Another post on spaying female dogs. (vet, surgery, puppies, problems)

[grannynancy]

Message for women and dogs: keeping ovaries is linked to longevity

Just more information.

[Va-Cat]

Originally Posted by grannynancy

Message for women and dogs: keeping ovaries is linked to longevity

Just more information.

Wonderful and along with that increased longevity comes the chance for thousands of additional unplanned unwanted puppies generated by dogs that are owned by people that don't have the commitment or common sense to contain their females during the heat cycle. Gee - now isn't that a benefit.

[StarlaJane]

Originally Posted by Va-Cat

Wonderful and along with that increased longevity comes the chance for thousands of additional unplanned unwanted puppies generated by dogs that are owned by people that don't have the commitment or common sense to contain their females during the heat cycle. Gee - now isn't that a benefit.

Right, but if you are concerned with the well-being of female dogs, then the article posted by the OP should be of interest to you.
There are always going to be irresponsible people in the world; however, depriving female dogs of their health via spaying is not the solution for dealing with irresponsible pet owners.
There are countries where spaying is not the norm and where pet populations remain controlled. Thus, it is not "unrealistic" to expect people to be able to care for intact female dogs.
One way is to educate people on how to care for intact females--what to expect, precautions, warnings, etc. All too often, those not wishing to spay their females are frightened into the procedure by those who believe that all female dogs should be spayed and that an unspayed female dog immediately means puppies (which it does not--my dog is 8, unspayed and has never had a litter).
Another way is to check out the alternatives to spaying and to inform others who are interested of these alternatives:

Birth Control Pills for Dogs - LoveToKnow Dogs

[jj68]

Hmmm, this is interesting. I had been told by my vet the opposite. That an unspayed female is more at risk of a shortened life due to the significant increased risk of cancer due to the fact that she is not spayed. Interesting article.

[latetotheparty]

Originally Posted by StarlaJane

Right, but if you are concerned with the well-being of female dogs, then the article posted by the OP should be of interest to you.
There are always going to be irresponsible people in the world; however, depriving female dogs of their health via spaying is not the solution for dealing with irresponsible pet owners.
There are countries where spaying is not the norm and where pet populations remain controlled. Thus, it is not "unrealistic" to expect people to be able to care for intact female dogs.
One way is to educate people on how to care for intact females--what to expect, precautions, warnings, etc. All too often, those not wishing to spay their females are frightened into the procedure by those who believe that all female dogs should be spayed and that an unspayed female dog immediately means puppies (which it does not--my dog is 8, unspayed and has never had a litter).
Another way is to check out the alternatives to spaying and to inform others who are interested of these alternatives:

Birth Control Pills for Dogs - LoveToKnow Dogs

you, starla, are the exception to the rule.... unspayed females are just about guaranteed to generate litters of puppies in an already vastly overpopulated dog world......

heck, many many human women can't even seem to master the whole birth control bit.... what makes one think that they would do any better by their dogs???

[simetime]

Originally Posted by jj68

Hmmm, this is interesting. I had been told by my vet the opposite. That an unspayed female is more at risk of a shortened life due to the significant increased risk of cancer due to the fact that she is not spayed. Interesting article.

I was also told that by a vet. My rotty lived 15 years until she died of cancer and the vet said that I should had her spayed. Personally I think that it would not have made a difference anyway since that is the normal life span for rotties anyway

[Viralmd]

Leaving a dog unspayed puts her at HUGE risk for mammary cancer, too.

[jj68]

Kinda sounds like for dogs that either way you go (the risk of having a litter aside) the dog has a chance of having health issues. If you don't spay, a higher risk of cancer, if you remove the ovaries, a risk of a shortened life. And my understanding is that you can't have an effective spay without removing the ovaries. Is that correct Viralmd?

[grannynancy]

The situation with cancer is that it can usually be caught and managed quickly in intact females. The Europeans don't have the same kind of problems we have with pet overpopulation and spaying and neutring is not at all common over there.

Having an intact animal entails a LOT of responsibility. But if people are responsible pet owners this is more information to assit in their decision. The people who see this kind of study and add it to a decision to not spay a dog are likely to NOT let accidents happen.

[Viralmd]

You could have an effective spay, but you'd still have the risk of mammary cancer if you leave the ovaries. The only concern I'd have would be if the surgery was imperfect, you could potentially risk an ectopic pregnancy, which would have to be terminated or end up killing the dog.