Is Spaying Necessary to Prevent Pyometra?

I’ve been seeing a lot of fuss made among ‘natural’ dog health advocates over a recent study on dogs with Pyometra, a sometimes-fatal inflammatory condition of the uterus.  It showed that dogs already ‘infected’ with Pyometra survived at a very high rate when ovary-sparing procedures were used to sterilize them.  This is supposed to be very good news according to ‘holistic’ vets like Dr. Odette Suter and Dr. Judy Morgan.  And I guess it IS.  I mean, if you’re going to be yanking organs out of dogs, the fewer organs that are removed, the better. 

The usual questions

But my question is … why aren’t these ‘holistic’ vets looking at the CAUSES of Pyometra?   

Actually, they would claim they ARE, because they’re all convinced that Pyometra is caused by a dog retaining her uterus. 

Is that true?

In a word, no. This bizarre thinking seems only to apply to this disease. Nobody is claiming that breast cancer is caused by having breasts.  Or anal sac cancer is caused by having anal sacs.  Why not?  Why don’t we ‘preventatively’ remove these as well?  Body parts that aren’t there can’t become diseased!  And, after all, dogs can manage without breasts or anal glands, just as they can without uteruses. 

What about wolves and other wild dogs?

The truth is, this ‘theory’ about Pyometra is absolute nonsense.  There can be no validity to this idea as long as there are any wild dogs left in the world.  If the mere state of intactness caused Pyometra (aided by ‘invading bacteria’, according to the prevailing theory), this disease would be rampant among wild dogs.  Nobody’s removing their organs prophylactically or for any other reason.  And they live in dirt, literally.   

Intact, wild dogs that don’t mate don’t automatically become diseased

The most common excuse cited to explain why Pyometra is never seen among wild wolves is that wild wolves BREED.  They use their uteruses.  But it turns out this is not true either.  Only the alpha pair of a pack will mate.  The subordinate females in the pack only mate 2% of the time.  That leaves a lot of female dogs surviving the dangerous condition of uterus retention.  

Objectivity is needed, once again

If we’re going to examine the problem of Pyometra objectively, we have to look beyond the typically inane causal platitudes coming from the sick pet industry.

According to Vetmed’s website, Pyometra most often occurs in dogs that are aged 6-10.  Not coincidentally, this is the age when other chronic diseases usually begin to set in as well. 

Toxemia

There’s a reason for that, and it accounts for why disease begins to show up in middle-aged humans, too.  It’s called toxemia or toxicosis.  It is simply the body in an internally polluted state.  This condition is mostly caused by DIET.  It begins in infancy and builds through childhood.  It causes all puppy and childhood diseases.  Yes, ALL.  And when nothing is done about it, it comes home to roost in early to late middle age when organs gradually begin to fail.  This is what we call “chronic” or “degenerative” disease. 

Organs that have been assaulted daily with uneliminated wastes eventually fail because they cannot do otherwise.  The tissues in these organs become indurated and scarred in order to protect themselves.  Before that happens, however, the body attempts to ameliorate the situation with inflammation.  Inflammation brings heat and fluids to an area where wastes are deposited.  Fluids suspend and dilute the wastes and heat brings energy to speed up their elimination.  These are all conscious protective devices used by the body when that’s all it can do.  It’s like the callouses on your hand when you work without gloves.  Your body can’t make you stop working or put on gloves, so it does the only thing it can do.  It gives up FUNCTION (sensitivity) in exchange for TOLERANCE.  There’s always a COST for tolerance, and in the case of vital and non-vital organs, the cost is decreased functionality. 

Nothing but the accumulation of harmful wastes in the body causes the inflammatory condition called Pyometra. 

Predisposition is not destiny

Part of Pyometra causation is said to be genetic, but genes are never a cause of disease.  Genes only partially control WHERE in the body disease will form.  Some misfed dogs will get Pyo and others will get heart or kidney disease.  The inflammation that accompanies toxemia is as likely to occur in the uterus as any other body part.  In dogs predisposed to Pyo, that’s where it will occur.  In dogs who don’t have uteruses or are not predisposed to Pyo, inflammation will occur elsewhere.  The cause is the same regardless of the location of the inflammation.  The point is, inflammation need never occur at all, and it’s COMPLETELY within our power to avoid it.

Neither genes nor intactness cause Pyometra.  It is caused by Toxemia.  Wild wolves living their natural lives far from civilization never contract Pyometra because their bodies are never in a state of toxemia.  They have lots of other death-dealing threats to deal with in life, but this particular condition is unknown in them. 

Pyometra IS sometimes seen in CAPTIVE wolves, which is  not surprising.  These wolves, just like domestic dogs, will have been fed foods that are highly inferior to what they would eat in the wild.  That’s why they get it and their wild counterparts do not. 

Knowledge is freedom

My dog is intact, and she will stay that way.  I have no fear of Pyometra or any other disease because I understand what really causes it and how to prevent it.  Preventing disease is not a special skill, it just takes a mind that is willing to accept that disease isn’t what we’ve been taught it is.  It’s not an invading monster that attacks, it’s a process that slowly builds within the body.  It’s either the body’s attempt to eliminate waste or its efforts to compensate for, or protect itself from, harmful influences it cannot stop.  Its causes are 100% within our control.  Anything we can CAUSE we can choose NOT to cause.

From the time I first learned this information 22 years ago, I’ve been attempting to teach it to others.  This knowledge has given me an independence that few others enjoy.  I want to teach it to you, because no vet is teaching people how to keep their animals out of the vet’s office.  Quite the opposite.  Their “preventative” drugs and procedures just cause domino-like effects downstream in the body that require future intervention.  It’s a perfect recipe for business success, but an utter disaster where the health of dogs is concerned. 

Overpopulation

The people who zealously recommend spaying for every dog are often motivated by the heartbreaking overpopulation situation, and I don’t blame them. It goes without saying that if you can’t be absolutely sure your dog is not going to indiscriminately reproduce, sterilization in some form is legitimately obligatory. It’s just that there are responsible dog owners like myself who can know with certainty that sterilization isn’t necessary to keep their dogs from procreating. For us, spaying is an option, not an obligation.

A choice

You can avoid Pyometra by having your dog’s perfectly healthy uterus removed.  But unless you endeavor to not CAUSE disease, all you’ve really done is ensure that it will form in some other area of her body.    

OR, you can feed your dog properly, avoid the harmful ‘preventative’ products and procedures recommended by vets, and have no fear of Pyometra.