Well just booked my old girl in for spaying as she developed quite a few mammary lumps after her last season 8 weeks ago.  I'm so worried as she's 12.  has anyone else done this on a dog at this age?  What was the outcome?  He did say that I could just have the lumps removed but I've opted for the spaying but I'm having worries about this.  She's very fit and he said that her heart was fine.  Her dad lived to 16 and her mum to 12 so hopefully she's got a few years in her yet.

I'm also going to have her hips x-rayed at the same time, may not send them off for scoring as at her age they won't show a true picture and will decide whether to send them off for scoring at that point.

The breeder of my older girl had to have a bitch spayed at 12 years old with a pyometra and then her daughter at 13 1/2 with a pyometra, both were fine.  Good luck.

I would say you are doing the right thing, better to prevent more lumps appearing after her next season. I wish I'd had my old borzoi girl done as she had similar lumps which got much bigger after her season and could possibly have been prevented. To have the lumps removed after that was a huge op.

Good luck, thinking of you,

Jane

Mmm.  I would find that a difficult one.  Do you know if the lumps are just congestion or tumours?
We think that once our girls get to 10 years old, then we only make them painfree and comfortable rather than have them pulled around.  They are not used to even going to the Vet, let alone being left with strangers when they don't feel at their best.  My daughter has a 9 year old bitch who has a small lump behind one of her nipples.  We've had a family conference and decided to leave it alone.

My friend had to have a mammary tumour removed from her bitch at 10 years old and she's recovered fine - if your girl is fit and healthy it most likely will go fine. Good luck! :-)

well i going to do brie  she only 6 1/2 but you know the reason why with her but a friend in the breed.bitch had pyomater at 12 she ok too

A study showed that spaying made no difference in the reoccurence of mammary tumours after the bitches had already had them, but of course if she is under for a Mammary strip then spaying her at the smae time will at least avoid any chance of Pyometra when she is even older.

Her mother had pyometra at 12 and although she came round from that just with antibiotics I think it was the beginning of the end for her, everything else just seemed to happen afterwards.  Lydia has had a few small lumps for a while and I was of the thought to just leave them but now they are getting bigger after this last season I really don't know what to do.

She's still retrieving and jumping out of boats at 12 so I think that you can safely say that she is a fit old devil.

My Kali had mammary tumours removed at about 8 years, as well as being speyed at the same time. More removed at 10 and, unfortunately, I lost her to cancer at 12. I have wondered if opening her up made the cancer spread into her lungs. I don't know if I would do it all again. Not what you want you hear, I know, but I feel you should hear another side. :(

Mmm, those are similar to my thoughts too, based on the many dogs that I saw in the parlour! :(  Which is why we decided not to do anything.
Not an easy decision for you.

You know your dog and if she is fit enough. I know it is hard making these decisions. Im sure you will make the right descision. I had bitch spayed at 12 due to a pyometra. She was very ill as the vet took a week to diagnose it. She was very tiny so we were all worried about her but she was great and recovered really well (when I went to pick her up after her op she even tried to pinch a biscuit off the vet counter, the first time in a week she had shown any interest in food!) I also had a bitch with mammary tumours and we opted to just have the tumours removed. She was fine too and lived until 16. I hope all goes well with your girl.
Jane

I had a bitch speyed a few days before christmas, she had a mammary tumour which developed as she was coming into season :(  We chose to have her speyed at the same time because the tumours didn't appear until just before the season and seemed to be related to it (the hormones that is ;) )  She's fine now, but we just have to wait and see whether she develops any more  :(

Not much help to you tho  :(

FWIW  my mothers Cairn had PYO at age 14, she was speyed and recovered really well, living until 18 years

Don't envy you the decision :(  It was hellish at Christmas, which is why we went for the spey in the end.

My Boxer bitch was kind of similar - she had a mammary strip (3 glands - the middle one was the affected gland
and then vet took either side as a precaution)
She was spayed at the same time as the mammary strip when she was 7 1/4 yo.
What I will say is that she was a 'reactive' dog. So we had trouble with fluid when the drains from the mammary strip
were removed. Prior to that point no fluid so they thought she was ready to have the drains removed.
We then underwent the long recovery process of taking her to the vet every 2-3 days to be drained.
They kept having to re-open the wound for the fluid to drain out.
Then they had to wrap her up like a mummy as fluid was going down her rear legs causing them to swell.
Which then caused a problem with her minnie which become contorted and swollen with fluid.
It was a really stressful time HOWEVER I do believe we did the right thing for Misty.
As she suffered with phantom's (inc producing milk) since having her pups (and had a couple before pups)
I thought spaying would prevent all the hormonal issues which also were creating problems with mammary glands.

My only problem since is she's become a fat porker and so is on a diet...
But she's happy as larry and healthy (no more mammary lumps - I do regularly check)
I think we've done the right thing for her.

Well unfortunately my van was broken into just before the weekend and I am now unable to afford to have Lydia speyed this week.

After talking to numerous people, my vet, people with the same experience etc.  I've decided to see how things go and let Lydia enjoy her last season of water training as she still loves it so much.  My vet is sure that it's not cancerous so we are going to keep a watchful eye on her.

I did the same, but a study showed that spaying after lumps already have started to apear did not have any effect on their reoccurence. 

My girls had another lump come up 3 years after spaying. Though both were removed when pea size.

It is a shame really as had I realised I would have liked her to ahve had another litter, I had the stud booked and everything, as she was only five.

None of ehr 4 generations of female descendants have had any.

I wouldnt hesitate in getting her spayed,lumps aside,her last years should be spent without the hassles of seasons and all that comes with them :) Women stop getting their monthlies at a certain age,i wish it were the same for dogs,whats the use of having them when you cant,or shouldnt get pregnant anyway?

>Women stop getting their monthlies at a certain age,i wish it were the same for dogs,whats the use of having them when you cant,or shouldnt get pregnant anyway?

The hormones help prevent women developing osteoporisis, for starters! ;)