Is vet being too cautious

[Penny Less]

Mrs Spaniel needs to have her teeth scaled and possibly will lose the rest of them . Vet doesnt want to do anything because she is in week 3 of her season.
Ive been trying to get dog spayed as well but vet been very insistent that we must do it halfway between seasons because of bleeding risk, same reason given for postponing dentistry. Is she being over picky or is this a well known thing.

 

[Sandstone1]

There are usually 2 spay windows. First 3 to 4 weeks post season. The other 12 weeks post season. This is because if bitch is spayed at the wrong time there is a higher risk of bleeding during the op.
Vets won't normally do a dental and spay at the same time due to a high risk of infections from the dental.
If your vet does key hole spay its much quicker recovery but it's more expensive.

 

[twiggy2]

I would be reluctant to have anything other than emergency work done during a season, I like everything to be as normal including exercise as I feel the chance of pyometra may be increased by change and stress.
A dental is classed as dirty surgery due to the amount of bacteria thrown up by the scaling machine, these are present on the air and increase the risk of wound infection. So spay and dental are not things I would be doing at the same time either.
Unless the dental is urgent I would wait till a couple of weeks after her season has finished then book spay from there.
A spay can be done during a season but as mentioned the increased blood flow makes a bleed (slightly) more likely and as it is generally routine surgery it's best to keep things as safe as possible.

 

[Aru]

This is a well-known thing.
I straight up refuse to spey in season dogs as an elective procedure....but I'm very risk-averse and like to sleep well at night.

It's a more risky surgery when they are in season as the blood supply is increased and the tissues are friable and prone to tearing so there's a higher risk of complications during and even after surgery.....what that means surgery wise-is a longer procedure, generally larger incisions and the potential for more complications. Basically it's zero fun to clamp down on an important blood vessel and have the entire section shear away and vanish into the abdomen before ligatures have been applied because the tissues are friable....and when in heat the blood supply is also increased so it's bleeding more than normal....most of the time it's still a salvageable situation but its not ideal and if those situations can be avoided they should be.
It also can cause some issues with hormonal imbalance in some dogs post-surgery but those are relatively rare.
In elective surgery, I don't like to add in extra risk if it can be avoided so I don't do them. That said I do know plenty of vets who are happy to do them and its not uncommon in rescue situations.

I also would not be keen to do a multiple extraction dental at the same time as an older dog bitch spey for a few reasons. Partly because of the length of time it's going to involve under G.a. Two short g.as are safer than long one. A multiple extraction dental done with surgical extractions can take a very long time on its own. Similarly, a mature bitch spey in season can turn into a long surgery. Combining the two isn't ideal.
That and the dental is considered a dirty surgery which ideally shouldn't be done at the same time as a "clean" abdominal surgery as your raising your infection risk..
The bleeding risk is there as well but it depends on which teeth are coming out and in my head is a lower concern.

Basically, Id agree with your vet on both fronts but I am picky lol

 

[Penny Less]

Thanks all, she would not be having her teeth and spay done together. I understood the delaying the spaying as its a major surgery but wondered about the teeth. We are postponing teeth for an other fortnight at least .