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Spaying

Spaying (the technical term is ovariohysterectomy or OHE) is performed on female dogs and cats as a means of population control, and to protect dog's from breast cancer and uterine disease.

• Unspayed female dogs and cats will also attract male dogs and cats (respectively) from many miles around when they are in season. You can tell your female dog is in season because her vulva (the outside opening to her female genitalia) will become swollen, and some fresh blood will drip from its opening.
• Dogs go into heat usually sometime after 6 months of age, and will come into heat twice yearly for almost all of their lives. The heat period lasts three weeks. During this three week period the dog will drip blood for the first 5-10 days. When the blood stops dripping the female dog goes into its fertile period for another 5-10 days. This is the only time she will accept the male.
• If a breeding takes place, usually the male and female will be stuck together. DO NOT TRY TO SEPARATE THEM DURING THIS "TIE", it may cause damage to them. They will stand with their backs to each other while the male's penis is still in the female. The tie usually lasts 20 minutes. After this fertile period of 5-10 days the dog will remain in heat for another 5-10 days, to total 21 days in all.
• In the last phase of heat (or estrus) the dog's vulva will remain swollen, and will remain attractive to the males, but will not allow the male to mount her and introduce his penis. Usually she will turn around, and possibly even bark or bite at him.

Female cats will not have the swollen vulva nor the bleeding to tell you they are in heat. Instead, cats exhibit a behavioral estrus in which they will make vocalizations, howling, they will be hyperactive, and roll over onto their backs, and raise their tail high when you pet them over their pelvis. You may find a number of male cats in your neighborhood attracted to your house, and some of them may spray urine on your windows to claim your female kitty as their property.

It is recommended that if your female dog or cat is not intended for breeding purposes that you spay it shortly after it turns 6 months, just as it is reaching sexual maturity, but before its first heat. Studies have shown that dogs who are not spayed have a very high risk of getting breast cancer in their later lives. Spaying early in their lives (before 2 years of age) reduces that risk to nearly zero. Unspayed female dogs are at risk of unwanted pregnancies and also of getting a very serious medical condition called Pyometra, which if it occurs can cause toxic shock, which could be life threatening and require an OHE (spay) to save your dog's life.

At Boulder's Natural Animal very safe anesthesia is used for this procedure, along with cardiac monitoring and blood pressure monitoring. Prior to every surgery a blood test will be run, if one hasn't already been run within the last 6-12 months, depending upon your animal's condition. Every animal has an intravenous catheter placed usually in its cephalic or saphenous veins for rapid access should the need arise while your pet is hospitalized at our facility. Fluids will be administered at a low rate if the animal is healthy, and if the animal is in need of special fluids and/or fluid rates, it will have those administered to it before during and after surgery. All patients are placed on a warm water circulation blanket to keep their core body temperature at a safe level.

Usually this is an outpatient procedure which means that you would bring your dog in first thing in the morning after a 12 hour food fast (water is OK), and pick it up at the end of the day. Absorbable buried sutures are used which reduces substantially the risk of post operative complications. Herbal supplements are also dispensed both before and after surgery to reduce interoperative hemorrhage and to speed up the postoperative wound healing. Post surgical patients are seen for a no charge follow-up anytime within the first 2 weeks following surgery. Supplies and tests run during these complementary office visits will be charged at their normal rate. This is true for all surgery and dental work at Boulder's Natural Animal.

Animals do not necessarily become lazy and fat after spaying. If they do, it is usually a matter of having fed them too much food, or perhaps an underlying problem that doesn't express itself until after the sex gonads are removed. Because the sex hormones contribute to the animals METAbolic rate, its energy, and its calorie burning capacity, you should reduce your pets caloric intake by giving it 10% less food, and by getting it to exercise more.