she is approaching puberty she is actually similar to a human teenager!) If you had seen as many dogs as I have with mammary cancer and the surgery that is necessary to treat them you might reconsider.
It is not inhumane to spay a dog before she has a heat cycle. There is absolutely NO scientific evidence that allowing a female dog to go into heat or have a litter of pups makes them a better dog in any way. Conversely there is no evidence that spaying them young causes resentment or any other problems. It does not change their personality at all. And I have thousands of lovely spayed patients, great dogs, that I feel make my point.
There are millions of pups and dogs euthanized every year because there are not enough homes for them. This is another very good reason to spay early before the possibility of pregnancy.
If you wish to breed your Maltese because you want to show or sell puppies, that is just fine. But if she is not to be a breeding dog my recommendation would be to spay her before she ever comes in heat. Another thing to consider is the possibility of complications of a pregnancy. It is quite common for the smaller breeds to have difficulty having pups. That is not to say that all of them will have problems – definitely not. But the complications of pregnancy and parturition are definitely higher that the incidence of complications of spaying. I just did a caesarian on a Maltese last week – for the second time! She’s had two litters and both times had to have surgery.
I have met people who feel that the only reason veterinarians want to spay dogs – and spay them early – is money. That is not the case at all. The vast majority of us just want to do what is best for our animal friends, based on the best scientific evidence and experience we have. To me there are very good medical reasons for early spaying and I highly recommend it. I spayed my own female dogs at four months of age.
If you have any questions for me, please don’t hesitate to email me back. And good luck with your puppy whatever you decide to do!
Dr. Kolos
N. Lee Kolos, VMD
Kolbrooks Veterinary Clinic
Bellefonte, PA 16823
Breast cancer, pyometra……LOL
Unless you are planning to become a breeder professionally, there is no reason NOT to spay your dog. When a dog comes into estrus(heat) they will bleed from the vagina. This requires that the owner place a belt with a pad on the dog to prevent the blood from dripping on the floor and the furniture. It is similar to a period for a woman. The dog will also attract unwanted attention from male dogs during this time The optimal time to breed the dog is after she is one year old, so you will have to go through this at least once before breeding her, since the first heat usually occurs around 6 months.
Unless she is top quality for her breed , you may have trouble locating a male of the same bred to mate her to. There is a lot of prejudice out there amongst breeders about whether or not your female is “good enough”.
After the puppies are born, you will have to decide what to do with them and most likely will find it very painful emotionally to adopt them out and want to keep them all. The veterinary expenses for the initial first visits and vaccinations can add up and reduce the profit you think you are going to make if you sell them. The mother will also be distressed at being separated from her pups if you adopt them out.
But the MOST important consideration is the health of your dog! The longer you leave her unspayed, the greater her risk for breast cancer primarily. As a dog goes into heat, each heat increases the risk for breast cancer. Some dogs develop pyometra after several heats. Pyometra is a condition where the uterus fills with pus. When this happens, the dog can become toxic and has to be spayed on an emergency basis and can die under anesthesia due to complications. Having the surgery done on a young healthy dog, is much safer and will prevent all of these complications.
I have never known a dog or cat to be “resentful” after their surgery. They don’t know that they are missing “motherhood” and recover remarkably well from the surgery.
BTW I am a veterinarian in practice for 26 years. I hope this email helps you to make the right decision for your dog. Good luck.
These caring doctors have all made excellent points. As a DVM for 36 years who does lots of work on valuable breeding dogs, I can honestly assure you that there is a lot more money that needs to be spent on an un-spayed female than you will every spend spaying her at 6 months of age. I have hundreds of examples of people who had to spend large sums of money, and live with heartache because they failed to spay their dog when she was young. Do yourself a big favor and have her spayed.
Sincerely,
Mack L. Barney, D.V.M.
The comments about pyometra and mammary tumors in unspayed females are correct. Stop assigning human cognitive abilities to your dog. She will not be resentful, nor can comprehend anything about not having a litter or having a litter before being spayed. Do the right thing, if you are not showing your dog or entering obedience or field trials, then spay at 6 or 7 months of age!
Thanks for the information. It’s helpful in the research I’ve been doing on my cat and I’ve subscribed to your feed for updates.
I have an 11 month old Maltese and she is just starting to have the signs of her first heat! Iam a dog lover and and really wanted to breed her ! she comes from to 2 great full breed parents and they have a clean bill of health. So naturally i felt it was a good idea! i wanted to keep 1 or 2 babies and give the others to family members who really loved the idea having one of her pups! Now after reading these answers im really scared for my dog, the last thing i would want to do is put her life at risk or shorten the duration of it! All i wanted to do is carry her genes down ! Shes an amazing dog with amazing perents and i just didnt want it to end with her! Im not trying to be selfish and forget about all the other dogs in the world with no homes, i own anther dog who is a rescue so i get that! I just truly wanted her to have pups! But she is sooooo important to me and i want to keep her as healthy as possible! So i guess now my question is it to late to save her from the dangers if i get her spayed right after this first heat? I meen now im so scared something will happen to her! I dont know what to do?