[LittleGemma]

Gemma's weight is 2.6lbs. She's almost 5.5 months old now. She's only gained 0.1 lbs since her last weigh-in a month ago. I think I may have weighed her incorrectly when I was there last time and added pressure to the scale by holding her in place. I weighed her about five times this time and had her sit by herself on the scale and the weight read 2.6lbs consistently. I guess she's smaller than I thought.

As for spaying in Sweden... we asked our local vet's about cost and whether they will do it before the first heat or not. The price is over $1000 and they will not spay before the first heat. Spays are also NOT recommended unless there is a medical reason that makes it necessary for your dog to be spayed, and that doesn't include just to prevent stuff like pyometra and mammary cancer. I am so disappointed in Sweden. I had a bad feeling that this was going to be the answer we would receive due to the research I have done online. So it looks like my only option for spaying Gemma is going to be to fly home during Christmas and have her spayed in the U.S. Hopefully she is not in heat then, or I'll be screwed. I don't want to have her spayed here because they do not seem to be very experienced with spaying and won't even spay before the first heat. They say there are too many potential complications with spaying that it's not recommended at all unless it's medically needed. What the hell? I'm feeling so angry and stressed now. Don't know what to do.

 

[heathuhhhhwebbbb]

Whoa thats a large price to spay your little girl. In Texas it only costs around $100 I think and sometimes they have "Spay and Neuter Your Pet Day" where it only costs $35!

 

[svdreamer]

Do they have an overpopulation of dogs there then? Or do they just neuter the males?

 

[heathuhhhhwebbbb]

I think its just a thing they do to prevent the overpopulation of pets, cats and dogs. Its sad how many animals are discarded here, or get lost. There are lost pet signs almost everywhere.

 

[flippedstars]

They are honestly right though, spaying before a 1st heat or neutering before 10 months in males is actually more detrimental than beneficial. It's done out of convenience and due to a widely irresponsible pet owner population, NOT because it is best for the cat or dog, to have it done early. Letting her have a heat cycle will actually reduce her risk of patellar luxation, allow her head to mature, and actually keep her on the shorter side. Aesthetically, dogs left intact just a little bit longer (until about a year of age), are more pleasing.

 

[20887]

That is annoying... I could understand if they have different views about spaying before the first heat, but to not spay animals at all? I think you are right to just wait and bring her home with you- if the vets are fairly inexperienced with spaying/neutering, I wouldn't want them performing a surgery on my dogs!

 

[LittleGemma]

I knew it was going to be expensive here. Gemma herself cost $1500 and she doesn't even have papers. That's standard for a non-pedigree female Chihuahua here. Pedigree female Chihuahuas are over $2000.

I was leaning towards waiting until after the first heat anyways due to what I've researched about allowing them to reach maturity and develop properly, but I was disappointed in the fact that they don't even recommend spaying at all. That does not make me comfortable with having her spayed here because it sounds like they don't have a lot of experience unless it's for an emergency sort of reason. They made it out to be like it's not a standard procedure that every owner without intent to breed should have done. How am I supposed to feel comfortable having my little girl go under the knife here when they tell me they'd rather not spay because there's "so many" risks with spaying as opposed to just leaving them alone?

I hope that Gemma has her first heat before I go home during the holidays. She will be about 9 months by then. If she has it while we're there, I'm going to be soooo screwed. I don't want to spay her here unless I can find a vet that actually recommends spaying. I'm not trusting a vet that says the risks of spaying outweigh the risks of leaving a dog unspayed.

 

[LittleGemma]

It's the fact that they aren't capable of spaying before the first heat makes me uncomfortable even though I don't really want it done before the first heat. I know a lot of the girls here prefer it, but since the risk of developing any sort of cancer is still so low even after one heat, I'd rather let her mature first before having it done. I just feel that a vet should be capable of performing a spay under any circumstances. Then I would feel comfortable with having them spay my baby at all. It's the overall lack of experience here that makes me really upset.

