Spey you bitch up! Sorry if this conveys any misogynistic sentiments. It is purely veterinary advice whilst referencing a popular Prodigy song.
Bitches tend to cycle in the springtime as well as the autumn. Others will already have had a season in the late winter in preparation for the booty of food available in the spring and summer. More fuel = more milk = more surviving pups.
If you don’t spay your bitch before she has a season, you will be unable to do so for about another two months. And you will have every dog in your neighbourhood barking at your door (almost a reference to ´Funky Cold Madina´).
There are many new statistics on the variable spaying ages of different breeds. One statistic that has stood the test of time is that: Bitches have an increased risk of mammary cancer with every season that they have.
Bitches spayed before their first season have a 0.5% chance of developing mammary cancer later in their lives. A quarter of bitches not spayed before their 3rd heat will develop mammary cancer later on in life. If you are not planning to breed from your bitch, spay her early. Waiting more time increases these cancer risks, as well as pyometra, as well as plethoras of dogs howling in your front yard.
Castrating male dogs decreases their roaming and therefore reduces the chances of them getting lost, hit by cars or copulating with stray bitches, thus increasing the local stray population. Neutering of both sexes decreases aggression tendencies, too.
If we choose to domesticate a species, it is then our responsibility to achieve control over its population, as it is not regulated by nature. Be a responsible pet owner and neuter your pet. Life is less stressful for them and for you. You can also feel smug about contributing to the solution of feral dog populations. Righteousness feels good. Just do it.
Happy Easter, everyone.
Lagos Veterinary Clinic
+351 282 782 282
