Spaying older bitch

Hi all, long time since ive posted on here, hope everyone and their pooches are well.

Im looking for abit of advice on my girl, she will be 7 this May and is intact and never had a litter, she had a phantom pregnacy the time before last when she was on heat, this was here first. The vet recommended i have her spayed 3 months after her next heat which was 10 weeks ago now. She has been acting fine but today ive noticed she is producing milk, so it looks likely this could be a regular occurrence from now on if i dont have her done.

Ive read and read and there doesnt seem many, if any benefits to having a bitch of this age spayed, im very wary of having it done as my last dog changed so much after having him done it was almost as if i had lost the dog i took to the vets.

I would be devastated if the same thing happened again as she is perfect the way she is and i wouldn't change a thing about her.

Whats peoples thoughts on this, am i being selfish ? Have other people been in the same position and not had it done ?

I know i should perhaps talk it through with my vets but i get a different person everytime i go now and cant help sometimes feeling they just want money, which i havent got a problem with as long as its best for my dog.

Thanks Rick

At this age id speak with ur vet about the complications of speying an older dog it has to be done soon as vets arent keen on operating on an older dog if they dnt have to due to complications etc if u are happy with her the way she is I would leave it if you are comfortable taking her out when in season . Im sure someone will be along with experience of speying an older dog good luck

sash was spayed when she was 6 as she kept having phantom pregnancies,it was heart breaking to see her keep going through them,it was the best thing for her and i'm glad we did it,you need to do what you think is right for your girl,sash did'nt change at all after the op

I must say seeing mine go through a phantom pregnancy it was heart breaking, I promised myself she wouldn't have to go through another. Its entirely up to you to decide but a friend of mine has an 8yr old setter who's entire. But her seasons have been getting heavier over the years & she phantoms after each one, so she is just waiting for her to clear this one & she will be getting her spayed.

the operation nowadays is relatively simple and risk free. there's always a risk with any operation, of course, but you will need to balance the risks with the benefits.

phantom pregnancies, as a one-off aren't a problem, but repeated ones can be distressing for the dog & can pose health problems.

in the end, only you can make that decision.

Thanks for the replies, i will take her to the vets and have a chat and voice my concerns to them.

What other symptoms do you see in your dogs apart from the milk ? This is the only way i can tell, she never takes toys to her bed, appetite is fine, she cant wait to go for a walk everyday and her tail never stops wagging. Am i missing something ?

sash would have milk in her teats and would take one of her toys and carry it around with her and take it in her bed with her,she would seem really depressed as well,the vet told me to take her on more walks as they would take her mind off it so to speak.

Just a quick update, I took Truffs to the vets last week she has been put on a course of tablets for the milk production, the vet advised i wait 3 weeks before having the operation done. I had a chat with her about Truffs age and she was confident that it wont be a problem but has said she will carry out pre-op blood test and if anything isnt 100% they wont go ahead with it, which made me feel abit better.

Will update after the operation, thanks for your help

Hiya! Sounds like you're doing the right thing.. My girl had awful phantoms before being spayed and thankfully hasn't had one since! Hope all goes well with the op, sounds like you have a great vet

Well after 2 months of getting the milk problem out of the way, today Truffs finally went in for her spay, picked her up at 4.30 and she didn't really know what planet she was on bless her, 3 hours on and ive just seen the first wag of her tail !!!! So she is on the mend, thanks again for your advise, input and more than anything putting my mind at rest.

It's great to hear she is recovering so quickly! Now the fun part of keeping her quiet for two weeks

Great to hear she's ok, she will want to play tomorrow!! As Emma said good luck on keeping her quiet for the next 2 weeks