Not being a breeder myself I would like some advice to pass on please.Someone I know has a bitch who was due to be speyed but the vet says she is 4-5 weeks in whelp.Are there any isadvantages/complications to having her speyed now and aborting the pups?
Archer

The vet would be the best one to answer this but my understanding is the blood supply to the uterus would be increased so there may be some increased risk but then so is there to the act of whelping itself.  Which carries the greater physical risk I could not say but perhaps the vet has some statistics that would be helpful.  If it was a mismating and the sire was much larger, for instance, the whelping risks go up of course, especially if it leads to a section.
Of course on top of that you have the moral dilemma of bringing unwanted puppies into the world, assuming this is an unwanted mating, who in themselves carry a risk of a potentially very unsettled lives with perhaps suffering involved but quite hard to quantify that one isn't it?

Hi Archer, it would be a complete advantage to have it done at the same time, tell your friend not to worry, going under general anesthetic always has it's risks, but aborting the pups at the same time is nothing to worry about, the vet can also make sure that everything, sacks and all is removed saftely.

Can you tell us a bit more about the situation?  Who is the sire?  Do either have health tests?  Are they the same breed?  Presumably it was an accidental mating?

Accidental mating,small non pedigree bitch ,sire much larger.
Archer

In that case I'd spay now which would of course remove the whelps at the same time.

If it was me then I would want the spay unless the vet was aware of any other factors regarding this particular bitch.

The only problem with spaying in welp is blood loss. Would need extra care after.
Having a cezer and spraying is the same, also reduces the milk. Just needs extra care
after and suport with litter feeding if she had them.
But, one lot of anaesthetic is better than two.

I have had a bitch spayed after a C section and there was no problem with milk supply as that is governed by the hormone Prolactin which isn't produced by the ovaries.

Milk might be a bit slow to start, but I have found this is more due to the C section than spaying, as part of the milk coming in is the bonding emotionally with the litter..

If they wanted to go ahead and have the litter, they would probably be wise to have a planned caesarian, if the sire was much larger than the dam. 

Could the vet spay her immediately after the caesarian, in the same op?  I'd think so, but not sure - does the bitch need the hormones produced by ovaries for lactation and caring for the litter??

Not necessarily - Purdey had to have an emergency spay 2 days after delivering 14 puppies - two more dead left in the uterine horns, causing massive infection.    We hand-fed all 10 surviving puppies for 24 hours, then she took 2 back, 2 days later we let her have another 2, until 7 days after the emergency spay she was nursing all 10.   She reared all 10 live puppies.

Margot

Bitch can be spayed at same time as caesarian ,my girl had to have this with last litter ,I asked vet to spay her,she was a wonderful mum to her puppies and had enough milk to feed them.I started weaning them at 3 weeks.

Archer - let us know what she decides to do.

There is a drug that can be used up to 42 days in whelp to abort the pregnancy.  I can't bring the name to mind, but I was investigating it's use in case any of the rescue bitches were pregnant.

Edited:

I think it is called Alizin or Alizan?

yes - thats the one (one of those spellings)

Its the same one that is used as the 'morning after' inj.

personally though I think I would go for the spay 'and everything' if she was mine as the bitch seems to be quite far on in her pregnancy and I dont know how quickly it would work and what actually happens - ie are they reabsorbed as they would be at only days into a pregnancy or would there be an actual delivery at some point - hours/days after the injection..I really dont know. Think that might be very upsetting for the owners and bitch too..

I had a very brief discussion with my vet as I used it a few months back on a young maiden bitch that may have been caught by my setter. Although he could have swabbed her, he was concerned that if he missed a bit, he may have given a false OK, so on balance we opted for the Alizan as app its much safer than the older style injection from years back. App its not as common for bitches to start their season over again on it, but of course mine did:rolleyes: However, my vets felt they would not want to use it on bitches that were confirmed in whelp and getting towards the day 42. They would do a spay if owner did not wish bitch to carry to full term. I guess it will vary from vet to vet on this.

Galastop  - if the bitch is so far on.

As an abortificant?  It seems to only be licenced to suppress milk production or help with the symptoms of false pregnancy or do you mean to deal with the after effects of a late gestation spay?

Galastop will cause either reabsorbtion.Or if used upto 42 days abortion.

have a look at the contra indications,however a double dose is needed

Yes, may cause abortion.
Been reading up a bit more, very little on Google, found only this Page 19

>Termination of pregnancy: Repeated administration of the prolactin antagonists produces a reduction inplasma progesterone concentration and resorption or abortion. Both agents are more effective when given in the second half of pregnancy, since the role of prolactinis more important at this time. Efficacy can be in-creased, and treatment may be given earlier, when prolactin antagonists and prostaglandins are given simultaneously.  One regimen is to use a combination of prostaglandin (dinoprost,5.0 µg/kg) every other day for 10 days and a prolactinantagonist such as cabergoline (5.0 µg/kg) daily for 10days. Other agents that may be used to terminate preg-nancy include prostaglandins or progesterone antagonists.

I didn't know that, very interesting :) but perhaps not the first drug of choice :)