Effects of spaying on older female?
Next week is the big day and Madison is going to get spayed! I know it's routine surgery, but I am the tiniest bit worried because she's nearly 5, she's had a litter, and that litter was a C-section, so I think her recovery might be a bit slower than it would be for a young pup. The upside is she is past the puppy crazy stage, and as long as you don't wave a ball or frisbee around outside (in which case she goes crazy for it) she is easy to keep calm. She pens and crates well, so we will simply confine her when we are not there to keep her from jumping on furniture. She's not a frapper so that's not a concern either.
But those are just the basic issues. My question is if I can expect any changes to her behavior. I know that with a young dog who does not have its mature personality, the answer is usually "no." But with an adult whose hormones are fully functioning, I wonder if anyone can tell me if they have experience with this and have seen any changes? I know that many women and quite a few female horses are affected by their changing hormones and their moods can change accordingly. I wonder if the hormone changes resulting from spay will have any impact.
Of course Maddie has only been with us a couple months and we haven't seen her go through a heat cycle, so we don't have much to compare with. She is basically a pretty easy dog with an outgoing personality and a nice energy level (always eager to go for a walk or chase a ball, but content to lie around at night if you're just hanging out). She has no real problems. She is, however, a bit sporadic when meeting other dogs. She's never aggressive, but she's a bit quick to snark for perceived slights. She also most definitely does NOT like having her backside sniffed. I had read, long before we got her, that some females, especially intact females, will not tolerate dogs sniffing their privates if they are not in season, and that is certainly true with her! With Jack she never snarks, but she lives with him and is used to him (and he has learned to stay away from her backside!)
I would appreciate anyone's experiences, with either a young female or most especially an older one who had already reached full maturity.
Thanks!
But those are just the basic issues. My question is if I can expect any changes to her behavior. I know that with a young dog who does not have its mature personality, the answer is usually "no." But with an adult whose hormones are fully functioning, I wonder if anyone can tell me if they have experience with this and have seen any changes? I know that many women and quite a few female horses are affected by their changing hormones and their moods can change accordingly. I wonder if the hormone changes resulting from spay will have any impact.
Of course Maddie has only been with us a couple months and we haven't seen her go through a heat cycle, so we don't have much to compare with. She is basically a pretty easy dog with an outgoing personality and a nice energy level (always eager to go for a walk or chase a ball, but content to lie around at night if you're just hanging out). She has no real problems. She is, however, a bit sporadic when meeting other dogs. She's never aggressive, but she's a bit quick to snark for perceived slights. She also most definitely does NOT like having her backside sniffed. I had read, long before we got her, that some females, especially intact females, will not tolerate dogs sniffing their privates if they are not in season, and that is certainly true with her! With Jack she never snarks, but she lives with him and is used to him (and he has learned to stay away from her backside!)
I would appreciate anyone's experiences, with either a young female or most especially an older one who had already reached full maturity.
Thanks!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on
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My females have always been 2 or younger so I don't have any info on an older dog but over the years I have had several dogs spayed with no problems except for the one that was extremely high energy and took the steps and played too soon. We ended up having her tear some stitches and had to back to the vet on a Sunday of coarse but we had no major issues! I am guessing it will take up to a month for the hormones to settle down but I would guess all will be fine. Good Luck Beth...I think it's harder on us than them!!! Good luck and a speedy recovery to you Maddie!
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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Yes, I agree it's harder for us than them most times. Alice, my cat, had problems with stitches because of too much activity too.
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Permalink Reply by Deanna on
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Oh, Beth, I have an older female rescue, Topaz, who wasn't spayed until she was over 4 years of age, and all she had known was living in a kennel producing puppies -- the behavior changes were only that she became more loveable to me -- almost protective in an endearing way, staying close by me at all times as if I was her new "baby" to watch over. Other than that and some weight gain -- watch how much you feed Maddie after her hormones settle as the weight will come easily -- she is much happier running in the park, sniffing icky stuff on the ground, hunting rabbits, chasing the other furbabies, and walking close by me at all times. However, each time I get a new squeaky toy for any of my kids, Topaz will snark at any other dog who tries to get the toy away from her, because to her, it is a "puppy," as the squeaky noise is undescernable to her from that of a real puppy. But any negative behavior changes, no, not a one. She is actually a much better family member now. I hope this eases your concerns.
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Ah, food and weight gain! Thanks for reminding me. I'll probably cut back her food automatically and only increase it if she starts looking too thin; easier to gain than to have to lose! I know the ASPCA and other organizations that heavily promote spay/neuter say it's a myth that altered animals get fat, but many objective sources I read have said that an altered animal burns fewer calories than an intact one because the reproductive organs use up calories just to keep operating.
