Spaying the bitch

If a bitch is not intended for breeding, something usually has to be done to prevent an 'accident' from happening and suddenly unwanted offspring surprisingly enlarging the 'family'. Of course, one can simply watch out and hope that nothing unexpected happens. However, males usually recognize a bitch in heat more easily and often faster than the owners themselves. Whether a bitch shows bloody vaginal discharge or not is unfortunately not a reliable sign whether a bitch is in heat and in which stage the bitch is! So 'watching' as the only preventive measure is only a viable way for very sheltered bitches, but even for these bitches the reasons listed below speak for better neutering anyway.

The most important argument why bitches should be spayed is that this measure extends the life expectancy of your bitch on average by about two years! This finding has been obtained from elaborate life history studies of a large number of female dogs at universities. Why is this so?

If a bitch is spayed in time, serious diseases can be massively reduced: The frequently occurring suppuration of the uterus can no longer cause problems in a spayed bitch. Tumors of the uterus (otherwise the most frequent tumor disease in bitches) will only appear in rare cases and then also usually less malignant. However, the prerequisite for reducing the frequency of mammary tumors is early castration! Early castration means operation before the first heat. If the bitch is castrated after the first but before the second heat, the tumor rate is still reduced but much less, but castration after the second heat hardly reduces the tumor frequency, only the malignancy of the tumors can be reduced.

We therefore recommend early castration for medical reasons

Early spayed bitches are usually a bit more playful and sociable with conspecifics and generally much more balanced. They do not suffer from false pregnancy and have no "heat stress" (leash constraints, stressed owners, overly interested males).

What happens during castration?

During castration, both ovaries are removed under general anesthesia. This is done on an outpatient basis in our day clinic. The bitch is delivered in the morning and can already go home in the afternoon. Today, anesthesia is very safe and well monitored. Depending on the bitch's body weight, it is performed as gas anesthesia or total intravenous anesthesia, so that the anesthesia can be controlled during the entire operation. Thus, the risks are low in healthy animals. The operation should not be performed during heat, because during this time the bleeding tendency is increased.

After spaying, bitches no longer come into heat and are no longer interesting for males, since the sex hormone glands are completely removed.

Is the spaying of the bitch by endoscopy useful?

From time to time advertising is made, with the endoscopic castration in the bitch, so-called 'keyhole technology'. This possibility has existed for many years. This keyhole technology has also become accepted in veterinary medicine for selected joint operations. Why is it not widely used for bitch spaying?

Endoscopic spaying of the bitch has not really proven itself. Although individual slightly smaller incisions are necessary than with the conventional technique, together they do not really result in much difference to the conventional technique, which is nowadays also performed through a fairly small incision. In addition, the bitch's abdomen has to be inflated with gas, which has been shown to cause much more inflammation of the peritoneum and thus more abdominal pain after the operation.

What is unfortunately also often concealed is that the keyhole operation in the bitch has a considerable failure rate of up to one third, and afterwards a conventional operation is necessary!

All these reasons together bring the bitch hardly advantages rather disadvantages and this with a substantially larger expenditure. The higher price of this surgical technique unfortunately does not bring any benefit to the bitch, on the contrary, the operation is longer and thus even a bit riskier. Therefore, endoscopic castration in bitches must be seen as a marketing gag. It is not a sensible application of this technique and therefore has not become accepted as a standard surgical technique for castration of the bitch.

What disadvantages can castration bring?

Spayed bitches are more balanced and have lower dietary energy requirements (up to 30%) although they tend to be more playful than non-spayed bitches. This must be taken into account by feeding slightly less or using calorie-reduced food, otherwise spayed bitches can gain weight more easily.

Certain breeds are prone to urinary dribbling (incontinence) after neutering. However, this unconscious leakage of urine, which occurs especially during sleep, can be well controlled with medication if necessary. Other breeds, especially those with smooth, long-haired coats, may show somewhat increased growth of the woolly hair (lower coat layer) and thus get a somewhat curlier coat, so-called "puppy coat", which of course remains without health consequences. It is best to consult us to see if your bitch could be prone to this.

In general, however, it can be said that no health disadvantages result from castration, on the contrary: life expectancy is improved.

Is there no 'pill for the bitch'?

In the past, bitches were often injected regularly every 5 months for heat, making sure that the bitch was not in heat when the treatment began. Today, this is rarely done. The risks for uterine suppuration are simply too great from the beginning and increase from year to year. The advantages of spaying outweigh the disadvantages, because the hormonal treatment has no favorable influence on the life expectancy! Also the costs are not lower seen over the years.

Hormonal treatment is also strongly discouraged in bitches that are to be used for breeding later, because it can have a very unfavorable effect on later fertility!

In summary, it makes sense to think about spaying your bitch early, because a first decision should be made at about 6 months. We will be happy to help you with the decision and advise you.