SPAY = CALM???

Hello All,

we are getting our Abbey spayed next week, and we are wondering if this will calm her at all?
Abbey is 11 months old, and we were going to get her fixed when she was 6 months, but she came into heat. So we have saved the money again, and she is not in heat, so here we go.
Abbey is an active shih tzu, she goes for a 15 minute walk daily, plsu about a 1/2 hour of ball catching in the yard, but this does not seem to ever tire her out, it seems to give her even more energy. So from I what I think I remember heairng was that the spay may clam her slightly?
Any one agree?
I know that Abbey's age contributes to the energy level as well.

Thanks!

 

We got Nala spayed before we took her home with us (at about 14 weeks), so I don't have a before-after comparison for you. But I can say that if this dog was MORE active before her spay, then she would have never stopped moving!

I suppose it might calm your dog a tiny bit, but I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you.


Jamiya

 

I have been told by numerous people and vets that having a female spayed does not do much of anything.
I was interested because Harely is dog aggressive. I was told that in my case, her aggression can become worse after a spay because there is less estrogen in their bodies.
In your case though, I wouldn't expect much to change.

 

I know it will calm down males. Didn't hear of them getting more aggressive. At the hospital I worked at the vets said it will lessen the maternial instinct to protect her young, not enough horm. lessening the property protection, too.
Either way you will be protecting your little girl from different types of cancer. And keeping down the pet popluation! :y_the_best: Way to go!
these littlepups are wired! she will calm down some with age but expect her to be active everytime you leave the house and return. They have a good bit of energy. have you thought of a pet sitter to come in and let her out and play with her? Sometimes a high school aged kid could play with her after school and help her unwind before you get home!

 

Hi,
I've only ever heard that getting a female spayed makes no difference to their behaviour or personality, besides sometimes them being a little snappier (if they were already a bit that way inclined).

I'd suggest trying a longer walk after she's all healed and fit to go again after her op. Or maybe a couple of walks, and 5 minutes running around off their leash works wonders.

I had my lil boy snipped 10 days ago and was told I had to keep him quiet untill he had his stitches out and got the all clear. Well it's been a nightmare! But something good has come out of it. I know now that the excercise he normally has is just perfect as without it he's gone right back to when he was a little pup, barking, running and jumping into the walls... and me, little critter. :mrgreen:

So a longer walk makes for a better behaved and contented dog around here.

 

I can attest to the fact that spaying does little to calm a female dog down-- Cameron was crazy before she was spayed, and is still crazy after!! Sounds like you just have a highly active dog! Don't worry, she will calm with age- Cameron is a little over a year now and has calmed down quite a bit since her puppyhood. However, she still needs lots of exercise daily- I would say we usually exercise her for about 2 hrs between walks and playing fetch. Try increasing your walk time with your pup- it may help her to expend some of that energy. The fact that she doesn't get tired out now is proving that she isn't getting enough activity to satisfy her needs.

 

OUt of all the dogs I've spayed, I've never seen any change in activity level. Only the day they came home, groggy and sore, but the next day, they were all back to their selves!

 

Longer walks with Nala only created a dog in even better condition that needed even more exercise to tire her out!

Try some mental exercise for your pup - obedience training, agility training, train simple tricks, play games like hide-n-seek, etc.


Jamiya

 

I had Reese neutered and Grace spayed. Neither one of them had any change in their personality or their energy level. I was expecting them to totally change. I even thought they would even hate me for causing them discomfort. The day after both dogs had their surgury, they were almost back to normal. In fact, I had to settle them down from playing to hard until they were healed.

 

Good idea Jamiya. Obediance training will help alot.

ALso since she's a high energy dog. why don't you enter some adjility classes with her??

 

I agree that spaying does not change the dog into a calmer one .that is either the personality of that particular dog or not .hasn't helped my cats either .LOL !

 

Hi AbbeysMom, I agree with all of the above, fixing our furbabies doesn't do much to calm them, but being that your pooch is still a pup, she will calm with age. I also have a Shi tzu named Freebie, cute little guy! he's not too wild, but boy he sure was when he was a pup! There is a light at the end of the tunnel training classes would be a great idea! but if you can't afford that, buy a good book or video and do it yourself, it could be alott of fun

Good luck to you!

Susan