Portrait for my dog Fluffy ~ (Dog mammary cancer awareness)

This is my dog ~ Fluffy~ She is a spoodle (proodleX cocker spaniel) ~ She is currently 11 years old. Spoodle is extremely friendly and very good with kids. However, because they are super friendly they are the worst guard dog ever!!! My dog practically welcome EVERYONE into our house! Every time a handy man come to our house to fix stuff, she got super excited and welcome them by jumping up and down.

She is such a joy and important member in our family.

This photo was taken after she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Yes ! Dog can have breast cancer (mammary cancer)! especially older female dogs that are not spayed. I want to spread the message to the community on how important it is to de-sex your dog at younger age. Spay your dog at younger age greatly reduce the chance of them getting mammary cancer after 10 years old! All the veterinary science journals proven this to be true. I was deeply regretted when I heard the news from the vet and blaming myself on not spaying her.

We had a bad experience on spaying our cat that after the surgery he didn't trust us anymore that he always hide away from us. His behavior totally changed after spaying. Therefore we decided not to spay Fluffy when we bought her.

When the dogs have mammary cancer, there are 50% chance that it is benign. Luckily, Fluffy got benign tumor and after the surgery she still ok ! But the surgery was an extensive procedure and she wasn't as active as before. (Maybe she just got old)

We still love her very much !

Risk factor of mammary cancer in dog from caninecancer.com

There are few cancers that are as easily prevented as mammary cancer in dogs.
The risk of breast cancer is almost eliminated in dogs that are spayed before their first heat. The risk of malignant mammary tumors in dogs spayed after their first heat increases significantly, but if an owner waits to spay their dog until after their second heat, the risk increases to 25%. It is believed that the elimination or reduction of certain hormonal factors causes the lowering of incidence of the disease in dogs that have been spayed. These factors are most likely estrogen, progesterone, a similar hormone or possibly a combination of two or more of these.

Pregnancy and lactation appear to have no influence on mammary cancer risk, however, evidence suggests that females bred extensively beginning at an early age have a slightly lower risk for mammary cancer.

Mammary tumors are most commonly found in un-spayed, middle-aged female dogs between the ages of 5 and 10 years. However, they can also be found in unspayed dogs as young as 2 years in rare instances. These tumors are extremely unusual in dogs that were spayed under 2 years of age. Occasionally, mammary tumors will develop in male dogs and these are usually very aggressive and have a poor prognosis.

Breeds at increased risk include: poodle, Brittany spaniel, English setter, pointer, fox terrier, Boston terrier, cocker spaniel.

Early spaying is still one of the best things pet owners can do to improve the health and ensure a long life for their dogs!! I wish people do not make the same mistake as me !!