Tag Archives: spay

World Spay Day 2022: What You Need to Know

Snake with eggs x-ray

February 22 is World Spay Day. “Spay” is an interesting word, since it seems to have nothing to do with removing the ovaries and uterus of a female dog. According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, the word spay has a complicated linguistic heritage. Starting with the Latin spatha (a Roman cavalry officer’s sword), through Old French, Anglo-Norman

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Do I need to have my mini pig spayed? Or my bird? Or my rabbit?

Two mini pigs

Spaying, or ovariohysterectomy, is one of the most common surgical procedures performed in dogs and cats. On my April 6th SiriusXM Stars Channel 109 show, “Ask the Vet,” I was asked a question about spaying and I admit I could not readily come up with an answer. The question was: “Should I spay my mini

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Neutering: Not Just Doggie Birth Control

A dog being examined by veterinary professionals

Dexter, a new dachshund patient of mine, was in last week for another round of puppy shots. He will soon be six months old and it was time for me to discuss the next step in his preventive health care plan: neutering. Neutering meets the guidelines The American Veterinary Medical Association has developed guidelines for

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Neutering: Not Just Doggie Birth Control

Dexter, a new dachshund patient of mine, was in last week for another round of puppy shots. He will soon be six months old and it was time for me to discuss the next step in his preventive health care plan: neutering. Neutering meets the guidelines The American Veterinary Medical Association has developed guidelines for

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Demystifying General Anesthesia, Part I: Preanesthesia Protocols

Except for the dreaded cone, there is no medical procedure more feared by the families of my patients than general anesthesia. Their concern is well founded since there is always a risk of death, but the risk is very small – about 0.1%, meaning 1 in every 1000 procedures, result in an anesthetic death. This

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