Awwww I just love labs

Thank you very much Sharon.. That's great.. Now I know what to expect when I pick her up after surgery...

Jeanette, I believe Luke means that his bitch was rather agressive with other dogs prior to spaying and that she is now worse. This tends to confirm the point which I made earlier regarding the likelihood of bitches that had previously shown aggressive tendences becoming more agressive after spaying.

J most vets do a tiny midline incision to spay and this is later coverd by the line of hair growth. I have never noticed any change of coat or temperament in spayed bitches...if you want to see pictures of the operation ...
click here

A good deal depends on the age at spaying and also the breed. Some bitches can become more aggressive, I have one, the coat will change to some degree but with your breed it should not be too noticeable, the coat also can in some breeds have a tendency to curl. The body shape will change, this takes a couple of years but like our own race they become thicker around the middle and will if not watched put too much weight on ( tell me about it).Thing to remember is because all this happens slowly to a dog you live with you will not really be aware of the changes so the only thing you need to watch is the weight as being overweight is very unhealthy. Also in my experience the incontinent problems seem worse in the obese bitch happening only rarely in the bitch that is kept slim and active, not sure if it is the fact that the slim bitch is fitter or if some bitch are just prone to putting on weight and becoming incontinent.

If the bitch is pre puberty when spayed they will grow into a taller bitch than would have been the case had they kept the growth hormone they lost when they lost their ovaries, this again will not be noted by the owner but can put strain on the growth plates and the joints and some think lay the animal open to early onset join problems such as arthritis also OCD, HD, cruciate and other such problems, so it is probably best with an animal neutered before growth is finished to take more care than usual with the exercising, this is more important with the medium to large breeds.

The scaring is not noticeable after a year or so and the nipples are not removed unless the vet has found tumours in the mammary strip in which case spaying is part of the treatment dor this along with the removal of all or some of the mammary strip. Bitches normally recover very quickly from spaying.

That's waht I thought... Thank you SB

Thank you Mini, that was very interesting.. I read more than I saw, but still

Thank you very much Jackie... Yeah tell me about weight sneaking up on you.. I've been there and my cat's there now...

Weight gain in spayed bitches tends to occur when they are spayed around the age that they would normally have a reduction in food, i.e. moving from the high food requirements of puppyhood to the lesser requirements of adulthood. If the lesser requirement of food is not taken into account and the same quantity given then a rise in weight is inevitable. An adult bitch on a sensible diet and given sensible exercise should have no weight problems at all. Urinary incontinence can occur, but this is more common in the aging bitch. It is easily controlled by inexpensive medications

Sophie gained 6lb ......has half the food the others have and twice the walks

has shown no aggression BUT has become lazier she has to be dragged out to walk sometimes and has kind of become old for her 3 years ....just MO