 

[Jayda]

That is outrageously expensive. In the USA, good pet parenting means spay/neuter. There it seems to be the opposite. If you did it in the US, would you have to quarantine her coming back into Sweden? I had a friend who just moved to Australia and had to quarantine her cat

 

[LittleGemma]

That is outrageously expensive. In the USA, good pet parenting means spay/neuter. There it seems to be the opposite. If you did it in the US, would you have to quarantine her coming back into Sweden? I had a friend who just moved to Australia and had to quarantine her cat

It seems like Sweden doesn't view spaying/neutering in the same way as the U.S. I don't know what kind of regulations we would have to follow with having her spayed in the U.S. It's something I'm going to have to look into. I thought quarantining was just for unvaccinated animals, like puppies too young to receive their rabies shots.

 

[Jayda]

They are honestly right though, spaying before a 1st heat or neutering before 10 months in males is actually more detrimental than beneficial. It's done out of convenience and due to a widely irresponsible pet owner population, NOT because it is best for the cat or dog, to have it done early. Letting her have a heat cycle will actually reduce her risk of patellar luxation, allow her head to mature, and actually keep her on the shorter side. Aesthetically, dogs left intact just a little bit longer (until about a year of age), are more pleasing.

Interesting, I did not know this. Lady was spayed at 3 years because she had a couple litters. Must be why she is so cute (hahahaha, I am a biased pet parent)

 

[Jennin24]

They are honestly right though, spaying before a 1st heat or neutering before 10 months in males is actually more detrimental than beneficial. It's done out of convenience and due to a widely irresponsible pet owner population, NOT because it is best for the cat or dog, to have it done early. Letting her have a heat cycle will actually reduce her risk of patellar luxation, allow her head to mature, and actually keep her on the shorter side. Aesthetically, dogs left intact just a little bit longer (until about a year of age), are more pleasing.[/QUOT


I didn't know this either. Definitely something to consider.

Caitlin, I hope you are able to easily bring little Gemma with you over the holidays and have her spayed. That price seems so high and I would also have a hard time trusting vets that don't recommend spaying. Out here they push it so much and we still have such an overpopulation of unwanted dogs that I can't imagine what it would be like to be somewhere where they don't recommend spay/neuters. Do you guys have an issue out there with too many unwanted pets?

As far as weighing goes, I ended up buying a digital kitchen food scale when Khorra's weighing at the vet didn't seem right. I had asked the vet about it and he said that there are a lot of reasons why the weight would be off on the scale so I didn't trust it. The kitchen scale may not be extremely accurate, but at least it should always be consistent. Maybe something to consider for your own peace of mind? Maybe Gemma's last weigh in was off?

 

[LittleGemma]

They are honestly right though, spaying before a 1st heat or neutering before 10 months in males is actually more detrimental than beneficial. It's done out of convenience and due to a widely irresponsible pet owner population, NOT because it is best for the cat or dog, to have it done early. Letting her have a heat cycle will actually reduce her risk of patellar luxation, allow her head to mature, and actually keep her on the shorter side. Aesthetically, dogs left intact just a little bit longer (until about a year of age), are more pleasing.[/QUOT


I didn't know this either. Definitely something to consider.

Caitlin, I hope you are able to easily bring little Gemma with you over the holidays and have her spayed. That price seems so high and I would also have a hard time trusting vets that don't recommend spaying. Out here they push it so much and we still have such an overpopulation of unwanted dogs that I can't imagine what it would be like to be somewhere where they don't recommend spay/neuters. Do you guys have an issue out there with too many unwanted pets?

As far as weighing goes, I ended up buying a digital kitchen food scale when Khorra's weighing at the vet didn't seem right. I had asked the vet about it and he said that there are a lot of reasons why the weight would be off on the scale so I didn't trust it. The kitchen scale may not be extremely accurate, but at least it should always be consistent. Maybe something to consider for your own peace of mind? Maybe Gemma's last weigh in was off?

I hope I can get her spayed this winter in the U.S. as well. At this point, I do not trust Sweden to spay her. I would have to find a vet with loads of experience that performs spays daily and actually recommends them, and that doesn't seem to be the standard here. I'm just hoping she finishes her first heat before we go to the U.S. so I don't have to worry about her going into heat while we're there. Please don't be a late bloomer, Gemma! Lol.

