How To Tell A Desexed Bitch

[Heidii]

Can someone tell me if there is a way to check if a bitch has been desexed? There is no tattoo in the ear, no belly scares but the bitch is 4 months past its date for a season.

[Swizzlestick]

I'm confused. Have you had her long? How do you know when she is due in?

[Heidii]

about 6 months. The breeder advised when she is due. She has been around other dogs in season etc but hasn't come in, so we are wondering

[tdierikx]

Might be a question for the breeder?

T.

[Gayle.]

Texture of the coat, if it's a coated breed? I know with my breed the coat changes texture (gets fluffier or fuzzier) and there's more of it because they don't do the seasonal coat drop.

But in all honesty, I've got an entire bitch and a desexed bitch and you'd be pretty hard pressed to tell which was which. Th entire bitch has loads of coat at the moment because it's just all grown back after her being in season, the neutered bitch just has loads of coat all the time.

[Heidii]

hmm yeh well thought it was a bit hard....will speak to breeder and just keep waiting

[MissMaddy]

With the GSDs I've found they get an almost woolly coat when desexed. Being months past a season is not uncommon after rehoming though. I know of bitches who have gone from being 4 monthly to having a 12 month break, purely from change of environment.

[wuffles]

Texture of the coat, if it's a coated breed? I know with my breed the coat changes texture (gets fluffier or fuzzier) and there's more of it because they don't do the seasonal coat drop.

But in all honesty, I've got an entire bitch and a desexed bitch and you'd be pretty hard pressed to tell which was which. Th entire bitch has loads of coat at the moment because it's just all grown back after her being in season, the neutered bitch just has loads of coat all the time.

I've seen this on some dogs but Ava's coat hasn't changed since desexing... she doesn't have much of it and it's not fluffy at all

[sandgrubber]

You might ask this on a rescue forum. I think you'll get the answer that it's damn hard to tell. It's pretty common for rescues to cut the girl open for desexing only to find that it's already been done.

[Swizzlestick]

Surely the breeder knows if one of her/his own bitches is speyed. Or has she been in another home since living with the breeder?

[Greytmate]

You can use ultrasound. There is no way of knowing by looking at the outside of the dog unless it has a tattoo.

[Staranais]

Shave the belly from the belly button down & if you look really closely you can sometimes see an old desexing scar if they've been spayed in the last few years (see a scar there, you know she's had some sort of recent abdominal surgery, probably a spay. But not seeing a scar means nothing).

Ultrasound can be used too, although you need a good ultrasonographer to be sure (& even then they might not be 100% confident calling her desexed).

If you don't have the dog's vet records, then opening them up again is sometimes the only way to be 100% sure.

Edited September 26, 2011 by Staranais

[efowler]

You might ask this on a rescue forum. I think you'll get the answer that it's damn hard to tell. It's pretty common for rescues to cut the girl open for desexing only to find that it's already been done.

Yep we have had to open up many rescue dog n cats only to find out it's been done, very frustrating! It would b great if tattooing when desexing was common practice.

[JulesP]

What about a blood test? Most vets take out the ovaries as well when they desex, therefore I would have thought that hormone levels would be different.

[Greytmate]

Shave the belly from the belly button down & if you look really closely you can sometimes see an old desexing scar if they've been spayed in the last few years (see a scar there, you know she's had some sort of recent abdominal surgery, probably a spay. But not seeing a scar means nothing).

You can't tell the difference between a spay scar and a Caesar scar.

The only way to tell is tattoo, ultrasound, or cut open the dog.

[Staranais]

What about a blood test? Most vets take out the ovaries as well when they desex, therefore I would have thought that hormone levels would be different.

Is a good idea but I don't think that would work except possibly during proestrus/estrus/diestrus (which is only 4 or 5 months of the year), since the ovaries are quiescent between heats? And then, you can usually tell that the dog is entire anyway by the way she is acting.

Could be wrong though, I don't know for sure.

Edited September 26, 2011 by Staranais

[pikespooches]

We have one vet that says he hates opening them up to check as he looks around that long trying to locate what is not there in case it is hidden. He has advised that leave the girl be and wait. Not easy as in rescue you need to rehome them but cannot if they are not definitely speyed. We have access to another vet with ultrasound but apparently there is no definites this way as well. Darned annoying and more regular tatooing would help a lot. But then many tatoos fade and are not visible after a year or two anyway.

[Heidley]

I would wait a bit longer, 4 months past when she was due in isn't that long given she has changed her environment. I'd give her at least another few months before being concerned, and being around other dogs or bitches doesn't necessarily make them come into season either.

EFS

Edited September 27, 2011 by Heidley

[AmandaJ]

I'd keep waiting. My 3 1/2 yo bitch is a 12 monther.