How old is too old to spay/neuter?

[charmingnancy]

I have been spending time on Yahoo! Answers lately, and in the Pets section, someone asked if they should get their 8 year old female spayed. I looked around online, trying to find out if there is an age limit on surgical sterilization. Didn't really find anything, just the minimum age and the advantages. Does anyone know? I'm not trying to answer the question now (I told the asker to call her vet and see what they said), but now I'm just curious.

[DogGoneGood]

That's a good question. I've never really thought about it before because my dogs always get s/n between 6 months to a year old.

I think that the surgery itself doesn't have any major side effects but the problem that comes with age is the Anesthesia that is necessary to do the surgery. Even so, these days the risk of the dog being under anesthetics is a lot less than it use to be; the propper precautions just need to be taken (her vet will tell her about those).

I'll look it up to see if I can find more info...

Here's what I've found on the subject of spaying or neutering older dogs:

Neuter/Spay Surgery for an Older Dog

Is it appropriate or beneficial to perform neuter or spay surgery on an older dog.? Our survey of veterinarians indicates that, unless a dog is extremely old or medically unstable, the surgery can only be of benefit. Dangerous conditions such as pyometra and prostatitis can be avoided by spaying or neutering. As one veterinarian summed it up, it is better to spay a healthy 9-year-old than to do an emergency spay on a 9-year-old who is ill with pyometra.

Spaying or neutering a senior dog is a decision that always depends on a careful exam by a veterinarian, including bloodwork and other tests. If the exam shows a dog to be healthy and in condition to successfully undergo the surgery, there is every reason to proceed with it.

source: www.srdogs.com/Pages/care.gt.html

Spaying Your Older Female Dog

Accidental Breeding can be hard on the Older Dog

Female dogs don’t go into menopause like humans. Therefore, their bodies don’t get a break from having to reproduce young if breeding occurs. Even a fourteen year old dog can still bear pups. An accidental breeding past the age of seven can cause severe physical problems for the female and may prove deadly to both mother and pups. Spaying an intact female dog at this age will prevent the worry about an accidental breeding and let your dog spend the rest of her life without the stress of reproduction.

Birth Defects Won’t Be Passed Along

Although not strictly an older female dog problem, spaying or neutering will prevent congenital defects from being passed along. Breeding dogs with physical problems that are genetic like hip dysplasia, undershot or overshot jaws, congenital blindness, cleft palate, and other defects should not be done. It is unfair to pass along these defects to puppies and unscrupulous to sell or give puppies to others that harbor these defects.

Source: www.thebreedsofdogs.com/dog_health/spaying_older_dogs.htm

"Even if your have an older adult dog or cat, it is never too late to spay or neuter," says Dr. Merle. "The health benefits decrease the longer you wait, but a little benefit is better than none at all."

Source: vetmed.illinois.edu/petcolumns/showarticle.cfm?id=281

This is the most I can find on the subject in a short amount of time...

I think if she's truly concerned about it, she should ask her vet as many questions as she needs to about the proceeder and if there are any risks because of the dogs age.

From what I've read though, it seems like it's not AS bennifitial to spay or neuter at an older age as it is at a younger age, but as far as the risks resulting from the surgery go; it's about the same.

[charmingnancy]

Well, the thing that I quickly learned from reading numerous questions on Yahoo! Answers is that a lot of these people that post don't take the time to try to either research the topic online before asking it, or they don't use their brains and call up the vet about their problems like a smart, loving, and devoted pet owner should. Not just about pets, but general health problems of their own. Time after time I will answer a question with "Call your doctor ASAP", or "Don't waste your time on here, go to the damn hospital".

Some idiot even thought that the Distemper shot would help calm their dog down. Like duh, Distemper is a disease, it had nothing to do with their "temper". A simple google would have told them that.

[DogGoneGood]

Yeah, from my experience I can usually find the answer I'm looking for quicker just doing some research than the time it takes for someone to answer it

Meh, but what can you do. Some people just don't know any better. As a dog trainer, I've learned that the majority of pet owners aren't necessarily idiots, but rather just ignorent. There is a difference I find quite often I answer a lot of the same, common sence kind of questions over and over again.