A good reason to spay later!

[Labradorks]

My friend's 7 year old female boxer was spayed at 6 months despite the dog having an inverted vulva. I don't know if the vets didn't notice or know better or if my friend just wanted her spayed early to not deal with a heat cycle (or both, which is likely) but it's 7 years later and after 6 years of UTIs, urine leakage and accidents, hormone pills (they thought it was spay incontinence for a while) and thousands and thousands of dollars worth of tests, cultures and expensive antibiotics that no longer work for her (she guesses at least $5,000 over the life of the dog has been spent on UTIs and related issues, and that is with some insurance coverage), she got vagiplasty surgery today.

A vagiplasty, for those who don't know, is basically a lift to expose the vulva. The vet makes a horseshoe shape incision (arch up, toward the anus) between the vulva and anus and essentially pulls the skin up, cuts the extra skin and sews the dog up. Like a face or eye lift. She must have 30 stitches back there.

If the dog had been allowed a heat cycle or two, it's highly likely her vulva would have popped out and they would have avoided all of the pain and discomfort of the UTIs (the dog has spent about 75% of her life just not feeling well), the inconvenience of a urine leaker (way more difficult to deal with than a couple heat cycles!) and now the pain and discomfort, not to mention the potential risks, of this surgery. And then, of course, the $8,000 or so that has been spent, including the surgery.

I'm not ragging on my friend as she didn't know better. She feels awful. I wanted to share because this is the perfect example of the benefits of doing your own research and advocating for your dog.

[barry581]

There is just so much bad information out there. When Sophie arrived my vet suggested spaying at 6 months. Since I hadn't had a puppy in 20 years, I had no clue what the protocols were. I emailed my friends and they were horrified (their words) at spaying that young. They told me wait til at least her second season to make sure she was fully mature, growth plate closed, etc.

I really can't say it's the vets fault, as they have a different agenda, that is reducing the number of unwanted puppies. And there is so much bad information out there, you just don't know who to trust sometimes. I think that's why having a good relationship with your breeder is so important.

[POPTOP]

Way back when, I did not know about the problems with early spay. Our Dalmatian was spayed before her first heat on advice of our vet. Since then, we have had seniors so spays were done at 7-9 years old. I've learned from this board about the advantage of waiting to spay and to stand my ground with the vet.

[labsnewfy]

Sarah came to us at 8 weeks with a UTI, she had a couple uti's before we had her spayed at 6 months she too has an inverted vulva. I had asked her doctor about it and she agreed but we still went through with the surgery. Oddly enough she hasn't knock wood had a uti since and will be 10yrs old the end of this month.

I wonder if it is the way the spay is done? Annie and Sarah were both done by 6 months Tootsie at around 3 yrs and Ginger was 2, she actually came into heat before we could get her spayed both of them have incontinence Tootsie also had uti's.

[Labradorks]

Sarah came to us at 8 weeks with a UTI, she had a couple uti's before we had her spayed at 6 months she too has an inverted vulva. I had asked her doctor about it and she agreed but we still went through with the surgery. Oddly enough she hasn't knock wood had a uti since and will be 10yrs old the end of this month.

I wonder if it is the way the spay is done? Annie and Sarah were both done by 6 months Tootsie at around 3 yrs and Ginger was 2, she actually came into heat before we could get her spayed both of them have incontinence Tootsie also had uti's.

I just don't think it is a issue with every dog, but it can happen and there is a simple fix that people need to be aware of. I know of two others spayed too early who had the surgery, but theirs was not UTIs, they had urine scald as the "innie" situation created a "moat" that held the urine next to the skin.

[JenC]

A friend of mine's dog had to have a vulvaplasty....it's kind of nasty IMO. I think most pet owners are getting more saavy about stuff, but vets still push.

If it's any consolation for those wanting to keep their girls intact through one heat, Tickle just finished her first and she barely bled and it barely lasted 3 weeks. Without a boy in the house, it would have been a breeze.

[fan of fanboys]

I have the first female dog of my adult life and she is almost 8 months old. I have fortunate to have an amazing vet (took awhile to find her) and she suggested to wait until after the first heat

[babs75]

I have the first female dog of my adult life and she is almost 8 months old. I have fortunate to have an amazing vet (took awhile to find her) and she suggested to wait until after the first heat

Libby is 4 months old and the vet says new studies suggest waiting until after their first heat to spay so that's what I think we're going to do. I have never had a female dog before and don't quite know what to expect when they're in season but we'll work through it!

[Snowshoe]

Libby is 4 months old and the vet says new studies suggest waiting until after their first heat to spay so that's what I think we're going to do. I have never had a female dog before and don't quite know what to expect when they're in season but we'll work through it!

WE have some of those studies here, you can read them too: Neuter/Spay - Pros, Cons, Risks, Benefits - Research Article Links

[smartrock]

Libby is 4 months old and the vet says new studies suggest waiting until after their first heat to spay so that's what I think we're going to do. I have never had a female dog before and don't quite know what to expect when they're in season but we'll work through it!

babs75, we've had several dogs in the past and Lark, our 3 year old, is the first one who went through a heat cycle. It wasn't that bad for her/us. We have an older boy who was already neutered, dogs don't run loose in our neighborhood and although we only have a split rail fence, no suitors came to our door asking if Lark could come out to "play". She wore these lovely pants during the day when she wasn't in her crate, and aside from not walking her through the neighborhood during that time, the inconvenience was pretty minimal.

I go to a vet office with several vets and I got the full range of advice from the vets on when to spay her, the oldest vet made no suggestions, the youngest was all over me to have it done by 6 months of age. I'm glad to hear some vets are putting some of the research findings into their practice.