Female dog spaying: age, procedure and recovery

Content

• What is female dog neutering
• Neutering a female dog: the procedure
• Procedure
• Pre-surgical recommendations
• Female dog spaying: age
• Neutering a female dog: advantages
• Female dog spaying: recovery
• Post-surgical recommendations

Castration is the procedure that prevents the female or male from producing sex cells and reproducing at the time of copulation.

If you have a dog and don't want to cross her with a male for breeding, you should know that spaying is recommended to prevent certain sexually transmitted diseases and hormone-dependent tumors, as well as to avoid abandoning unwanted litters.

To learn more about female dog castration: age, procedure and recovery, continue reading this article by PeritoAnimal.

What is female dog neutering

Castration is the procedure that prevents the animal from being fertile at the time of the reproductive cycle.

There are several types of castration:

• Chemistry: temporary form of castration, through the use of drugs, such as contraceptive pill. Being a reversible option. Although it seems more beneficial, the pill causes hormonal imbalances which, later on, can lead to serious problems such as aggressive breast tumors or pseudopregnancies (psychological pregnancy).
• surgical: an irreversible but safe technique that consists of removing the reproductive organs responsible for the production of hormones.

Neutering a female dog: the procedure

How is the castration of a female dog done?

THE castration, or, also known as sterilization, is a simple and irreversible surgical procedure used in veterinary clinical practice.

The most used technique is the removal (ectomy) From ovaries (ovary) It's from uterus (hysteria), procedure is designated ovariohysterectomy. The animal is subjected to general anesthesia so as not to feel pain and is medicated to not feel pain or discomfort when waking up from surgery. In addition, it is common to be placed on a saline solution to be nourished, hydrated and to keep an open route in case it is necessary to give intravenous medication during the time being operated.

Procedure

1. For the procedure itself, there are several techniques and placements, but the most common is for the animal to be placed on its abdomen with its limbs open.
2. The incision is made in the midline, located in the ventral abdomen, and may be up to 15 centimeters long, depending on the size of the animal and the surgical technique of the surgeon.
3. After locating the ovaries, the blood vessels are ligated so that no bleeding occurs.
4. Then, the uterus is removed in the same way.
5. After removing the structures, the muscle, fat and skin layers are closed to ensure that hernias or other complications do not occur.

Pre-surgical recommendations

As with any surgical procedure that requires anesthesia or sedation, there are some pre-surgical recommendations to consider:

• First of all you must know that NEVER should neutering the female dog during heat. When the bitch comes into heat, it is necessary to wait for this phase to end and only after that it must be neutered.
• The animal must perform solids fast (food) of at least 8h, and the water fasting (water) is also recommended but will vary depending on the type of animal, age, surgical intervention and coexisting illnesses.
• Ideally should be done blood tests, to see if it is safe to anesthetize the animal.
• Trichotomy (removal of the hair before surgery to maintain the asepsis of the site).
• Cleaning and disinfection of the site with antiseptic solutions.
• Sterilized material.

Female dog spaying: age

If you have no intention of breeding the puppy, it is recommended to neuter her as soon as possible. Opinions among veterinarians vary as to the appropriate age. However it is recommended:

• Small bitches, can be made before the first heat or after the first heat.
• Medium/large bitches, recommended close to a year old, as they are breeds that have a slower growth and develop later.

Although the anesthetic and surgical risks are few, the older the bitch, more risks will be associated with the procedure and more health problems may exist. Furthermore, the later you castrate, the less guarantees you have of preventing certain tumors, as the hormonal influence has existed for many years.

For all these reasons, it is recommended to castration of young bitches.

Neutering a female dog: advantages

There are many benefits associated with castration:

• Prevent animal reproduction and prevent unwanted litters.
• Avoiding many sexually transmitted diseases, such as Sticker/TVT sarcoma (canine transmissible venereal tumor), very common in Brazil.
• Prevent uterine infections (such as pyometra - accumulations of purulent material in the uterus).
• Reduce the likelihood of occurrence of certain hormone-dependent tumors, such as breast cancer. It is important to emphasize that it does not make the appearance of these tumors impossible, it only reduces the probability. This means that they can still appear, but it is much less likely to affect neutered bitches than whole ones.
• Avoid all clinical signs resulting from hormonal influence, such as excessive vocalizations, territory marking, aggressiveness, bitch bleeding, pseudopregnancies.

Female dog spaying: recovery

Recovery after dog spaying is very simple. Being a very common intervention in clinical practice, it became very safe during surgery (in terms of anesthetics and asepsis) and after it (recovery), and, after hair growth, the scar is almost imperceptible.

Post-surgical recommendations

Generally, the dog goes home the same day, however there are some precautions and recommendations that the tutor should know:

• don't be scared bitch to vomit or still present a strange walk or staggering, is the effect of anesthesia.
• on the same day, avoid giving large amounts of food and water. The next day she can resume her normal eating habits.
• The female usually wears a dressing in the scar region along with a post-surgical suit. Be aware if you notice any kind of dirt or blood loss through the fabric.
• Make sure the bitch doesn't go scratching or the suture area. If necessary, put on an Elizabethan necklace.
• avoid the bitch make efforts and intense physical activity, take short walks.
• Do not remove the clothes until indicated by the veterinarian.
• Properly follow the instructions for disinfecting the suture site and oral medication provided by your veterinarian. Never, but never, finish the treatment before the indicated date or extend it too long.
• Stitches can be internal (and no need to remove) or external (and no need to remove). If they are external, they can be removed by the veterinarian after 8 days.

In the following video, we explain how to make a homemade Elizabethan necklace for dogs and cats:

This article is for information purposes only, at PeritoAnimal.com.br we are not able to prescribe veterinary treatments or perform any type of diagnosis. We suggest that you take your pet to the veterinarian in case it has any type of condition or discomfort.