How old is too old? Should I get her spayed?

Check out the thread "Spaying 101"

Health complications are "more" at risk the older a dog becomes. Ask you Vet to do blood work an analysis; spaying may be perfectly fine.

Yeah but it can just give you an example/show you what the procedure will be like.

Typically the older they are the more "painful" it "can" be... so some say?

Let your Vet decide if it is right... I bet they will say yes, its very rare when they say no. With the medical technology we have today anything is possible. It's never too late in my eyes

Pooch got spayed at an older age (not sure exactly b/c not sure how old she is) she was at least 7 and I think even older than that.  My vet said to do it b/c the risks of not doing it (cancer) were much greater than the risk of having it done.  You would also what to have anything else that would need her to be unconcious done at the same time so that she only has to go under 1x (we ha her teeth cleaned at that time as well.  So from my experience and what my vet said, I would do it even though she's older.

6-7 years old...prior litters....she is in the high risk group for Pyometra. Dogs do not have menopause no...but cycles can become irregular due to thyroid or other hormonal issues. She could also be having silent heats....no blood no swelling, etc.

Personally the risk of Pyo alone...which can be deadly....would make me spay her. Providing she is in good enough overall health for surgery...might be a great time to get her a geriatric work up and teeth cleaning all together!

Thanks )

 I move about mostly in the world of working dogs, who typically have maybe one litter, but are intact until four to six years old before doing so.  It takes much longer to determine the breedworthiness and best match for a working dog (herding) because it takes longer to complete training than it does to finish a conformation dog.

Many of these females are then spayed, as the heat cycles make competitions and further training difficult.
 
Also, I do rescue and have seen many females come through and spayed when mature.  So, I know lots and lots of females who have done fine with being spayed at a more mature stage.
 

Speeking from a breeders perspective, 7 years is to old to spay or neauter an animal.
Putting a dog under at that age there is a higher risk of them not waking up.
You also risk (at any age) changing the temperment after a spay / neauter.
So all in all, This is "at your own risk" I would advise aginst it.

I have to say i disagree. Not spaying a bitch after age 6 is asking for Pyo...for which the only solution is to spay her. But then you will be spaying a SICK bitch...instead of an otherwise healthy one.

If we were talking about a breed like Danes where 7 IS old...yeah...but in this case where the breed in question often lives into it's late TEENS? This dog is barely middle aged.

ABSOLUTELY what Gina says -- this dog is in a MAJORLY high risk group for pyometra *and* cancer.  Just get a decent surgeon and have blood gasses pulled before you do surgery and should be fine.

She probably also needs her teeth cleaned, and get it done at the same time.  Kee shu was probably 10 when she was spayed (peke) and I've had several older females spayed.  No problems. 

You can have surgery done on an animal at any age if you are careful and do the pre-op bloodwork.  My sheltie mix lived to be 19 and was having annual teeth cleanings up til 18 and he had a pretty large lipoma removed when he was 18 (same time as the dental cleaning).  He was 10 when he was neutered (because he got a peri-anal hernia because my ex would never let me get him neutered grrr)

Given good care this dog should live to a ripe old age -- but she won't get a chance to if she's left intact.  Pyo can claim them SOOO fast and you just don't see it coming.and it's symptoms are so like 'old age' that most owners just don't realize it.

 I say spay her 7 is still so young.... Doing rescue we spayed all females who came out of puppymills no matter their ages. We would never place a dog that wasn't and this was the same for the males as well.

I know the older that get the harder it can be but that is what pain meds and management are for......

Willow could of been as old as 5 when she was spayed.  She did need extra pain medication while she was in the office recovering but they didn't send her home with anything.  She was in some pain, but within two days she was hard to keep quiet.

7 isn't at all too old, and I can't imagine (some life threatening health issue aside) anyone, vet or otherwise, who would say it was. I'm a tech, and our labwork guides don't even count 7 as geriatric (giant breeds aside). There are such safe induction drugs and anesthetic these days that it's really not a greater risk.  You always have the option of doing a blood panel first to make sure everything is well. We do procedures (surgeries, dentals, mass removals) on even elderly dogs on an almost daily basis, and we've yet to have any of them have a problem.

 My own 11 year old dog had three surgeries a few months ago (eye surgery) and did fine. And, my 10ish year old dog will be having a dental in the next month.

 As has been mentioned, it's a much greater health risk to leave her intact..pyometra is a nasty ailment, and breast cancer is such a tragic thing. It will be much better in the long run for your girl to be spayed

Spay her. She'll thank you.

Gina is absoluetly right. Pyro is not a fun thing for a dog.