To small to SPAY? Is there such a thing?

[Red_ACD_for_me]

I've heard it before but I have a customer at the bank I work for that brought in her 8 month old Yorkshire terrier today who weighs a whopping 2 lbs :( She goes to the same vet that I go to and she said she was afraid to spay her because the vet told her mother that he never spayed anything that small :confused: The owner is in her early 20's maybe even 19 and she is worried now to get her fixed. But get this her father said that he wants to let her have a litter of puppies :mad: I immediately told her NOT a good idea and told her about her dying while giving birth and needing a C-section because of her size. It seemed to scare her from that idea ;) I told her it is more of risk breeding her and giving birth than spaying her. I also told her to get a second opinion at another vets office. I was surprised by my vets claim about her being fixed because they are very pro spay/neuter and are always educating new dog owners.

[BostonBanker]

I know that with my friend's Chihuahua, who topped out at 2 1/2 lbs, the vet did wait until he was close to a year old. I don't remember exactly what the concerns were, but I know they wanted him to gain as much body mass as possible before putting him under.

Too small to spay ever though? No idea. I hope she will take your advice and get a second opinion.

[rabbitsarebetter]

umm did you know you can spay RATS?? and those tiny neitherland dwarf bunnies
of course she isnt too small to spay

[colliewog]

It can be done, but it is more difficult. The smaller the dog, the harder it is to dose pre-meds and such. I do think she should get a second opinion, maybe with a vet who does a lot of pediatric spay/neuters and is used to working on little ones. I would think the average vet in practice hasn't done a spay on anything under 5-6 lbs, simply because there aren't that many breeds that are quite that tiny at the age they are ready to be altered.

[bubbatd]

Find a vet who is used to minis. Good excuse for no breeding !!! Too small to fix ...too small to breed !

[dr2little]

Grammy's right. Tinker never got much over 1 pound and really flew through her spay without a hitch...
My Vet, who I chose for Tinker due to her experience with tiny dogs and other small animals, did wait until Tinker was past her first heat holding out for more size, but she just never got much bigger. Her first heat happened really early too.
Breeding this wee one would be a death sentence for sure. Her uterus could rupture for god sakes before she even gets to term.

[Red_ACD_for_me]

umm did you know you can spay RATS?? and those tiny neitherland dwarf bunnies
of course she isnt too small to spay
Thanks everybody! When I see her again I will talk to her more. RAB, I thought the samething about rats being S/N so a 2 lb yorkie shouldn't be a problem.

[Miakoda]

Thanks everybody! When I see her again I will talk to her more. RAB, I thought the samething about rats being S/N so a 2 lb yorkie shouldn't be a problem.

We also spay & neuter rats. And we've also spayed dogs that small as well. If you have a competent vet who uses up to date anesthesia techniques, it's no problem at all.

On the other hand, if this dog gets pregnant, it will die trying to give birth naturally. Period.

[showpug]

We spayed dogs that small on a few occasions and didn't have an issue...

[Spirit2010]

Well, my ferret got spayed at like 6 weeks, and she was very small! The petstore spayed her, not us. I don't know exactly when they spayed her, but they spayed her before we got her at 12 weeks. And I don't even think she was 2 pounds? I don't know how much this girl ways, but she didn't way that much. I don't know when she got spayed, but, they could probably wait until she was 12 months to spay her. And then she should be big enough? I don't know. Just saying though. ;)

[Giny]

My vet wanted me to wait till Kassie reached 2 pounds before her spay, she was about 10 months when she was ready. He just wanted to be sure her body could handle the procedure and he was even more cautious due to the fact that she was a sickly pup.

[FoxyWench]

our vet has spayed 1lb female chihuahuas so had no qualms about spaying any of mine.
i think the key thing here is HER vet hasnt spayed anything that small, i would personally find a vet who has experience with small breeds, and go from there. the risks are a little higher with a tiny dog but not enough to outweigh the risks of her not being spayed.

you can also tell the girl, if she is to listen to her father and breed that little girl she WILL need a c-section, and is not likely to survive (and neither are her puppies) That dog is out of breed standard and should not be bred in general for one and for 2 the stress on her body would more than likley kill both her and the puppies.
best to pay a little extra time finding a vet whos experienced with small breeds and get her spayed than spend $2000 a couple years down the road for a c-section and lose both the mother and her pups.
not to mention the likleyhood that that dog came from a bad breeder...*sigh* i just dont understand this need for the extreemly tiny dog, it buggs me, these tiny ones used to be called the runt, were given away and only ever sent to homes experienced with taking care of such a itny baby.
At 8months that yorkie may reach 2.5-3lbs full grown *sigh*

[carlar]

You need to make sure you locate a vet that is experienced with spaying tiny animals. The meds have to be correct for the size. But, do not breed one that small. The risk to her life would be very great.

[~Jessie~]

Rylie weighed 2.5lbs at 6 months when she was spayed, and she was fine :D

[Psyfalcon]

My friend does some rat research. Apparently, at that size, surgery can turn into an autopsy pretty quick. They might not be very good though, lab rats and all ;)

Its probably more of a comfort level and experience rather than technical issues. Most ferrets come out of research labs actually, so their vets are probably very good at it by now. (Female ferrets typically die if not spayed or bred).

[casablanca1]

I assume she's in Boston too, which means she should have access to some of the best vet care in the world. If I were her and my otherwise good vet seemed reluctant to spay my very small dog, I'd ask if there's a good vet hospital nearby. I'm from Philly, which means we get refered to UPenn a lot. In Boston, I imagine Angell would be the place. Even if she didn't want to have the spay done there (it can be irritating to get in and out of those big hospitals) she could probably get a reference to a vet who has done similar procedures.

http://www.mspca.org

[puppydog]

I hunted for quite a while until I found a vet that specialised in tiny dogs. His main cliental are Itallian Grey Hounds, Pugs and Chis. So I am very happy with him. It does take special expertise working with the tiny guys.
When I finally get my dream dog (a breed standard Pom or a Chi) I will most definately still use him.

So the best thing to do is find a vet that works with the little ones.

Just for the record, I love my little Pom baby so much, she is just so far off standard it is funny (white with orange patches). She is my heart dog and I never regret the day we rescued each other.