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Comment by Jane Christensen on November 30, 2011 at 10:23pm

Definately spay her...females in heat are harder to deal with (or should I say the blood and the males) than having her spayed and helping her "take it easy" for a few weeks. My dogs have all healed fast and we haven't had any real problems.

Comment by Jennifer Markley on November 30, 2011 at 10:17pm

You need to spay her.  She will be fine after the surgery.  You will need to help her up and off things, but they do what they can, and know when to lay off.  The major part is keeping them from licking/biting the stitches.  As far as pain goes, they give them good pain drugs now, so you probably won't notice anything except she's more quiet than normal.

Comment by Beth on November 30, 2011 at 9:13pm

Here is why females who won't be bred should ALWAYS be spayed:

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+2109&aid=918

Comment by Amanda Gallant on November 30, 2011 at 9:10pm

Thanks guys! All very good points to read and makes me feel much better.

Comment by Yuki & Ellie on November 30, 2011 at 9:06pm

She's really no more at risk than any other dog.  As with any surgery you will have to keep her activity level down while she heals.  It takes 6 weeks to heal completely, but most dogs are ready to resume daily life after two to three weeks.  This doesn't mean fetch or jumping on furniture, just the usual walking around the house and such.

 

As for pain, the Vet will most likely send you home with 2-3 days' worth of pain medicine and prescribe more if needed.  Again, as long as you limit her activity levels then she shouldn't experience much pain.  Each dog is different, though, so there's no guarantee.

 

The Vet may or may not keep your little bundle of fur for 1-2 nights for observation, even if nothing goes wrong, so be sure to ask about that.  The policy at my Vet's office is to keep a pet for 24 hours after a spay or neuter to make sure that nothing goes wrong.  I've heard people at the office complain about it, but I, personally, love it.  If something is going to happen, then I'd much rather have my pets there where they can be treated immediately.

 

You should talk with your Vet, but I can tell you that Ellie had no troubles with her spay.  She had it done at 4 months and didn't even need to finish the pain meds.  In fact, the moment the Vet took her out of the cage at the office Ellie was zooming in circles on the leash.  The hardest part for us, honestly, was resisting the puppy eyes whenever she wanted to get out to play.  That first week she spent the majority of the day in her crate and she was not pleased about it.  ;)  We go through it, though, and there were no complications.

Comment by Mal Schaal on November 30, 2011 at 9:04pm

You might not plan on breeding her, but other dogs are really good at getting into other people's yards to play. That's happened to me more than once, I'd look outside and be like why is there 3 dogs running around when I only have 1?!! It would only be worse with a dog in heat.

Comment by Ellen Andersen on November 30, 2011 at 8:59pm

Honestly, hon, I don't think you need to worry.  Dogs are very resilient, the incision is small (about an inch) and will likely have internal stitches that won't need to be removed (they'll dissolve over time).  She'll be fine and spaying her is the right thing to do.  She'll be fine!  And she's got a great Mom to worry so much.