Spaying - Labrador

Techno_Toaster

We just recently got a Labrador who will be hitting the 6 month mark soon. We are happy enough we don't want to breed her in the future but is there an alternative to spaying? I spoke to the Vets who said that because our lab is an outdoor dog she will need to stay inside where it is warm for at least 48 hours. I'm wondering how soon after the spaying will she be back to her 'normal' self. Shes normally a very energetic dog who loves to run around and play outside.

Thank you all in advance for your answers

tk123

It's much too early to be thinking of spaying her. You shouldn't spay/neuter a large breed dog until they're fully grown and at the very least not until she's had one heat - this is to help prevent bone cancer and joint issues. My retriever girl didn't have her first heat until 13-14 months and was spayed 3 months later. When she was spayed she was back to herself the following morning but had to be kept on lead for walks until the stitches came out.

Latatian

http://skeptvet.com/Blog/2014/07/potential-risks-of-neutering-and-age-at-neutering-for-godlen-retrievers-and-labrador-retrievers/
http://skeptvet.com/Blog/2015/02/what-you-know-that-aint-necessarily-so-neutering-mammary-tumors-in-dogs/

Try this.

My girl was whining and sitting on laps for about a week-she had never really been a whiny dog. Lots of coddling, 'poor pet', etc.

Once she started whining for us to throw the ball I figured she was better.

tk123

Ah Skepvet rambling away as usual... TLDR for me

OP spaying/neutering before a dog is fully grown affects growth plates. I don't know if there's many people on here who actually have real world experience of what happens when growth plates don't close properly - it's not something I'd ever risk again or something I'd recommend risking to anyone else as recovery takes a lot of time and effort.

boomerang

All this furore over when it's best to neuter a dog - if at all.

Yet over in cat world, kittens are getting neutered younger and younger. At 1kg, 750g, even 500g. These surgeries involve less risk and have a faster recovery time than when a cat is neutered as an adult. There is precious little evidence to suggest there is any health risk in paediatric or pre-pubertal neutering of kittens, although it certainly affects their adult morphology.

Knine

boomerang wrote: »

All this furore over when it's best to neuter a dog - if at all.

Yet over in cat world, kittens are getting neutered younger and younger. At 1kg, 750g, even 500g. These surgeries involve less risk and have a faster recovery time than when a cat is neutered as an adult. There is precious little evidence to suggest there is any health risk in paediatric or pre-pubertal neutering of kittens, although it certainly affects their adult morphology.

We are not taking about kittens though. I much prefer if an adult dog looks mature & does not die from bone related issues. One of my favourite breeds looks very different - tall, leggy & weak & is also much more likely to die young then their entire pals. I know whichh option I would choose.

Not to mention that entire dogs & bitches generally have much better coats especially wire coated & spaniel type breeds. Muscle tone is also better.

DBB

There is evidence, though, that there are potential health complications to neutering large breed dogs before 12 months of age. Granted, the evidence exists only for large breed male dogs, not females, but I'd be inclined to be in no rush either until there is more evidence for or against.
Is lack of evidence with cats, or indeed female dogs, a matter that it simply hasn't been measured yet, or it has been measured and no significance was found? If anyone knows the answer to this, boomerang will
I think it's important to make this distinction... absence of evidence is not evidence of absence

Dubl07

One alternative to a traditional spay (whip it all out) is an ovary sparing spay which removes the womb, tubes and neck of the cervix but leaves the ovaries intact. That means the bitch retains most of her normal hormones but a) can't get pregnant b) should not be at risk of pyometra. I still let ours have a couple of normal seasons before she had her OSS but if you feel you are unable to safeguard your dog from an early and unwanted pregnancy OSS might be something to consider.

Techno_Toaster

Thanks so much everyone for your responses. We've had family dogs before but never our own one so we are learning as we go along!


We live in a housing estate with dogs all around us so I was more worried about a dog getting in at her. There are obviously fences all around and a massive side gate but I believe sometimes not even that can keep them out.


I'll definitely look into Dubl07's suggestion. I think we'll leave it for a while and maybe look into it once she has hit the 1 year mark. I know I spoke to our vet about it and they recommended it as soon as she hit 5 months :eek: .

DBB

Just be aware op, that going with Dubl07's suggestion, although she can't get pregnant, she will continue to come into heat every 6ish months. So, it doesn't eliminate what for most owners is the most troublesome element of managing a bitch in heat!
Another option is the keyhole/laparoscopic spay... There are only a few vets carrying out this option, but it is a tidy way of doing it.
That said, the traditional spay is perfectly fine for the vast majority. Some bitches are drama queens, some act like nothing has happened, most fall somewhere between the two!

tk123

I had keyhole booked for my girl at a different vets.. Then my boy had to get an operation and it made me realise how much I value our own vets on our doorstep so I canceled and booked her in for traditional spay. There wasn't a bother on Lucy after she was spayed - she slept that evening and was back to herself the following morning so exactly what I had hoped for with the keyhole - ie minimum hassle for us and pain for her.

Techno_Toaster

Thanks again to both. I looked into the Laparoscopy Procedure also which looked good. We both work so she is left on her own from about 9am until 3pm. She has a good sized back garden and plenty of toys to keep her busy so she doesn't get bored. I know a typical spay takes about 2 10-14 days to heal so we looked at possibly taking time off work to mind her after it. Shes an outdoor dog and gets extremely unsettled in the house. She loves her freedom and running around so I would worry about the stitches breaking.

I suppose ultimately we have options to look at and a decision to make. My main fear is other dogs getting in to her but I hope our fencing and gate can keep that away until she gets to about a year old.

Thanks again for all your help! I have plenty of reading up to do