I've read so much contradictory information on when to spay/neuter your dog that I've gone nuts. For male dogs the answer seems more clear. It appears waiting to neuter until 1 year or more has definite benefits. But for females the answer is less clear. There seem to be an equal number of advocates on both sides of the fence. Traditionally, here in the US, dogs are spayed/neutered around 6 months old. But in recent years more people have been advocating waiting until 1-1.5 years old. There is a lot of controversy and it really seems to be a toss-up here for female dogs as to whether waiting is better. I have 5 month old so I need to make a decision soon. Get her fixed next month or wait until she's a year? With all the mixed information I can't decide. And besides the medical/health concerns there are other everyday implications. If I don't get her fixed at 6 months they will no longer accept her at doggy daycare ... which she LOVES so much. I hate to deprive her of that. What's the general practice n the UK?
Mostly it seems to be wait until after their first season. I left mine until she was physically and mentally mature . She may not have been neutered at all but her first season was hard on her so I did not want her to have to go through that again.i don't rely on day care so it was not a problem to leave her until she was more grown up mentally and physically.
There really is no "general practice" in the UK. There's generally less pressure on people to spay "because it's the responsible thing to do" (which is rubbish - managing your dog, male or female, so you don't have accidental pregnancies is the responsible thing to do) so there's more choice. Some vets do still push for neutering and spaying, but in general, it's not shoved down your throat as much as it appears to be from my impression of what happens over there. Personally, I decided to have my first bitch spayed before her first season for convenience, as I have an entire male. I found no conclusive evidence for or against. Since then, I have had a U-turn and think that it's better to let them have at least one season, and that spaying for convenience alone is ethically questionable. My younger bitch has had one season which we managed by giving my boy a chemical castration - something I hadn't planned either, but circumstances prevailed. She probably will be spayed because, even though it's logistically possible to separate the dogs as we have two properties, it is also impractical. I personally wouldn't take her enjoyment of daycare into account; if she has to miss it for a few months because you're doing what you think is the right thing in terms of her health, then that's what it is. She won't be permanently affected by missing a few months of daycare. She will be permanently affected* by a spay. So let the decision to spay or not dictate the daycare options, not the other way around. The other thing is, didn't you say you wanted to show her? You might like to look into the rules and regulations around showing a bitch who has been spayed. Some countries don't allow it. *I'm not suggesting the changes will be negative, before anyone jumps on me, but you can't argue the fact that it is a permanent change, even if it's just physical. There's no coming back from having your ovaries and/or uterus removed.
How was it hard on her? Our previous lab was spayed at 6 months so I have no idea what to expect when a dog's in heat.
Yeah, the AKC does not allow altered pets to show in conformation. But I was only thinking of doing it for fun, at the amateur level, since I have never shown a dog before and would be a total newbie. So that probably shouldn't weigh in on my decision anymore than daycare. I should just focus on health concerns. Now if the health benefits/risks were just more clear one way or the other...!
If only it could be that simple! I have Cassie, who is currently 21 months, (not my first bitch) and will be spayed in a few weeks time. She has had 2 seasons, the first at 11 months and the second at 17 months. Neither time was difficult for her or me, she was no trouble at all, it's just a pain not being able to take her out and about. There is a good article on the main site about what to expect of a bitch in season, they are all different, and it's worth a read. What was extremely difficult and very troublesome was the horrid phantom pregnancy she endured after the first season, and something I'd hate to see her go through again. It didn't happen after the second I'm happy to say. I'm firmly in the allowing time for physical and mental maturity camp, but that's my choice, not everyone in the UK would feel the same. My vet has advised me to count 14 weeks from the end of her season (which is now) and then there is a 2 month window when all the hormones are as settled as possible, making surgery safer. And indeed I can see that all her reproductive paraphernalia has shrunk to a tiny size. I don't relish the thought to be honest, as @snowbunny says it's permanent, and irrevocable, change. But I do think it will be best for her in the long run.
I can only speak from the male end of this question and I can 100% say without a doubt that early neutering (at least in males as you've mentioned) leads to bone loss and a tall, lanky dog. It can also predispose them to be more susceptible to joint and ligament injuries. Teller was a rescue and neutered shortly after the shelter found him dumped in a parking lot - at 4 months old. He looks like your typical working, field, or 'American' labrador anyway and though he's put on a lot of muscle, he will always have that gangly look about him. I agree that waiting until after her first season is probably best based on what I've heard from friends and dog trainers with females. I don't have any personal experience but one friend stands out in particular, she has a GSD/Husky mix who's not spayed and the dog has some aggression issues I feel would likely be resolved if she were spayed. Additionally she's had a couple of false pregnancies and some rough seasons. Have you contacted your breeder for information or consulted the health contract? I have no idea if it applies but when I was looking for breeders and reading through health agreements, a good portion of them would be voided if you spayed/neutered the dog before a certain age and the dog then developed issues. On the note of doggy day care there are facilities that do allow intact dogs. They might charge more or put her in a special play group but these do exist. Perhaps it might be better if you could find one such daycare and look into this? I also live in the States and I know how frustrating it can be. I understand the benefit of altering animals but at the same time I feel that considerations should be made based on breed as neutering larger, slower-growing dogs has been proven to be a detriment to the animal's health. It can be a pain to explain this to those zealots who try to shame you for having an intact dog. Teller's Pointer brother, Rigby, is still intact and the number of lectures/dirty looks we've gotten is unbelievable. Fortunately it's impossible to tell with females because they don't have two big planets dangling between their legs.
