Question:
I have a Staffy who is a six-month-old female. What is the right age for her to be desexed?
Rose, via e-mail.
Answer:
Dear Rose,
If you’ve made the decision that you don’t want to breed your dog, then you can have her done any time now.
She will have to stay in hospital, usually just for the day. She will have a pre-medication injection when you drop her off, to calm her nerves and get pain relief on board. Then she will have a general anaesthetic for the procedure. She will have an ovario-hysterectomy, which means both the uterus and ovaries are removed, and will be left with a few stitches that will need to be removed about 10 days post-operatively. Try and keep her quiet for a few days to recover and call your vet if you have any queries, but they usually bounce back very quickly.
I recommend desexing from six months of age, because they are developed but not sexually mature yet. If you desex her before her first heat (doggy equivalent of a period), you will avoid unplanned pregnancies. Believe me, male dogs will do anything to get to a bitch in heat! You also reduce her risk of infections in the uterus, called pyometra, which is a particular danger just after a heat, and also mammary tumors (breast cancers) later in life.
Although puppies are cute — no one will deny that — breeding takes a lot of work and commitment and if she needed a caesarian, you could be hit with a hefty vet bill. And there are so many homeless animals desperately needing homes that I would urge people to be like you and be responsible and desex their pet if they don’t want to breed. Ignore tales about needing to let them have one litter ‘to calm them down’ or that the procedure will make them fat and lazy or change their personality.
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
