Very helpful to read your experiences! Poor Milou is bumping into everything with that cone. Will try taking it off tomorrow during the day. She seems unfazed by the stitches after all - what she wants is to scratch her neck and lay her head on JF's back.
Tilly was spayed at about 6 months, IIRC. When she came home from the vet after being spayed, she ran into the house and jumped over the sofa. I don't believe she had to wear a cone, but honestly I'm not sure, since it was about 10 years ago. Our first Lab Ginger was a rescue and had a littler of pups. She was 4+ yrs when she was spayed, and it was a bigger deal, but still did not slow her down for very long. We will probably be taking Cooper in about 3 months from now. She will be a handful, but probably will not complain very much.
We are revisiting this question again with our new Lab Jenny. The breeder and trainers both recommend two years, but the vet is on board with us delaying until after her first heat. That was in February, and we have her spay scheduled for the end of May. Like all of our Chocolates she is a field style (American) Lab. At 56#, she is much smaller than Cooper was but has the same build. She is about 22" at the withers. Her dad is a Field Trial Champion, and her mom is a National Master Hunter. Both parents have UKC (United Kennel Club) titles for Pointing Labs and Jenny seems to point also, and any thing she thinks is interesting.
