Hello,i wondered if anyone could please advise me what to do as i am in a bit of a dilemma.........
I have a two year old sheltie,who had her first season in march and started her second season on nov 12th 2011,we thought she had finished her season(she has as always- been a very clean little dog washing herself etc)-but i noticed yesterday she was still passing a small amount of blood.we took her to our vets today as i was worried she may have pyometra,but the vet said her health seemed fine and that she had no infection or temperature as far as he could see,but obviously if the bleeding continued,got worse,she passed pale pink or pus,or drank more than usual,or vomited we should take her back as soon as we can,which we would oviously do.He wondered if maybe she had a long season which was coming to an end,and he also said as her season was unusual it would be a good idea to get her spayed,as she may get pyometra in the future,.we are not going to breed from her, she has had patellar luxation twice and been operated on last year for it,and luckily has come out well,even though she will never be a dog who will walk for miles!!but i am worried now that maybe we should take his advice and get her spayed if she may be prone to mammary tumours or pyometra,as we love her to bits and want her round for as long as possible,but sheltie breeders have always said that it isnt a good idea to spay unless medically necessary for various reasons,weight gain,unmanagable heavy coat,incontinence etc.So we are in a dilemma,advice would be gratefully received,as the vet could not understand why we are being hesitant in spaying.She also has a bit of a weight problem as she was out of action due to her patellar problems and we are slowly getting her weight down.We want to do the best for her....so what do we do??Spay or not??

As an owner of this breed that has been spayed I have to say that I have always always regretted it, the coat is a great deal heavier and can be very dry and flyaway, plus more prone to felting, it takes a lot more work to keep it in good condition.

You can get weight gain but food management can help this plus increasing exercise which for you with your girl's problems may not be so easy, compounded if as you say your girl has a little bit of a weight issue at the moment.

I'm not a fan of spaying unless really needed for the immediate health of the dog and if not breeding I would spay at a later age, maybe around 6yrs or so.
There are benefits to spaying and also for not spaying, if Brainless pops along she has some great links that might help to guide you.

Vet's will always recommend spaying, they would prefer a world of all neutered dogs I'm sure.

So in answer to your question

">....so what do we do??Spay or not??

For me the answer is no, especially with this breed.

It crossed my mind that you may wonder why I spayed my girl, like you I had a vet that was insistent that spaying was best and got almost annoyed at my hesitancy, he made me feel that I would be a bad owner if I didn't.

I now have a different vet, sadly I changed after the event and not before.

Some bitches will have a split season and when you think it is over and done with they will start all over  again.

She hasn't got a raised temp which is good as pyometra can be "closed" where there is no discharge and a scan will show the problem.

As she is fully mature now and not going to be bred from I would get her spayed as it will remove any worries about pyometra as well as other problems, you will need to wait 3 months for everything to return to normal and make the surgery more straight forward. Vets never seem to understand why dog owners are reluctant to agree to early spay/neuter, it is seen as their " bread and butter" surgery but done too early can cause no end of problems not directly connected with reproduction.

As to weight gain then you need to get her on a low calorie diet as she isn't as active as she would normally be at her age,add green beans to fill her up without adding calories, you could work on this over the next 3months and continue after her surgery.

When it comes to her coat then you will need to be extra diligent with her grooming.

Incontinence seems to occur more frequently in bitches who are spayed before their first season before the vulva has matured not a problem in your case, I would mention this concern to your vet so he will take more care during the surgery.

I hope she is fine and has a straight forward spay and recovery.

> He wondered if maybe she had a long season which was coming to an end,and he also said as her season was unusual it would be a good idea to get her spayed,

I think his point is relevent. 

Personally I would spay all bitches that were mature and not going to be bred from, I have done with all my own bitches and never had any incontinence issues. Weight gain is very easily managed, after all dogs can't take themselves to the shop for a sweetie - just cut her food down or put her on a light diet if she does start to put weight on.

The coat may change, step up your grooming regime, use a good conditioner and manage it. For me the benefits of spaying outweigh the bit of extra grooming :-)

I agree with Stooge--any unusual season pattern would suggest the likelihood of future problems could be high so I would definitely spay. All my bitches have been spayed when mature and I have never had problems with incontinence. Evening Primrose oil or Viacutan can help with the coat, as can being extra diligent with grooming. Your dog's weight is entirely up to you and what you feed her.
The risk of pyometra ( which can be "closed" and kill the bitch before you see any symptoms, and even if "open" can lead to an emergency operation in an elderly bitch, with all the attending risks) or a change in coat texture? --no contest for me. 

I wouldn't spay her.  My reasons being, 8 months apart is quite normal for smaller breeds and this sound like she has had a split season instead of anything nasty.  My springer had one last year and it did her no harm at all.  I think something just upsets them during their season so they stop until they feel a bit more secure/comfortable again.  Another bitch was 'diagnosed' with open pyo last year from one of my vets but I didn't think their opinion was correct so I got a second opinion and it turned out to be an infection in her vulva, not her womb!  I would've got her spayed if I'd have went on the first vets opinion. She had a white/greenish discharge, not blood.
I take my chances with mammory cancer and the only issues I've ever had have been with bitches that have whelped a litter and had problems.  I had a bitch that had a single pup and she had a real problem with mastitis during whelping and she went on to develop cancer in later life and at the moment, I have a 10 yr old bitch with mammory cancer but she lost 2 litters and was left with milk.  I've had other bitches that have either not had pups or had a litter with no problems and they have lived long lives without cancer.  This, of course, is just my opinion.
I wouldn't get her spayed as the weight gain is allready an issue with your bitch.  It will only get worse.
I wouldn't get her spayed as her coat will dry out and tangle so much easier.  So unless you are willing to do a lot more grooming to keep her neat, this is only going to cause problems.
Also, my two older bitches I DID get spayed due to in-house fighting(vets advice!) were left with incontinence for life.  What a miserable thing for a dog.
I would never spay again.
Now, neutering boys? That's a different issue!lol.
I think the decision is just yours but I wanted you to have the thoughts and opinions of the anti-spaying side since you'd only been answered by pro-spayers.

> sheltie breeders have always said that it isnt a good idea to spay unless medically necessary for various reasons,weight gain,unmanagable heavy coat,incontinence etc.

It's the incontinence bit that would worry me the most. OK, I know she could have medication that would help solve that problem, should it become an issue. But she's young and might need to take tablets for a long time. I know of two Sheltie bitches who have suffered from spay incontinence, one from less than 3 years old. Also the weight gain can become troublesome. I know you can adjust their food intake to deal with this, but it seems a bit of a shame if your dog is always hungry and looking for food. Again, there are ways round this with various foods you can use.

Best to do a bit of research and look at all the pros and cons before you make up your mind. I guess you've made a start on here!

Just wanted to mention my sister has had two spayed Shelties and neither one developed problems with their coat, or suffered from incontinence.

Thank you ALL for your replies-it has certainly given me something to think about.The vet said unless she has more problems beforehand that she is due her boosters in march so we hopefully would have made a decision by then,of what we are going to do.it is a very hard decision to make as we love her dearly and only want to do the best for her-thank you all again.....

> it turned out to be an infection in her vulva, not her womb! 

I wonder how that was diagnosed. Even if it was confined to the vulva it has a natural route to track right up to the uterus so any infection in the genital area would give me the heebie jeebies.