My 5 year old bitch is expecting her second and final litter next week. X-ray showed 2 pups and my vet has suggested we monitor progesterone and plan a c-section and spay at the same time. I've never had a planned section but given the circumstances and knowing I won't breed her again I am in agreement about the c-section but I'm not convinced about the spay. Seems there have been posts about this in the past but I'm just curious about readers' experiences with a planned (not emergency) section and spay at the same time. I'd rather cut once if possible but this girl will live out her retirement years on my couch and I only want what is in her best interest.

Can those with experience share it please?
TIA!
Jan

Do the c-Section now, the spay later. Definitely not both at the same time unless the life of the bitch is in jeopardy.

It is way too risky. The blood vessels are bigger and the risk of internal bleeding is huge. It is better to spay her later.

I have wanted to ask the same question the last 2 months , only to know if the outcome's were as heartbreaking as mine. I also had a 5 year old female,due to whelp her last litter who was my special girl and would have been spayed after these pups were born on September 15,2012. I intended to have her spayed 3 months after the pups were born. She was healthy, not overweight, an awesome mom and had free whelped her last 2 litters.This time she required a c-section because she had inertia after the 1st pup was born. X ray's showed 8 pups so we knew this would be impossible for her. My vet asked me 3 times about doing a spay during the c-section. I kept saying, no we have time to do it before her next heat cycle. She gave me her reasons , one being why cut her again and she will spring back easier because she is in such good shape. My husband was in the surgery room with me tending to the 10 new pups and when she asked a fourth time. He questioned me about putting our girl through another surgery. I then reluctantly agreed to spay while she was open from the c-section. Ten pups are a lot to get going after a c-section but I noticed there was a lot of bleeding from my girl. I questioned the amount and my vet it was no problem. She finished the surgery, my girl woke up nuzzled her babies, started to nurse and we were off to get her home. My husband carried her to the car and carried her into the kennel and placed her carefully in the whelping box with her babies. Two hours later she jumped up and left her pups. I ran to her, checked her gums, they were pure white. I knew then she was bleeding out. We rushed her back in and another vet worked on her for 20 minutes trying to get her blood pressure up and her heart beating again. Once he opened her there was a huge blood clot caused by internal bleeding that must have been going on since the other vet closed her. He also charted and discussed with us that there were no ligatures or ligature marks on one of the pinnacles. She died leaving 10 beautiful puppies. We were heartbroken and so angry. Why did she push me into this spay? Thanks to several good breeder friends, I tubed the pups until a surrogate mother arrived from 8 hrs away. They all made it and went to wonderful families. So Never do a spay after a C-section unless it is life and death and a breeder vet would never suggest otherwise. I miss my girl terribly and I hope this helps you make an informed decision.

I spayed my girl several months after a litter, and had her home recovering. I stayed up all night with her, then finally decided to get some rest. When I woke up and checked on her, she "looked funny", when she stood up there was a large puddle of blood underneath her. I rushed her to the vet, and one of the ovarian artery pedicle sutures had come loose. She lost a lot of blood, and her recovery was dicey, but she made it.

I guess my point is, no matter when they have surgery of any kind the risk is high for complications. I am not sure that I would take the risk of spay surgery at the same time as a spay, but bad outcomes can happen at any time.

I am so sorry that your girl died after her c section/spay surgery, that must have been devastating for you, your vet should have stopped pushing after the 1st or 2nd time she asked you.

I had two emergency C-Sections. One had massive blood in the uterus when they did the C-Section and the horn fell apart and bled all over. The Vet didn't know the cause but her x rays showed a false pregnancy. I imagine this was because of the amout of blood in the uterus. She was spayed, no choice and she did just fine without any complications.
The next had always free whelped and this litter was an accident, I was going to have her spayed. She free whelped two and the third was dead. I felt inside and the next pup was sidways with no way for me to move him with the pressure. We rushed her in and they did a c section and spayed her. She didn't need to be spayed but the Vet thought it was a good idea. She came home and did just fine.
I had another female that I took in to spay and she was at a different Vets that had the new lazer that is supposed to make them heal faster. She acted strange at home and finally lay down with me to sleep. When I woke up she was dead. It was heartbreaking.
I am like all of you, scared to death to hurt my babies and I don't know if it's good or not to spay. The first vet I went to has worked with my dogs for a long time and I have heard from the Vet Techs that she has never lost a female in a spay or whelp so our loss could have been from the other Vet or new procedure. We had an autopsy done but the attending Vet said her artery burst going to her heart from the blood gasses that hadn't dissipated. Two other Vets have said that it was impossible to have happened that way. The first Vet that did my two spays with good results has a dog on hand for blood transfusions. You should maybe check to see if they have that before you use a vet. Some seem to think ahead of the others.

I would never spay after a c-section unless her life was in danger. It is far too risky.

She could also have a problem producing milk after a spay. I can't think of a good reason to do both at the same time.

the uterus is very vascular and large when a bitch is pregnant. about three months later the uterus is the size of your little finger. a bitch who has undergone a c-section is exhausted, has lost blood, has rapidly changing hormone levels that aren't the same as a nonpregnant bitch and was probably already anemic related to the pregnancy. three or four months later her body is in better condition to tolerate another surgery. she is no longer anemic. hormonally she is normal.

a c-section plus spay means the bitch spends longer under anesthesia at the time of the c-section. not good.

the doctor who does the c-section plus spay is also more stressed and tired by the time he/she gets to the spay suturing.

i just don't see anything to recommend c-section spay combination except that it is less expensive.

Thanks all. To those who have experienced the horrific losses that we all fear, I am truly sorry. I plan to sit down with my vet on Friday and discuss this further.
Jan