Hello,

I have a 2 yr old bitch (Dobe - Cherry) Each time she has a season, she follows this with a phantom pregnancy. She is currently going through this at the moment - fairly mild this time. My problem is that we are getting a Dbe puppy soon - another bitch. Will Cherry have problems with regards to her phantom? Will it make any difference?

Each time I go to the vet, they try to persuade me to have her spayed. My breeder says not - even though we do not intend to breed. Any advise from the board?

Thanks

Why does the breeder advise not to spay?  In my expereince spaying in dobe bitches can cause coat thinning (especially the flanks) but it is probably preferable to the phantoms.  My freind who has dobes had two of ther bitches spayed because of the misery of phantoms,a dn two others were spayed in middle age to avoid the worry of pyometra.  She did find the coat quality deteriorated slightly, but some supplements for the coats like Evening Primrose Oil helped this.

i had the same dilemma with one of mine,  the phantom seemed to stop when we brought our new pup home, and she is the one who our pup seems to look to, out of all 6 of our dogs. she had another phantom recently, and was spayed last week, i would rather that then any health problems, i cant see why her breeder would rather she went through that every 6 months, zig was really upset while having hers, and i didnt want to put her through that twice a year for the rest of her life!
if you arent intending to breed i would really look into it as it can cause other health problems in the long run, which is why i chose to have it done!

chel

I think it was because Dobes tend to have urinary leaks if they are spayed. Her bitch was spayed and then had to be on medication for the rest of its life to stop the dripping.

I suppose it partly depends on how severe a phantom they have? My bitch is just finishing her first season, so now we've got that to look forward to!! :-D

Yes this does happen a lot with dobe bitches of my aquaintance that are spayed.  It is a lot less pronounded/likely in biotches that are spayed as full adults and that are kept lean and fit.

On balance, with bitches not intended for breeding - would you spay or not?

I personally wouldnt get a bitch spayed,ide only get a bitch Spayed for health reasons. :)

I would recommend speying if you do not intend to breed or show. Urinary leaks following spey are relatively common bitchs of most dog breeds and can be managed easily with a variety of affordable medications. Urinary leaking usually occurs in the middle age-older dog not necessarily straight after speying.
Other reasons for speying are:
- cuts out chances of pyometa (as mentioned). Treatment includes fluid therapy, antibiotics, surgery for ovairohysterectomy along with other medication, hospitalisation etc etc
- lessens the changes of mammary tumours
-stops the phantom pregnancy

Yes speying does mean the chance of urinary leakage, coat deterioration and weight gain. But the health reasons alone would make me opt for the op.

Sue

I have an eight year old Newfie bitch that has been spayed. She's neither fat nor unfit! They do 4 miles a day walking and was praised by a recent Judge for going round the ring like a 2 year old!! And showing is NOT a reason for not spaying...all I did was ask for permission to show...it came back within a week and no-one can tell when they are Judging them whether they've been 'done' or not!!(unlike the dogs that are missing some 'anatomy! LOL) LOL Unless you have a very incompetant surgeon who like sewing up with a bulky blanket stitch!! :D