Skye will be three months old on the 20th of this month. We have her appointment for her last puppy shots and to have her spayed on the 27th of this month. Is that too young to spay? We've always waited until 6 months, but our choc and both of our chi's were in heat.
It seems very young to me, much advice now is to wait three months until after the pup's first season. There are other threads on the forum, one fairly recently I believe, discussing pros and cons of spaying at certain ages. It might be worth doing a search so you can consider the arguments and then decide what suits you.
Yes lots of pro's and con's in this area for sure......but here is something I learned with my Doberman.....any time a surgery is performed ......the cost of your anesthesia .....IS BASED ON THE DOGS WEIGHT.........so the older the dog .........the more it will weigh.......the bigger the bill. Just a thought..........
Still growing at 3 months. From what I've read it's best waiting 'till their bones are fully developed. I've decided not to have our girl spayed at all (6 months old).
Please wait until she is grown. If you want her to look like her parents, the loss of her hormones this young will affect that. The early spay/neuter philosophy was based upon controlling the unwanted pet population and without knowledge of the long term health affects on the individual dog. Everything from injury to cancer has now been tied into the too early spaying/neutering of our dogs. http://www.akcchf.org/news-events/news/health-implications-in-early.html 02/25/2013 Recent results from research funded by the AKC Canine Health Foundation have the potential to significantly impact recommendations for spaying and neutering dogs in the United States. Most dogs in the United States are spayed or neutered, and for years the procedures have been completed prior to maturity. The study, published in the prominent, open access journal PLOS One, suggests that veterinarians should be more cautious about the age at which they spay and neuter in order to protect the overall health of dogs. A team of researchers led by Dr. Benjamin L. Hart at the University of California, Davis has completed the most detailed study performed to date that evaluates incidence of cancer diagnoses and joint problems in one breed -- Golden Retrievers -- by neuter status: early (before 12 months old), late (12 months or older), and intact. Consistent with previous studies on the topic, the results showed increased likelihood of hemangiosarcoma, lymphoma, mast cell tumors, and canine cruciate ligament (CCL) rupture in neutered dogs. Story at-a-glance https://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2013/09/30/neutering-health-risks.aspx Once a huge advocate of spaying or neutering every dog early in life, after being in private practice for a few years, Dr. Becker noticed many of her canine patients were developing endocrine-related disorders. After a conversation with an expert in the field of veterinary endocrinology, Dr. Becker realized her practice of insisting on early spays or neuters for every dog patient had left many of them with serious health problems. Dr. Becker quickly changed her recommendation for her patients from automatic spays or neuters, and the younger the better, to a more holistic approach in which surgeries, including sterilization and desexing, should only be performed when there’s a medical necessity. She also believes shelter pets should be sterilized rather than desexed (spayed or neutered) in order to preserve their sex hormones. Scientific evidence is mounting that gonad removal can deliver serious consequences to a dog’s future health. Among those consequences: shortened lifespan, atypical Cushing’s disease, cardiac tumors, bone cancer, abnormal bone growth and development, CCL ruptures, and hip dysplasia. Options to traditional full spays and neuters are hard to come by both in the U.S. and Canada, because veterinary schools don’t teach alternative sterilization procedures. Fortunately, we’re slowly waking up to the fact that spaying and neutering – especially in very young animals -- are creating health problems that are non-existent or significantly less prevalent in intact pets. Ownership of an intact dog, male or female, is not for everyone. It takes time, effort, vigilance, and often, a thick skin. Dr. Becker discusses the ins and outs of owning an intact male or female dog and the steps necessary to prevent pregnancy.
One quote I read that was quite poignant was that spaying was more a benifit/ convenience to the owner rather than the dog (bitch). I wouldn't go under anaesthetic inless it was serious or life threatening, wouldn't expect my puppy to either..
@Lisa Craig , I think that is an incredibly young age to spay, best advice is to give them time to develop physically and mentally. I'd definitely dispute that, Cassie had the most horrendous phantom pregnancy between her first and second season's, and I never want to see her like that again. It was utterly miserable for her and heartbreaking to witness, while she didn't have one after her second, maybe because I'd taken steps to try and prevent it happening again, it was still a major driver in deciding to have her spayed then. And I hated taking a happy healthy dog for surgery, and bringing her home in such discomfort. But now she doesn't have her life disrupted twice a year by seasons, having only on lead walks and staying home when she would otherwise come with me.
Each dog and their family are "individual" and what works for some won't work for others. I fully support spaying and neutering to avoid exactly what you experienced with your girl, but, advise waiting until the first season plus 3 months. The science is moving forward and sterilization techniques will become available that may be less traumatic for the dogs but we are not there yet.
I had my pup spayed for my convenience I suppose, I was happy to go through one season with her but it didn't feel practical for me to manage those 3-4 weeks twice a year. If I wasn't working maybe I'd have left it a bit but it was difficult working full time and not being able to use dog walkers and daycare. My pup had a laparoscopic spay which is less invasive and therefore less painful in recovery and also, recovery is speedier.