I actually would really like a kitchen scale for cooking and baking. Adapting to the metric system has been really tough on me, and all ingredients for recipes are measured in grams! It basically requires you to have a kitchen scale. I've been working my way around it so far, but I'd really love to have a scale to make my life easier. It would be great for keeping up with Gemma's weight progress as well.

 

[teetee]

Caitlin, how long will you be home for Christmas? The vets usually recommend no stressful or strenuous activity for 2 weeks at minimum. Wouldn't the flight back to sweden be kinda stressful for her? Can you stay at least a month for Christmas?This is such a crappy situation, sorry you and Gemma have to even deal with it. I was going to suggest checking into Norway's rules on spaying and you could possibly take her there, but Falun appears to be smack dab in the middle of the country so that would be a rough commute for her as well. :/

 

[Wicked Pixie]

I am in the same camp as Flippedstars when it comes to routine neutering.
HOWEVER Gemma is your dog, if you want her spayed early then you can ask the vet to do it. You are paying the bill, you get to decide what does/doesn't happen to her.
Having her spayed in the US does seem like a good idea though, not because it is cheaper but because the vets there are more experienced at this particular surgery.
Small breed bitches tend to come into season for the first time a little later than larger breeds, Bambi was 11 months.

 

[Huly]

I would call other Vets in Sweden or even animal shelters if they have one and just get other people's oppinion too. It could be just the one guy or it could be the country in general but if you do not see an overpopulation of stray there has to be something being done.

 

[LittleGemma]

Caitlin, how long will you be home for Christmas? The vets usually recommend no stressful or strenuous activity for 2 weeks at minimum. Wouldn't the flight back to sweden be kinda stressful for her? Can you stay at least a month for Christmas?This is such a crappy situation, sorry you and Gemma have to even deal with it. I was going to suggest checking into Norway's rules on spaying and you could possibly take her there, but Falun appears to be smack dab in the middle of the country so that would be a rough commute for her as well. :/

I'm sure I'll be home for at least a month. I'm hoping to be able to come home and stay from Thanksgiving all the way through New Years. Yeah, Norway would be a pricey and lengthy commute. I may as well just have it done in the U.S. I just hope the timing works out so that I can.

I am in the same camp as Flippedstars when it comes to routine neutering.
HOWEVER Gemma is your dog, if you want her spayed early then you can ask the vet to do it. You are paying the bill, you get to decide what does/doesn't happen to her.
Having her spayed in the US does seem like a good idea though, not because it is cheaper but because the vets there are more experienced at this particular surgery.
Small breed bitches tend to come into season for the first time a little later than larger breeds, Bambi was 11 months.

I would prefer to have her spayed after her first heat. I just don't like the fact that the vets here don't even perform spays at all before the first heat. It just makes me feel like they lack experience. Hm, I read that smaller breed dogs usually come into heat earlier than larger breeds. I'm hoping she comes into heat and finishes no later than early November so that I can have her spayed while I'm in the U.S. during the holidays and allow her enough time to recover before returning home.

 

[LittleGemma]

I would call other Vets in Sweden or even animal shelters if they have one and just get other people's oppinion too. It could be just the one guy or it could be the country in general but if you do not see an overpopulation of stray there has to be something being done.

I have looked up other vets online and they've had the same policy. I am going to continue to look, however. Sweden doesn't really have a major issue with strays. I think the fact that all dogs being so expensive to buy eliminates a lot of irresponsible owners getting their hands on puppies. Even Chi mixes start at $800.

 

[Huly]

I have looked up other vets online and they've had the same policy. I am going to continue to look, however. Sweden doesn't really have a major issue with strays. I think the fact that all dogs being so expensive to buy eliminates a lot of irresponsible owners getting their hands on puppies. Even Chi mixes start at $800.

Gotcha

Now I hate to be the bearer of bad news but now you need to look at is the quarintine laws. Each country is different and it is for ALL animals not just puppies

 

[pupluv168]

I agree that it may be better to get it done in the US. Not just because of the price, although that is an important consideration. It seems as though the Swedish vets view s/n as an emergency procedure and treat it as such. They probably don't have as much experience as US vets and they definitely seem to make it more of a big deal than it needs to be.