My 3 year old female yellow lab has had a litter of puppies and is healthy. I am being told that she should be spayed ASAP to prolong her life and keep her healthy.
Although, I personally am not in the believe that our organs should be removed just because.
Is it best to spay her now, in your opinion?

Yes.

Too bad she already produced a litter when so many *pets* are put to sleep at shelters daily. Pet overpopulation isn't the only reason to spay, there are health benefits. Do a Google.

__________________
Sometimes on Earth, you can find something that resembles a little piece of Heaven. And sometimes on Earth, a little piece of Heaven can find you.

Spaying is recommended cause it decreases the chances for cancers of the repro tract and especially mammary ones. Also pyometria (infection of the uterus are quite common in unspayed females and can really be nasty to clean up and life threatening!
If you love your dog, spay her!

Hi, B Girl,

Spaying/neutering certainly is, as gpm pointed out, an effective way to combat pet overpopulation and the needless euthanasia of perfectly healthy animals that is one unfortutnate result of too many animals, too few homes.

As to whether spaying/neutering is beneficial for the animal, I have always shared your feeling about it, i.e., who are we to presume to know more than nature. In the past I have spayed my dogs based on veterinary advise to do so. I'm not so sure that I would do so again.

I don't think any of the veterinarians dispensing their well meaning advice on the benefits of spaying can know, nor can we, how the whole organism is affected by the removal of an organ that nature put there. My suspicion is that everything really is connected to everything else in the organism.

So, my point is, be a responsible pet owner by not adding to the unwanted pet population, but trust your own gut feeling.

[ 03. November 2003, 01:29: Message edited by: Bema ]

Bohemian Girl,
It depends the life stlye you allow your dog to have (from food, shots,living courters,....). Closer to 'natural' ,then it is better for the animal., Depends on you. How you live.


John Stanton

Unfortunately you can not have it both ways. Keeping an unsterilized animal and not allowing reproduction will cause a number of different cancers and infection over time and is completely "unnatural". Equally "unnatural" is the mindless slaughter of so many unwanted animals, I believe its a case of which will do the least amount of harm and in my mind sterilization is that choice.

I also advocate spaying of pregnant animals to stop unwanted litters. It may sound harsh, but then I have been on the "killing floor", its absolutely heartbreaking and totally unfair to the cats & dogs "going down" (pregnant cats & dogs are routinely killed at shelters, just because they are pregnant, most shelters have no resources to deal with a minimum 8 week foster stint and the costs associated with litters, quite frankly spaying, gives the mom a chance to her life!) Mostly adults are euthanized in favour of "cute kittens" (75% of which will find themselves euthanized as adults in favour of other kittens), its a vicious cycle!

We made a choice to keep domesticated animals and for now, there is no other option than to control the population. What many do no realize is that "in nature" a cat that gives birth to 6 kittens, will only have 1 or 2 survive "naturally", conversely the same birth in the security and comfort of one's home will yield 5-6 kittens -please do the math!!!!

You have a lab, she is certainly capable of producing 6-10 pups per litter; labs are the NUMBER 1 breed of dog turned into shelters (mostly the males, between 8-15 months) because they are high NRG, "sporting" dogs, destructive chewers, love to jump up and all around a tremendous amount of work.

If you don't believe me when I say there are not enough homes, please go volunteer at your local shelter -hold down some dogs or cats while they get the "big needle" -what about their right to live???? Who are you to take that away from them, which is what YOU do when you produce more competition for them with your cute & cuddle puppies! -you will quickly find there is no other option at this critical time in our society.

Dear kkrista
There is certainly a dilemma in this whole area of spaying versus the unwanted offspring of unneutered animals. Speaking as a vet (orthodox or otherwise most vets feel the same on this issue of unwanted pups/kittens) it is very frustrating when animals become pregnant and their owners want any pups/kittens put down. It is a terrible waste of life. It is distressing & I have often felt anger towards irresponsible owners/guardians of animals. (Obviously accidents happen & animals shoot out through doors, can't be caught & of course can then mate, even the most responsible & conscientious of animal owners/guardians can have this problem)

Speaking as a homoeopathic vet I am torn between knowing that neutering (not to mention the allopathic drugs used to induce anaesthesia, plus the act of surgery) is going to affect an animal's vital force & the production (& likely destruction) of unwanted litters.
But with respect I must point out that from the homoeopathic perspective - failure to reproduce per se does not cause cancers & infections, rather cancers & infections are the outward signs of disturbances in the vital force. So this is not correct when you write:

' Keeping an unsterilized animal and not allowing reproduction will cause a number of different cancers and infection over time and is completely "unnatural" '

Not reproducing - well certainly the physiological design of all animals is such that they are equipped to reproduce.
Not all humans choose to reproduce & they do not suffer cancers & infections purely as a result of making a free choice. Rather for humans it is the same - cancers & infections are due to disturbances in the vital force, it can be no different.

regards

Moira

Krista said:

Pyometra/Pyometritis is one example. Even the noted homeopathic vets make mention of the connection of this disease to repeated heat cycles without producing pups/kittens.

If accidental pregnancies were avoidable, the vast numbers of throw away pets wouldn't be the sad issue it is. It simply isn't practical to expect due diligence of every non-neutered pet owner to prevent pregnancy of their pet for the lifetime of that animal. Unless one houses their un-neutered pet in total isolation, in an impenetrable fortress, expect unwanted pregnancies.

Neutering is by far the lesser of the two evils.

__________________
Sometimes on Earth, you can find something that resembles a little piece of Heaven. And sometimes on Earth, a little piece of Heaven can find you.

Dear gpm
Homeopaths be they human or veterinary, noted or not if they practise homeopathy I imagine would be in agreement - that is & I repeat - cancers & infections are due to disturbances in the vital force.
While all vets know this, I must say it was beneficial that you pointed it out for those who are not vets - ie that the frequency of pyometra appears to be higher in bitches which have had a heat cycle but have not become pregnant subsequently.
However this is information based on studies of bitches which in the main have received vaccinations and allopathic drugs/treatments during their life and thus will have likely suffered alterations to their vital force as a result.
From a homeopathic perspective - in order to judge the true incidence of pyometra post-heat it would be necessary to study bitches which have never been vaccinated, and which have never received allopathic treatment. Unfortunately there does not appear to be any such data available.
Not becoming pregnant does not necessarily equate to a disturbance in the vital force.

Moira

"Not becoming pregnant does not necessarily equate to a disturbance in the vital force. "

How can it be known? Is it not most natural to have pregnancy, so must be less natural to not have pregnancy?

Is not natural to keep pet! Maybe.

Maybe I go live in cave and eat grass and nuts for most natural life. Good for vital force but dull.

[ 05. November 2003, 19:38: Message edited by: The Fat Man ]