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Originally Posted by Scarlet  We recently acquired a female who had been previously bred. Her last litter was a year ago. She is just turning five and has had 3 litters in the past. We do not intend to breed her, and I wanted to know if there is any down side to spaying an older dog. The vet tested her clotting factor and has no concerns about von wil. Are there hormone related issues or cancer risks like with humans? |
Yes, she definitely should be spayed. Intact females are at risk for pyometra, a uterine infection which can be fatal.
If it were me, I'd go ahead and do the Vetgen test for vWD. It's a dna test, and the only definitive test for vWD. The test your vet did was almost certainly the ELISA blood test, and it has a high error rate, there also is an overlap between categories with this test.
I'd do bloodwork, just to make sure liver and kidney function were good.
Immediately prior to the spay (or any surgery) I'd have the vet do a BMBT clotting test-this checks on how quickly the blood clots on that particular day. This is because vWD isn't the only disorder that can cause clotting issues in dogs.