It sounds like you gave Topaz a whole new lease on life! I am fairly sure Maddie will keep her general sweet and affectionate disposition. I wouldn't mind if the spay made her a little less snarky about her back end with strange dogs! LOL Since the behavior is already ingrained, I doubt it, but you never know. It's not a big issue as she's submissive and she'll snark, but if another dog barks at hers she puts her ears back and retreats. There's one lumbering old fat beagle we see, though, who just doesn't get the hint and keeps trying to sniff, so generally when we see ol' Snoopy I keep Maddie away from his inquisitive nose.
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Ha!, Beth, that's exactly how Topaz is! No other dog better come close to her "personal" places -- she gets right on their heels!
As far as the weight gain, when Ladygirl was alive -- I don't know if you saw another discussion about an over weight Corgi -- but I fed Ladygirl mashed sweet potatoes -- fewer kibbles, down to a quarter cup, and tons of mashed. She loved them! She only got a quarter cup of kibbles for breakfast and for dinner -- but got the mashed potatoes any time she wanted --- lost 12 pounds. At the time of her death, she was healthier at 11.5 years old than Topaz was at 5.5 years -- the mashed potatoes didn't change her "poo" either, and since she could eat them anytime she wanted, she didn't beg, and wasn't always hungry.
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I had heard that some females who tend to want to be a bit dominant actually can get a bit more so when spayed, as without the progesterone, testosterone has a bigger effect on them.
However, I saw one scientific paper on behavior online and it acknowledged that there have been very few objective studies comparing behavior between intact and altered dogs; many of the behavior studies they have done are done with cooperation of breeders whose dogs are mostly intact, and much of what we know about the effects of altering dogs on behavior is just anecdotal (vets and trainers who report on what they believe to be the case).
I'm glad to hear Tilda is getting better now; I remember you had posted that she seemed bossier after her spay.
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I think she's far enough out of that adolescent stage Beth!
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LOL ! I would think so! She's a good girl, too; you say "no" and her ears go back and she gives you those big doe eyes!
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Permalink Reply by Kristen on
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Fern was three when she was spayed, I don't know how many litters she had prior to that. She was a breeder at a puppy mill and had been spayed by the rescue organization before we got her. I can't speak to personality changes since it happened before we got her, but she has an incredible disposition so I can't believe it did any harm. She still has what appears to be hormone fluctuations on occassion. I would expect very little change in her personality or behavior. There is a chance she may suffer from spay incontinence, which is treatable and may go away. Fern had major surgery last year. A huge incision that healed very quickly. In dog years three is much younger than five, but I believe your Maddie will heal quickly under your compassionate care. All the best to you and Maddie!
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Well, we dropped Maddie off very early this morning and now she is home. She looks positively awful. I mean, her incision is nice and clean and smaller than I expected, but the look on her face is pitiful. She barely tottered out of the office and when we took her crate out of the car in the garage and opened the door, she would not come out so we carried the poor thing in, crate and all. She's positioned right by the baseboard heat and I turned it up a bit warmer than usual. She was, however, eager to accept a Charlie Bear treat and was looking for more. LOL. Typical Corgi: she can barely stand but she's ready to eat! I will give her a couple tablespoons of food at suppertime and a couple tablespoons about an hour later if she does not vomit, than half her normal ration tomorrow morning and the other half her normal ration in mid-morning if she's not sick.
She has loose fur everywhere. :-( Like I said, she just looks awful, but I think once the anesthesia wears off completely her expression will perk up a bit.
We were sent home with 3 doses of antibiotic (for tonight, tomorrow AM, and tomorrow evening) and some Rimadyl "as needed". I'll probably not give her any tonight since she had morphine or whatever at the vet, and give her a dose tomorrow and then play it by ear.
Jack was thrilled out of his mind when we brought her in! I have mentioned that my Jack barely looks up when we come home, unless it's to bring us his toys to play. Well, he was whining and whimpering and running back and forth trying to stick his nose in her crate to say hello. Hmpf. I guess he's bonded to her already, then! Which is good, but he treats us like we're just the hired help.....
So here's hoping her recovery goes well. She needs to go back in 2 weeks to have stitches out. I suppose it will be some time before I can see if there are any effects on her behavior. And now the poor thing will have two scars on her belly; one from the C-section and one from the spay. She'll never get into a bikini by spring!
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