Hello, Its been awhile since I lasted post. Our puppy Maggie is 7 months old now and doing great. We had originally decided on waiting to have her spayed until she was a year old. We saw the video on YouTube with Dr Karen Becker explaining her experiences as a Vet. with early spaying. She explained the many health problems and especially growth and joint problems that occur with spaying. We have never had a female dog before so the wife was reading up on them when they are in heat. Problems with that end didn't sound to good to us either especially length of time they are in heat and keeping them quarantined and the discharge? Can anyone tells us what to expect from your own experiences of your dogs being in heat assuming others have waited as well? Also experiences good or bad or none at all with having your dogs spayed at 6 months? We would really like to wait a least a year if we can. Thanks Patrick
Re: To Spay or not to Spay that is the Question? We waited 'till three months after Tatze's first season, as advised by our vet. The season was loong but not hard - we had lots of strategies to keep her busy in the house. Discharge no problem, she kept herself clean. All went well with her spay and she's fit, healthy and happy. My reasons for the spay were purely practical - she spends her holidays with an entire male and he spends his with us.
Re: To Spay or not to Spay that is the Question? There seem to be two schools of thought on when to spay. Some say to do it before the first season, others say about midway between the first and second seasons. For the last three dogs we've let them have their first season on the (probably unscientific) rationale that its lets them develop fully before the op. Whenever you choose to do it try to take a few days post op holiday to be sure that she can be supervised. As soon as the anesthetic wears off the dog will want to play, run, climb stairs etc but they need enforced rest for a couple of weeks while the wound heals.
Re: To Spay or not to Spay that is the Question? My rescue girl Millie was spayed early January but she is an older dog, probably around 7-9 years old so as the incidence of pyometra is greater for an older bitch , we had her spayed after the first season she had after coming to us . With the bitches I`ve had since pups, two were spayed between the first and second season, one was spayed ( On the Vets advice at that time ) before her first season . Most cope well whatever age , anaesthetics being so much better these days than the old heavy ones , so most bounce back quickly . I`ve never experienced a problem with bleeding whilst in season , most will clean themselves and yes, they do need strict supervision as bitches can be just as eager to mate as dogs
Re: To Spay or not to Spay that is the Question? I have just had this conversation with my vet of 20 years. I trust him. Meg is my 3rd bitch but things change over time. He advised to spay 3 months after 1st season. If you do it before there can be complications operating on an immature uterus. Reasons for spaying are prevention of pyometra and mammary tumours. Both can be nasty and preventable. He is a black lab owner and he has taken this route with his. One of my bitches previously had a season, it was not so bad. This time will be a nightmare as I have an intact male in the house. I asked my vet if I could do anything about that and he said to send him on holiday !! My other 2 spayed girls recovered quickly with no drama at all. I hope that helps, Emma.
Re: To Spay or not to Spay that is the Question? Hi, Our decision will be to spay our bitch 3 months after her first season as we did with our last lab. This is a personal decision as we had a lab/GSD cross who was unspayed who developed Pyometra and a ruptured uterus at almost 12 years old. She was lucky and we got her to the vets just in time and she had another good 2 yrs before she succumbed to the dreaded bloat! :'(
Re: To Spay or not to Spay that is the Question? We have had a few discussions on this, with some links to research, but could i find them? : This is a link to Pippa's article on the main site about spaying. I think myself that vet advice is split into two camps, and I think the older vets SEEM to suggest allowing your girl to have one season, and the younger ones, before their first season. Our vets are all younger. We were never planning on breeding from Lilly, even before her hip dysplasia was diagnosed, and we had her done BEFORE her first season, as soon as she turned 6 months. All was straightforward and uncomplicated, she cruised through it (didn't need a collar) and as far as we know, has suffered no adverse effects. We visited a friend 6 or 7 months after who was married to a vet (older, second marriage) and she was horrified we didn't wait for a first season. What do we know? Just go on the advise you get. We don't regret it. We have an entire male in our village who likes to jump walls, and a friend with 2 entire males we play with when we venture along to training. Its one of those dilemmas you just have to make yourself I am afraid, weighing up the evidence. Not easy.
Re: To Spay or not to Spay that is the Question? Thanks everyone for the input. One thing maybe I should elaborate on is that Maggie is used to being outside a lot, we have 80 acres for her to run. So if she goes though heat how long would she have to be quarantined for? If for any extended period of time she and me will be very miserable We would really like to wait for her growth to be done first, but there is no way she could spend weeks inside. Thanks
Re: To Spay or not to Spay that is the Question? It's all very difficult, I think Jac's advice that you have to read what you can, take advice, and make your mind up and be happy with your decision, is sound. [quote author=Pat link=topic=5635.msg71466#msg71466 date=1398627660] , but there is no way she could spend weeks inside. [/quote] She could . You might not want her to, but she could without any ill effects.
Re: To Spay or not to Spay that is the Question? Hi Pat, If I remember rightly our dogs seasons lasted for about 2 weeks but I know that some dogs can be a lot longer but can be shorter too! I think 2-3 weeks is about average.
Re: To Spay or not to Spay that is the Question? I don't think you have to worry about growth with the bitch, but you do with a dog. I had three bitches spayed before their season and two after and strangely enough it was the two spayed after their season who were a bit incontinent when they were old.
