My husband and I are trying to decide when we should have our lab puppy spayed. We live in the US. Our vet said any time after she turns 6 months old. Our breeder recommended between 7-8 months. We do not want to wait until after her first heat cycle for numerous reasons, so is there any reason to wait an extra month or two, or is it OK to do at 6 months old?
Hi , if you want to get your girl spayed before she has a season , then six months is a safe time , as she could theoretically come into season any time after six months of age . It is far more common to have a first season a bit later than six months , but best to play safe as it isn't rare either !
Try to google up on the risks and cons of spay and neuter. There are many reasons to wait but delaying till joints have closed might be the biggest reason. That means allowing puberty to progress and yes, she might have a season. It seeems for every good reason to spay, early (before puberty) there is a reason not to. One cancer risk will diminish, another one will increase. And that's just the health aspect.
Hi, I've just been reading about spaying pros and cons because Libby is booked in for mid May and we're trying to decide whether to delay it or go ahead. It will be exactly 3 months after her first season and she will be one year old. Removing pros and cons which balance each other out, as @Snowshoe mentions, I've narrowed it down to one main con...unnatural leg bone growth which can lead to hip problems. My Q. Is a bitch of one year past this risk or still too young? Are her joints developed enough now? Puppies of 6 months are right in the danger zone for this so would wait @Joanna L. Clear advantages are: removing risk of pyrometria and, for us, no puppies!
I had Willow done at 6.5 months and wish I had waited. I have no evidence that her difficulties are at all related to her spay, but I also have no evidence to the contrary. At least if I had waited, I'd know that it was unrelated. Also, anecdotally, she is far leggier than the other girls in her litter, who were spayed later. That can't be good for joints. I don't think the risk of pyometra should really be a concern at such a young age. Yes, some young bitches get it, but it's rare. I've read there's something like a 25% chance of an unspayed bitch developing pyo, but that's over her whole life and, if you're going to have her spayed anyway, I don't think it's something that needs to be a deciding factor of whether you spay before or after the first season. If you are not going to breed from your bitch, there is a clear benefit in terms of mammary cancer of spaying before the second season. Again, it's something like 26% of bitches who go through two seasons have a chance of developing mammary cancer, compared with 8% who are spayed after their second season, and 0.5% spayed before their first season (https://www.acvs.org/small-animal/mammary-tumors). But, mammary cancer isn't the whole picture, of course. Luna is definitely going to have at least one season. After that, I'm undecided. It's eminently possible to have an entire bitch and not end up with puppies. I manage it with myself quite happily, so I'm sure I can manage it with a dog, too
Annie had Laparoscopic spay surgery at just over 6 months. She was great, you would not of know she had anything done. We had not problems at all. She is a happy well balanced dog. She is the only female dog I have had, usually I have male dogs and leave them entire. Go with what you feel is right for her.
Harley is booked for her spay next week Wednesday. She turned 29 weeks today so she will just short of 7 months when she is spayed. It worked out well with me being able to take time off work and public holidays etc so I have a decent period of time to spend with her after the spay.
You'd be surprised As for the doggy variety, I've not had the joy of male dogs pestering yet; if I stay in Spain with Luna when she's in season, it will be interesting to see if we end up with local dogs coming for a visit. We had a bitch camp out outside our gate last autumn, desperate to get to Shadow
We spayed at 6 months, as this is the common practice here. Our main consideration was if we would need a dog walker/daycare, majority require spaying/neutering prior to 7-8 months and we did not want to be in a bind with no dog care options. I felt she was a bit young, but felt as a first time owner that I wanted the piece of mind of having her spayed. Quinn is now closing in on 17 months and we have not had any problems and temperament the same as always.
We spayed at 6 months as is the practice in NZ. She's now 12 months and not leggy but she is petite wee thing. We had a family wedding to travel out of town for at 8.5 months and just couldn't risk her coming into season then. I don't regret our decision, we did what we had to do under not ideal circumstances (OH's blooming sister getting married on a different island, essentially a destination wedding, on New Year's Eve no less), but I probably would have waited at least another few months, perhaps even after her season IF we hadn't had this wedding to deal with.
