Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I think I posted this in the wrong section a little while ago, so sory for the double post. Anyway, I've got a fairly unusual (I think) question you probably don't hear everyday:

I wish to have my female malamute go through a hysterectomy/tubal ligation so she doesn't end up adding to the overpopulation but so that she is also left as natural as possible the way God made her, allowing her to mate with the next door neighbor's dog who she likes quite a bit (a friend of mine's dogs who had that done mated often with a couple neighbor's dogs while in heat).

But my question is, if I allowed her to mate when she wants to during her heat cycles after this operation, could this cause pyometra or some other problem and if so, what things can I do to prevent it (besides spaying or other invasive operation, or risky hormone treatment).

Reason being, I have a naturalist/purist mindframe when it comes to keeping animals. I don't believe in taking away bodyparts in such invasive surgery as a spay (no matter how common) especially seeing the increasing amount of research data showing how spaying has too many long-term adverse health effects far outweighing the risks of cancer or tumors to justify such a proceedure (I'd be happy to show you the info but it's all documents and article scans that I don't know how to upload here).

I appreciate your input. thanks

Removing either the uterus or the ovaries, or both, will keep the dog from having puppies. More common in Europe than here, a vet may remove the ovaries and leave the uterus, but never the other way around, as even a small amount of uterine tissue can harbor an infection if the ovaries are intact. Pyometras don't always occur, but the risk is always there. I w9ould be surprised if you could find a vet who would leave in the ovaries.

Thank you for your response. Unfortunately it only covered a small part of my question though.

What I was concerned about was, if I allowed her to mate, would that cause any damage or issues at any point? You said pyometra is a risk, but how much of a risk? Any other physiological issues that can arise from this type of situation? How can I prevent these issues (if any) from happening other than spaying or risky hormone tx?

There would be no physical damage from mating. In addition to pyometra, the risk of mammary tumors is increased significantly. Pyometras are no small thing; it is life-threatening.

Thank you for your reply. Yes I realize the severity of pyometra and would always keep a close eye on her for any signs, and if there were any signs I would take her in immediately for an emergency spay.

I do have one more interesting twist to my story though! I just talked with my friend a couple days ago regarding her dog, the one who has (or should I say HAD) tubal ligation, and it turns out I misunderstood what she told me in the beginning about her dog. After talking about what you told me, she said after having too many problems with male dogs in the neighborhood she decided to actually have her female SPAYED a few months ago. The strange thing is, she was still into mating! She said she also sometimes masturbated and getting her spayed actually for some reason INCREASED the frequency of this behavior to a degree. I didn't believe her but she showed me a vid of her (post-surgery) she recently took with her cellphone. CRAZY! Her vet said nothing was physically wrong with the dog (mentally...well that's apparently a different story LOL).

I've been reading up online about this and there seems to be others who've experienced continued sexual behaviors with spayed and neutered dogs (even came acorss a couple crazy youtube vids of it of females). But is this normal?? Can her bitch be harmed by continuing to mate (like full penetration) while SPAYED?