Bitch owners please!

Has anyone ever had a bitch that has become incontinent after spaying?

Someone mentioned this on a dalmatian forum recently that bitches start to leak after being spayed, is this the case because I was always going to spay my bitch but I'm not so sure now!

due to the risk of cancer not spaying can cause, do you think I should go ahead with it anyway?

does anyone know the actual statistics for this?

Thanks

confused Lottie

I have never had one that has .....BUT have known many others

to spey or not to spey has opened many debates before on here .....I personally would never spey a bitch unless medically required to do so

one of mine HAD to be speyed this year and although it was needed to be done her coat is now terrible and we do have problems with her weight

Yes I have had two bitches who have become incontinent after spaying but they were over 5 years when spayed so I don't know if it is any more likely if they are done younger. Have seen several cases of problems in bitches that were spayed before the first season or before they were fully mature.

Do not know the chances of mammary cancer in unspayed bitches nor that of dogs, it is not too difficult to spot at an early stage if you check every time you groom, this applies to owners of spayed bitches and dogs, dogs should not only have the mammary strip checked but also the testis. Spaying is considered to reduce the occurrence of mammary cancer but does not eliminate it all together, so vigilance is still needed just as it is in humans. Having said this I believe that most dogs and bitches who are lost to cancer do not have it in a sex hormone related organ.

It is difficult to find reliable statistics for this as so many bitches are spayed anyway to find a group of large enough numbers of spayed and unspayed individuals has not as far as I know been attempted. Add to that the fact that if it does occur it is not usually till later life and by then other factors may have become involved.

Hey Lottie

I had my female spayed in April, she was inbetween her first and second season, around 13 months old.

I was worried about this also...I'm not sure if the leaking starts right after they have been done or near to that time or if it is when they get older (I would be glad for someone to shed some light on to that for me )

Anyway as it is right now, Keena can hold her pee for England...lol...She can go to bed at night and if she wakes up very lazy the next day and doesn't wanna go out to pee yet! Then I've known her to go over 10 hours or so from when she peed the night before!...So definitly no problems with her and I dearly hope it says that way!

We have absolutly no trouble with Keena gaining to much weight infact it has been the opposite, ever since she was spayed she actually lost a couple pounds and we have to make sure she keeps her weight UP! He coat has not changed any, if it has it is a very slight difference. She is short double coated and probably not as prone to any changes say a more longer silkier furred breed would be (same would go for your Dallie )

Hiya Lottie,

I've personally never had a bitch spayed, that said I'm not against spaying and for many people it does have it's advantages.

I thought these might be of some use to you:

Myths about spaying

Spaying

Statistics

A lot of websites are very pro-spaying, so make sure you understand all the pros and cons and decide what's best for your individual dog. I'll try and find some veterinary statistics for you.

Hope some of this helps.

Becs

Teagan was spayed at the start of the year, after her first season.
She has lost weight, and I often have to up her food intake! Her coat is the same, and she has not been incontinent (yet?)

Hi Lottie, as u know we now just have Polly (JRT) and Florrie (WHWT cross DDT) ab=nd both they are still intact females.
You may not know but when i was younger and until an event when we lost one of our two staffie bitches one was extrmely elderly and the other was her granddaughter, we bred Sataffordshire Bull Terriers and Doberman Pinchsers. Well one of our staffie bitches Drew was from our second liter, we kept her as she wasnt breeding or showing quality and she had something wrong, as something had happened to the placenta when she was still inside, anyway the outcomne she had problems breathing at times, anyway as we had her mother, father, half brother and two dobies bitches and one dobies dog, she had to be speyed.
So we did and after having the op about three days later she started having accidents, this continued, unfortunatley she was about 11 months (i think) and she got ran over.
I have known of a fair few people who have had incontant bitches after speying.
A lab breeder friend of my mums has a theory, not sure whether to follow it or not, but all the ones we know that have suffered from post speying incontanance have either been done before or not to long after their first season.
She said it could be related to their maturity being stunted
Not sure though
Best wishes

Hi Lottie,

just found this, a veterinary article on general urinary incontinence and its causes, including urethral sphincter incompetence (most often seen in spayed bitches).

Urinary Incontinence

Rosie was spayed in April this year, her coat is now awful, her weight has piled on even though she eats less and is exercised more, so in future unless there's a problem I WON'T spay any of my girls again.

Seems it affects different breeds at least or even individualls in different ways...You have my dogs and Hevvurs dog being described as hard to keep the weight on and with no coat change, I know it is the same with Caroles girl, star also (I have seen her mention it) ...then the others with weight and coat problems...Of course though, regarding weight all you need to do is find a lower fat/protien food or feed less than you were before they were spayed I don't think you will have the same coat problems with a Dalmation that say seem to happen with the cocker spaniels.