I have an eight year old Saluki that has developed mammary tumors. She had a small one lasered off last year around her heat cycle and developed a couple more around her last heat cycle. She was supposed to have them removed a couple of months ago and surgery had to be postposed for reasons unrelated to her. Meanwhile, she developed a couple more and the more concerning one got a bit larger and sent out a few more small lumps in the same area. This new activity occurred while she was not in or coming into heat. Vet now wants to spay her as well, but I am not so sure spaying her will prevent recurrence as it is all so very individual. Her BEAM is great though her white count, which has always been lower than normal, is a bit lower. I have noticed she is a bit more fearful (passing through gates, of the cleaning people activity) which I have seen on dogs with something going on.
My intuition is telling me not to spay her, that it will ding her life force. She is an insecure alpha and I don't feel spaying will make her any more secure, but more importantly I don't want her to lose her passion for life (her drive) (I have had it happen with a dog after spay and have had a hard time keeping weight gain from occurring after spay and neuter of already adult dogs.
Her litter sister was spayed at six and now looks like an old, obese dog (is not in my care and could be husbandry).
I am interested to know what the vets and others who have gone through this have seen as far as levels of recurrence of mammary tumors in spayed versus non spayed at time of tumor removal.
The first one appeared the heat cycle or two after an unsuccessful attempt at having her bred by frozen implant and then a tooth extraction...so two surgeries which caused stress on her immune system.
My breeder in Germany said they do not spay unless necessary.
My thoughts are to biopsy and see what I am dealing with and hope they don't regrow. I just am not confident that spaying will prevent regrowth and do know it will be another big hole for her to recover from and then have to deal wit a disrupted endocrine system.
She is on high doses of Turkey Tail, Shiitake, and Maitake mushroom (1 gram 3x a day each); a very good micro algae (BioPrep 3); Chinese herbal formula (Wei Chi Booster, low dose), and someone suggested Iodine in the water.
My goal is for her to live a vibrant life and to be happy.
If I thought spaying would help and not affect her adversely I would do it.
Thank you
Cassandra
My intuition is telling me not to spay her, that it will ding her life force. She is an insecure alpha and I don't feel spaying will make her any more secure, but more importantly I don't want her to lose her passion for life (her drive) (I have had it happen with a dog after spay and have had a hard time keeping weight gain from occurring after spay and neuter of already adult dogs.
Her litter sister was spayed at six and now looks like an old, obese dog (is not in my care and could be husbandry).
I am interested to know what the vets and others who have gone through this have seen as far as levels of recurrence of mammary tumors in spayed versus non spayed at time of tumor removal.
The first one appeared the heat cycle or two after an unsuccessful attempt at having her bred by frozen implant and then a tooth extraction...so two surgeries which caused stress on her immune system.
My breeder in Germany said they do not spay unless necessary.
My thoughts are to biopsy and see what I am dealing with and hope they don't regrow. I just am not confident that spaying will prevent regrowth and do know it will be another big hole for her to recover from and then have to deal wit a disrupted endocrine system.
She is on high doses of Turkey Tail, Shiitake, and Maitake mushroom (1 gram 3x a day each); a very good micro algae (BioPrep 3); Chinese herbal formula (Wei Chi Booster, low dose), and someone suggested Iodine in the water.
My goal is for her to live a vibrant life and to be happy.
If I thought spaying would help and not affect her adversely I would do it.
Thank you
Cassandra
