Re: [PyrNet-L] after spay

["Tracy Bassett" <espinay@dynamite.com.au>]

<<For those on the list who have experience with bitches being spayed at an
older age, have you experienced any marked behavior changes within days
after the spay.  Molly, age 5+, was done last Thursday.  Today esp, I am
about to put her into permanent solitary confinement til this all passes.
Physically, she is doing beautifully and the incision is great.  Mentally
has been another story.  The vet and I hope that this is only a passing
thing due to a hormonal shift.  Twice today I have broken up bigtime fights
she initiated with our Newfie/shep. >> Nancy

Hi Nancy,

It is often said that speying a bitch can work to raise dominance levels a
bit. The reason why it is recommended in some cases of 'supremacy arguments'
between two bitches, that the more dominant one be speyed (the opposite is
the case with males - the less dominant is neutered). But this may not
necessarily be a 'cause' in this case.  I hope you don't mind if in an
effort to improve my own understanding I ask a few (:-/)questions?  I am
generally interested in these type of situations and would like to learn as
much as I can from them

Can you remind me - what are the ages of your two dogs?

Is the Newf/Shep neutered?

What was the N/S doing to/around/near Molly when the fight occurred?

What was their relationship beforehand? ie: Was it easy to tell who was the
more dominant/submissive?(if so, which one) or was it difficult for you to
tell?  Did they seem to interchange this role? (it is sometimes hard to
establish 'pack positions' when looking at only 2 dogs - tell me what you
can of their pre-spey relationship)

What did you do/were you doing before/at the time the incidents happened?
(before you dragged her off! LOL!)

Is she generally 'grumpy' at the moment or acting different in any way
generally?

At what stage in her cycle was she speyed?

Sorry there are so many questions :-/

Tracy Bassett
Canberra, Australia
espinay@dynamite.com.au
visit my webpage at http://members.dynamite.com.au/espinay/index.htm