[torweb]

My best pal Sadie is 6 1/2 years old and in good health. The problem is she was never spayed as we planed on having puppies...but never did when we found out about her hip problems. I know there are some dangers with not being spayed. Is it too late to do this and can it be dangerous?

Thanks in advance

 

[jwemt81]

If I remember correctly, there are increased risks with anesthesia as the dog gets older, but your vet can run some blood tests before the procedure to make sure that she is healthy enough to undergo the spay. I personally would opt to have her spayed since that can reduce the risks of certain female cancers in dogs.

 

[arcane]

Nope...my Adi was spayed @7.5 and did great! I did do a complete blood panel workup on her prior to the surgery however...Tauri shall be spayed next month as well at 6.5 yrs.

 

[FlyingQuizini]

Ditto that. Run bloodwork as part of a "wellness exam" and unless something suspcious turns up, it should be perfectly fine to spay her. Good for you!

 

[fostermom]

You run a higher risk of pyrometra with each heat she goes through. I found this out the hard way several years ago. My girl was 7 when she developed pyrometra and she almost died. Spaying her would have been so much less risky than her having to go under to have her infected uterus removed.

 

[Abbydabbydo]

What does your vet say? 6 1/2 does not seem too old to spay. Kinda like my hysto, she would probably be very happy .

 

[Pointgold]

I have spayed bitches as old as 9 years. I off course had pre-surg bloodwork done, to assure that there were no underlying issues that could cause complications.
It is far better to have the spay done than to risk a pyometra, the chances of which increase with each heat.

 

[goldensmum]

I would definately get her done - i have known 3 dogs who were all older than Sadie who had pyrometra and sadly 2 died, and one did recover although it was touch and go.

 

[Blaireli]

That is absolutely not too old, although I would definitely run blood work on her prior to making your decision. My Emmy was spayed at nine and did perfectly well.

 

[Jackson'sMom]

My Tia was spayed at age 7, and she did great. She was ready to play ball the next day. My vet ran some blood tests first to check for kidney and liver status, but Tia came through with flying colors. I think the risk of not having your pup spayed would be greater than the risk of having the surgery. Talk to your vet about potential risks to be sure.

 

[Bender]

Bender got Pyro as well, I was out of town for the weekend and the neighbors were taking care of her and didn't realize what was going on... I was lucky in that when I got there and called the vet Bender was still willing to eat something, and was somewhat stable, so we just rushed her in first thing in the morning to the clinic. As soon as she walked in there was two techs working on her, got a line in and prepped her for surgery. She had a pretty rough week of recovery afterwards but is still around at 12.

With Storee, if she's not going to be used for breeding (up to the breeder there) then I'll likely spay her next year when she's 4 so we don't have that risk.

Lana