FAQ: The Heat Cycle & Spaying in Dogs

Does a female need to have a litter before being spayed?
Having a litter is not healthier than being spayed before a first heat. First, a dog should not be bred her first cycle - she is too immature mentally and often physically. Make the analogy of a teenager having a child at fifteen - is she ready? A dog should be bred at the earliest 18 months of age; however, hips cannot be certified (OFA - Orthopedic Foundation of America) if she is younger than 24 months and many recommend waiting until hips can be certified before breeding. You want her to be physically and mentally mature before breeding. Also, there are complications that can arise during pregnancy and delivery and even post-partum. These complications can be life threatening. A litter of puppies is stressing to her entire system. Spaying eliminates this. Having a litter is more dangerous than spaying in the long run. Plus, the longer a female goes unspayed, the greater chance of her developing other health problems. A female should be spayed before her first cycle ideally - though spaying at any age has more benefits than not spaying.

Is spaying a dangerous operation?
There is risk in any surgery. Without knowing specifics, you will not know why the death occurred. Thousands of spays are performed daily around the country. In a rare few there may be complications leading to death. But again this is rare. Complications from not being spayed are more of a concern than the operation itself. Now this does not help ease the pain for those whose dogs die during a spay. However, there are many factors that can lead to death during surgery. Ask for preoperative bloods to be done to check for problems that could lead to complications. Ask what type of anesthesia is used and note that some breeds may need milder anesthetics. But the health risks of being intact far outweigh the small risks of surgery.

Is spaying expensive?
Let's break down a few things and see how much spaying costs as compared to the costs of other things that can happen in an intact female. A spay depending on the size of the dog and the clinic (and what types of testing is done prior to, what anesthesia is used, etc) can range from as low as $50 to $175. You can spend many times more than this to treat a pyometra or remove mammary tumors. Blood spots on a carpet can cost a couple hundred dollars to remove if you call in a carpet cleaning company. And of you cannot get the stains out, how much will replacing the carpet cost? A litter of puppies from birth to eight weeks can cost hundreds if not thousands of dollars in food, supplies and inoculations combined. If there are medical complications, this expense can grow. These expenses do not even include pre and post natal care for the mother. Spaying is cheaper than not.