Hi all,  My previous dog was a bitch who was speyed after I rescued her at about 6 years old.  I then had terrible problems because it was like she gave off an in season scent more or less permanently.  Dogs wouldn't leave her alone and I had many arguments with the other dogs' owners who were convinced she was in season and kept telling me I shouldn't be exercising her around other dogs.  It was really a nightmare and continued for the rest of her life.

Now I don't have a bitch at the moment, but it is likely my next puppy will be a bitch as I have a male (neutered) dog and understand opposite sexes will get on better.  I had planned not to spey because of my previous experience and because I have also heard of bitches becoming incontinent after speying, but I am also concerned about pyometra and lost my first bitch because of a mammory tumour, so I would really like to hear whether other people have had the same problems as I had with my previous bitch or whether I was just unlucky.

Wouldn't you like to hear from people who have had spayed bitches without any problems ;)

Good point Isabel!  Yes, I would but I was also curious to know if other people had had the same problem as I did so I could gauge the chances of it happening again.

Just joking I know you meant both really, I have known probably about 20 to 30 spayed bitches really well in my time, amongst my own, family and friends and I have only known one with a problem, a boxer bitch with incontinence, something the breed seems to tend to, cured by medication.
I would like to add by asking something like this on the net it is unlikely you will truly get an indication of the likelyhood of problems as a disproportionate number of those with problems are likely to reply, your vet probably have better access to real statistics not to mention their own experiences.

Thanks Isobel.  That at least seems a small proportion of incontinence.  Doesn't sound like you have heard of this 'in season when not' problem.  I accept what you say about maybe not getting a balanced view this way and I will of course discuss this with the vet anyway.  Trouble is, when so many are in favour of speying anyway I'm not sure I trust them to give me a truthful answer!

Yes I have heard of the problem as described by Jeangenie don't think it can be common though.  I think you can trust your vet particularly if you ask a straight question about statistics, after all you can sue him if you find out he lied :D
Of course the reason why they are often pro-spaying just might be because they feel it does, on the whole, benefit the bitch ;)

*after all you can sue him if you find out he lied *   sorry Isabel, but only if you`ve got witnesses he lied to you or it`s in writing, otherwise its his word against yours ;)

Christine, Spain.

So take a witness with you :D

Must remember that for next time I have to go :D

Christine, Spain

My friend's bitch had a similar problem. It required an exploratory operation to discover that a very tiny piece of ovarian tissue had been left behind which was trying to regenerate, and was giving off hormones. But that was only really bad when she would have been in season otherwise, not all the time. Following the second operation she was okay, just the expected urine dribbling when she was older.

That's interesting Jeangenie, thanks.  My vet at the time didn't suggest a second op.  He seemed to think I was unlucky and would just have to live with it.

I've had 2 bitches spayed, one at nearly 11 because of pyometra and she was fine after and lived to nearly 16 which is a good age for a big dog :)
The other one was spayed after her first season after much agonising on my part, and so far she has been absolutely fine although grown a thicker coat which i expected.
I believe that keeping a spayed dog fit helps to ensure there is no problem with incontinence, but also that some breeds are anyway more prone to it than others. I would probably think twice if i owned one of those breeds.

Lindsay
X

Hi Lindsay, thanks.  I'm glad your bitch recovered from pyometra so well and lived such a long life.  Do you know which breeds are more prone to incontinence?  I am planning for another golden retriever (my current one is 12.1/2 and I would love him to last as long as your bitch provided he was still enjoying life of course as he is now).

we had our Staff speyed at 6 months before her first season and we agonised alot before hand. She had a couple of accidents in the first week but didnt need to go in the night so I knew there wasnt a permanent problem. We asked the vet anyway and they said to watch her for a week but they thought this would stop, it did. No problems at all

How old is she now?

Thanks Coleystaff,  I know exactly what you mean.  It is always worrying to have strictly speaking unnecessary surgery on your dog.  You torment yourself with what might go wrong.  I was like that when I had my current dog neutered.

We worry so much dont we ! Giorgia sneezes and I worry, she doesnt eat very much ( not often) and we worry, so when it came to this operation it was awful. But she was wonderful the next day eating like a horse and us trying to stop her from zooming around. Hope your new dog brings you lots of joy

Thanks very much for your good wishes.  Not sure yet when the time for the new puppy will be.  I'm currently acclimatising my old boy with my friend's nearly six month old retriever bitch who pays him occasional visits!  They get on like a house on fire and it is lovely to watch them playing.  Sure I won't know what's hit me when the puppy arrives!

I look forward to hearing all about it when you decide the time is right