Ziva was 'partially' spayed today....

After much research I decided to go with the 'hysterectomy' on Ziva. She came through surgery just fine.  She also had 2 retained puppy teeth removed.  We had her uterus/cervix removed and left the ovaries. She will still come in heat just won't bleed & can't get pregnant. Will maintain her feminine hormones so won't have the weight gain issues, the urinary incontinence issue etc. I have done extensive search on it and just felt this was the best option. She is 6 months old and only weighs 4.1#, my 5 year old chi weighs 4.3#. Ziva is so tiny.


Here's tidbits from the research I have been doing. I work for a Veterinarian who also happens to be my father, so this is total foreign soil here to me as well, but I'm on a couple of natural care groups on yahoo, and they were talking about it and it got me thinking so I have been researching it for several weeks before coming to this decision.

Benefits:
Hormonal Imbalance resulting in obesity, cardiac stress & urinary incontinece won't be a problem.

Here is an article from the early 1970’s written by a man who was waaay ahead of his time- Dr. Wendell Belfield. http://www.belfield.com/pdfs/Partial_Spay.pdf


This is an excellent article talks about the importance of hormones:
Emails to Clients About Spaying « DogtorJ.com :: Food Intolerance in Pets & Their People :: Home of The GARD
A study which basically pointed out dogs with ovaries lived longer:
Exploring mechanisms of sex differences in longevity: lifetime ovary exposure and exceptional longevity in dogs - Waters - 2009 - Aging Cell - Wiley Online Library

Hysterectomy

Clip from Dr. Belfield :
I once performed this procedure on a bitch that was permitted to run loose, needless to say all of the males were tearing down fences, fighting one another to win the prize. This infuriated all human members in the neighborhood, the owner insisted I remove the remaining ovary. These are the ones I do not recommend for the procedure. As a rule, estrus alternates between the two ovaries twice annually. The first animal I performed the
surgery on was my own German Shepherd, she had a wonderful long life. It also has a tendency to minimize fat metabolism. The gonadotropic hormones definitely play an important role in immune function. Most of the dogs with allergies tend to be those that have been altered compared to whole animals. I do agree, it does offer a more normal life for the female. I have also performed vasectomies on males with the same positive results.
Wendell O. Belfield, DVM

This talks about long-term health effects of spay/neuter dogs:

http://www.naiaonline.org/pdfs/longt...uterindogs.pdf
On balance, it appears that no compelling case can be made for neutering most male dogs, especially
immature male dogs, in order to prevent future health problems. The number of health problems associated
with neutering may exceed the associated health benefits in most cases.

On the positive side, neutering male dogs
• eliminates the small risk (probably <1%) of dying from testicular cancer
• reduces the risk of non-cancerous prostate disorders
• reduces the risk of perianal fistulas
• may possibly reduce the risk of diabetes (data inconclusive)

On the negative side, neutering male dogs
• if done before 1 year of age, significantly increases the risk of osteosarcoma (bone cancer); this is a
common cancer in medium/large and larger breeds with a poor prognosis.
• increases the risk of cardiac hemangiosarcoma by a factor of 1.6
• triples the risk of hypothyroidism
• increases the risk of progressive geriatric cognitive impairment
• triples the risk of obesity, a common health problem in dogs with many associated health problems
• quadruples the small risk (<0.6%) of prostate cancer
• doubles the small risk (<1%) of urinary tract cancers
• increases the risk of orthopedic disorders
• increases the risk of adverse reactions to vaccinations

For female dogs, the situation is more complex. The number of health benefits associated with spaying may
exceed the associated health problems in some (not all) cases. On balance, whether spaying improves the
odds of overall good health or degrades them probably depends on the age of the female dog and the
relative risk of various diseases in the different breeds.

On the positive side, spaying female dogs
• if done before 2.5 years of age, greatly reduces the risk of mammary tumors, the most common
malignant tumors in female dogs
• nearly eliminates the risk of pyometra, which otherwise would affect about 23% of intact female
dogs; pyometra kills about 1% of intact female dogs
• reduces the risk of perianal fistulas
• removes the very small risk (≤0.5%) from uterine, cervical, and ovarian tumors

On the negative side, spaying female dogs
• if done before 1 year of age, significantly increases the risk of osteosarcoma (bone cancer); this is a
common cancer in larger breeds with a poor prognosis
• increases the risk of splenic hemangiosarcoma by a factor of 2.2 and cardiac hemangiosarcoma by
a factor of >5; this is a common cancer and major cause of death in some breeds
• triples the risk of hypothyroidism
• increases the risk of obesity by a factor of 1.6-2, a common health problem in dogs with many
associated health problems
• causes urinary “spay incontinence” in 4-20% of female dogs
• increases the risk of persistent or recurring urinary tract infections by a factor of 3-4
• increases the risk of recessed vulva, vaginal dermatitis, and vaginitis, especially for female dogs
spayed before puberty
• doubles the small risk (<1%) of urinary tract tumors
• increases the risk of orthopedic disorders
• increases the risk of adverse reactions to vaccinations

One thing is clear – much of the spay/neuter information that is available to the public is unbalanced and contains claims that are exaggerated or unsupported by evidence. Rather than helping to educate pet owners, much of it has contributed to common misunderstandings about the health risks and benefits associated of spay/neuter in dogs.