I know there has been a recent thread on life after spaying but I would like to make an informed decision on when to get Red spayed. She is now 5 months. I asked at the Vets today when I got her weighed. The vet will spay before the first season or after it - so it will be down to us to make the decision. When our older dog Sky was spayed 10 years ago, it was after her first season (on the Vets advice) which I remember wasn't a big deal for her and she was fine after her op. Would like to seek views please?
I've never quite understood why to pick after the first or second heat (or third) when heats can come at different times. I don't think it's common in Labs but other breeds, and cats for sure, and our own children, can certainly become fertile long before they have finished growing. So I think with the next girl two years of age should make sure that long bone growth is complete. And maybe that would have meant only one heat, maybe two? Hopefully not three.
I think it's largely down to the protection against mammary cancer you get from spaying: https://www.acvs.org/small-animal/mammary-tumors Mammary tumors are more common in female dogs that are either not spayed or were spayed after 2 years of age. The risk of a dog developing a mammary tumor is 0.5% if spayed before their first heat (approximately 6 months of age), 8% after their first heat, and 26% after their second heat. So, the risk of mammary tumours occurring in a bitch spayed after the second heat cycle is the same as for an unspayed bitch - and is very high. The article goes on to say that only 50% of these will be malignant and they're rarely fatal, but it's still a consideration.
My understanding is that 3 months after a heat period the hormones are in a settled state and more importantly the uterus is less vascular than at other times, therefore post op complications, especially haemorrhage, are much reduced.
Yes, I know that. Both points above. But if the first heat happens to be at 9 months, it happens, and then you spay at 12 months I think the long bone growth factor is ignored. Or at least the growth period is shortened somewhat, if maturity in bone growth is usually at 18 months. I admit I haven't seen research on time of early spay. Even the term "early" is debated.
I have had both my dogs x-rayed around a year - in both cases, growth plates were closed at 1 year. Betsy was x-rayed yesterday, at 1 year 1 week and her growth plates are closed. Charlie was x-rayed at 8 months, and 1 year, and his growth plates were closed at a year. So, I'd say if one season plus 3 months happens over a year, you are probably fine as far as bone growth is concerned.
Two of our Guide Dog pups, Gypsy and Twiglet, were in a research programme for spaying, 500 dogs spayed at 6 months and 500 the normal time, three months after their first season. They will be followed life-long before the results are published. The actual operation was so easy - very little to take away with immature plumbing, they were back to normal in two days, no scar at all, no cone needed. BUT both remained immature, physically and temperamentally and had to spend much longer in training than usual. I suspect (but my sample is only two!) that the conclusion will go against the early spay. Tatze had hers three months after her first season and she is a mature dog physically, emotionally and mentally. I would go for the second option every time. .
For no convincing reason. Willow is very tall and leggy compared to her female litter mates who were spayed after their first or second seasons. That means she's probably more likely to have joint issues in later life. Would she have been that build anyway? Who knows. She doesn't build muscle anywhere near as easily as them, either. Again, anything to do with the earlier spay? I can't tell. And then, there's her fearfulness - is that due to messing with her hormones, or putting her through a stressful procedure at such a young age? Probably not to all of the above, but there's that niggling doubt that will never go away.
Thank you for your honesty snowbunny. We always look for reasons don't we, asking ourselves why and what if?
I find this such a tricky one. Storm is having her first season at almost 10 months and we plan to do it sometime before the next one. What is the 3 month thing all about? It makes sense to me to wait until she is fully grown but not for any other reason than gut feeling. When are they fully grown? Don't fancy another season, she has not been very clean.
The three month time is due to hormone changes . Vets like to wait a while after a season just in case the bitch has a phantom pregnancy , most risk of this has gone by two months after a season . Midway is when hormone levels are completely normal , so the best time to spay .
We just had Ariel spayed this past Monday...she's just over 6 months. I had many chats with our vet prior to her surgery and she had no preference to have it done now or after her first season. Due to the fact that all boarding kennels in town require spaying before the first heat, we were caught between a rock and a hard place as we need to use the kennels from time to time. That being said, everything went exceptionally well and Ariel's recovery has been really good so far. She hasn't shown any interest in her incision and the site is nice and clean and dry. The biggest difficulty is keeping her quiet. Lol. She's still shaping up to be a tiny lab as she still only weighs 33.5 pounds but the vet said she's perfectly proportioned and not to worry.