Just from my own experiences , having had one bitch spayed before her fist season , as advised at the time , and the following ones spayed later , I did find that the ones spayed later had the maturity to handle it better, they coped with the recovery far more easily . My rescue girl was two years old when we rehomed her, and had recently finished a season , so we waited about three months and got her spayed . She sailed through it all effortlessly .
Our veterinary practice advised spaying before the first season, so that's what happened for my previous two bitches and both were fine. However, various circumstances meant that Wispa and then Tuppence were spayed after their first season, with the vet advising waiting three months before spaying. Wispa had no problem with her first season, which was reasonably late, but Tuppence's was earlier and she then had symptoms of a phantom pregnancy and became quite clingy for a bit. The recovery for both of them was fine, particularly as neither worried at the scar or needed to wear a buster collar.
She had a stop start season she was miserable throughout and went off her food and felt ill. She really wasn't herself she also had a slight phantom pregnancy. It made her so sad so I waited until my vet said it was safe for her I had her spayed. Shes such a sweet dog and it was unnecessary for her to go through a season again.The surgery went well and she recovered quickly. She didn't even need a buster collar.
OK, here it is months later and I never really made a definite decision on when to get Aimee spayed. I've been so on the fence about this whole spay before/after first heat thing I've just sort of avoided making a decision. The breeder told me her dam had her first heat at 11 months old so I figured could compromise by maybe waiting until about 9 or 10 months old. Then we adopted her sister (same litter, same age) and figured we'd do the same with her. But now Aimee came into heat about a week ago, at 8 months old, so the option of doing it before went out the window. Now I feel I shouldn't have waited. She seems absolutely miserable. Nothing I can put my finger on, really. She just isn't herself. She seems mopey, anxious, doesn't want to play as much, eats slower, ... just a different dog, and I don't like it. So now I'm rethinking this whole thing and considering spaying her sister, Ayla, before she comes into heat. I don't want to put Ayla (and us again!) through it if it's not worth it. But then I feel guilty treating them differently, perhaps giving one some health advantages over the other. But maybe Ayla won't be so affected when she's in heat. Is this normal? Is it my imagination or do bitches get moody and miserable when in heat? Does this change last the whole 3-4 weeks? Only part of it? Or maybe even longer? Will she return to her old self when it's over? I've never had a female in heat before so this is all new to me!
I don't think you can count on both your girls having the same experience. It's quite possible that Ayla could sail through her season. My girl was pretty much her normal self throughout her season, I didn't notice any personality changes and she was fine when the season finished.
No not your imagination, Cassie was definitely very quiet, not miserable, but clearly uncomfortable at times. I can't say I've experienced this with every bitch though, and agree with @Plum's mum that your other girl may not be the same at all. Yes she will be her old self afterwards. The whole spay thing is a quite a big deal, I found. But now it's done, after her second season I'm pleased it is. Try not to beat yourself up about treating them both the same.
Some bitches don't deal with their seasons very well, others do just fine. For me, having had my first bitch spayed before her first season, I'm now firmly in the "wait until after at least one season" camp. You have to make your own mind up based on what's best for you and your dog, though. Luna is now in her second season and it really doesn't change her personality at all. She's still fun and funny, very attentive and still as cuddly as ever. She got a bit sick on Friday night which had me worried as she didn't eat her food. I've never had a Labrador turn their nose up at their dinner before! But, it was short lived and she was fine by the morning - whether it was anything to do with her season or not, I have no idea. I'd say, don't be swayed by Aimee's personality shift as it's only temporary and won't necessarily happen to Ayla. Make your mind up based on what's right for you and your individual dogs. I would add that waiting for your bitch to go through a season means that you have a better idea of the optimum time to have the operation - if you don't, then she might be on the brink of coming into season which is a less ideal time to have it done. But, again, you have to decide for yourselves.
Bramble has sailed through both her seasons, the first was a bit protracted, but psychologically she wasn't really bothered. A little clingy beforehand, a bit quieter than normal. It took a couple of weeks after her season to bounce back really, I only noted this because in training she was a little disengaged, so a note to self to keep things more low key in terms of training immediately after her next season. Bramble has had one phantom pregnancy, again, nothing of note, just started carrying around toys and hoarding them in her bed. It affected the other boys as they weren't sure what the heck was going on, you could see them wondering which toy was safe to play with! She did get a bit "whiney" at the onset of her phantom pregnancy, but that passed after a day or two.
Try to ignore your feelings re "not treating them the same" the dogs themselves won't know - do what's right for you and each individual dog. You will never truly know if you give one a health advantage over the other, you can only speculate - don't torment yourself.
