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Is spaying safe for my senior dog with a heart condition?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Pomeranian | Female | spayed | 11 years and 7 months old | 20.9 lbs

My dog is almost 12 years old. Is it safe to remove her uterus at this age who is also weak at heart? What are the risks?

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on January 6th, 2019

Only her vet can determine if it's safe to spay Lucky or not. There are senior dogs that can have surgery safely, but heart problems add an additional risk. Speak to her vet about the risks. I hope this helps.

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    Answered By Maria DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on July 5th, 2018

    Unfortunately, without knowing the case it is hard to say the likelihood. Surgery and anesthesia have risks. These risks rarely happen but they do happen. It is usually cause by some health problem of the animal that is either not showing up on blood work or physical. The benefit from spaying an animal is worth taking the risk. If the animal has known health problems then it depends on what they are, how severe they are and how debilitated the pet is to determine if the risk is worth it. That is something to be discussed with the veterinarian working on the case. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

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