When I got another shepherd girl, I decided that this time I would wait until she was a little older to get her spayed.  The research is showing pretty clearly that early spay/neuter is connected to health issues, including hip dysplasia, as the dogs don’t get all the sex hormones they need to grow and develop at a proper rate.  Since I also wanted to get her hips and elbows x-rayed, and it doesn’t make sense to do that before she turns two years old (barring obvious issues), I decided everything would wait until she was old enough and then we’d do it all at the same time.

Today was the day.  I dropped Sassy off at the vet’s this morning, and put in a special request for more sedatives so we can hopefully get through the recovery period without repeating the horrible experience I had several years ago with Reyna.  Sassy is getting spayed, she’s getting a prophylactic gastropexy (I am NOT going through another bloat if there’s a way to prevent it), and hip and elbow x-rays.

Doc said she came through the surgery well, which is wonderful.  She’s got somewhere between 20 and 30 staples running up her belly.  Her elbows look great, which means I won’t have to fret too much about working her over jumps and such (with proper training, of course).  Her hips, though….well, let’s just say I’ve seen better.  Granted, I’ve seen a heck of a lot worse, too.  Reyna’s come to mind, as a matter of fact.  I don’t think her hips are horrible, and OFA would probably rate them as fair, but I’m glad she’s never going to be bred.  I think her hips are solid enough that I can do the work I want to with her, I just need to pay close attention to her conditioning and ease into any activities that could be potentially damaging.  Not the end of the world, by any means.

Although based on this picture, Sassy certainly seems to think life is horrible.  My poor little girl.  She’s so heavily medicated right now that she’s doing good to even sit up.  I think it’s time for a certain someone to toddle off to bed…