Is My Spayed Female Dog in Heat?
“My female was spayed 4 days ago but my male dog keeps going after her. Is she in heat?” —Annie
So, while it was hard to believe, it wasnt all that hard to find. I sent the tissue off to the pathologist, thinking it must be a tumor or something, but it wasnt. “Ovary and uterus, filled with pus”. The good news is that Tinkerbell feels better than she has in a long time.
I must say that I had some misgivings. I had told Mom that I wasnt sure Id be able to find what we were looking for, even with the dog in heat. It could be so tiny. And it could be anywhere in there… I thought.
This is Tinkerbell. She was spayed at six months old, and at seven years old has had heat cycles every six months. And really, lately she hasnt been feeling all that great. Several years ago, I told her owner what it would take to look for the little tiny piece of ovary and she decided not to do it. Lately, though it had started to bother both Tinkerbell and her mom more and more, so she said, “Well do it the next time she comes in heat.”
Now, I have to tell you: when youre performing an ovario-hysterectomy on a dog, sometimes its pretty hard to pull the ovaries up out of the abdominal cavity. If youre not careful, you might cut things a little close and leave some ovary in there. When youve cut things off, you need to inspect what you removed and be sure the whole ovary is there (plus a little extra tissue, just to make you feel good about getting 100%).
That could be a tabloid headline, though I guess its pretty tame compared to “Elvis sighted in laundromat!” or “Politician actually admits lying!”. The point is that its weird — dogs who have been spayed have no uterus and no ovaries, so how could they still be having estrus cycles and coming “in heat”?
When a female dog is spayed do they still have periods?
If your female dog gets spayed, then she will no longer go into heat, or estrus. Without going into heat cycles twice each year, your dog won’t undergo all of the hormonal behaviors and physical changes that are part of it.
Can a spayed female dog still attract males?
When your pet is spayed, the entire reproductive tract (including both ovaries and the uterus) is surgically removed. Therefore, your spayed dog no longer has ovaries, produces estrogen, or goes into heat.