# If we spay our girl, do it now at 6 months or better to wait?



## rod5591 (May 16, 2011)

There is another spay thread which I've read but it does not ask about spaying before the first heat. That's my question: Is it better health wise for the dog to spay her before the first heat? Or after the first heat? Or at age 2? Or never? What are your thoughts and advise please?


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## Gwyllgi (Aug 16, 2017)

Personally, I would wait until she is 2 yrs of age +.

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## Jchrest (Jun 5, 2019)

There are a lot of differing opinions, and even if everyone agreed on a certain age, it’s still not going to be a solid for every dogs situation. 

I just had my female spayed at 9yrs. She was a rescue, used as a breeding bitch for a BYB. She had a tumor on one of her glands that made it difficult to spay her. She’s had other health issues come up, and the vet assured me they could remove the tumor and spray her while she was already going to be under anesthesia. The tumor was beginning to get painful for her, so we opted to have it removed, and have her spayed at the same time. We didn’t want any problems popping up with her uterus later on down the line. 

We have an unaltered 2yr old male Husky/GSD. He lived with Lyka through a few of her heat cycles, and it was never an issue, he didn’t attempt to mate, and Lyka was never bothered by him while in heat. For growth and health reasons, I won’t neuter until 2yrs at the earliest. 

We have a 5 months old female GSD, and she won’t be spayed until we see how one or two cycles go. If we decide not to spay her, then our male will be neutered because we do not want any accidental litters, and neutering our male makes more sense because he is already at his mature height/weight. Seiran won’t be when she gets her first cycle. 

We don’t have a definitive age we settle on for a spay, just what works for our dogs on an individual basis, but do prefer to allow them to physically mature before making a decision.


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## MineAreWorkingline (May 2, 2015)

https://ivcjournal.com/spay-neuter-...OE26H7TXxvM2qN_hehoNcee0G3R0Mi6q0xhFEyRMTQKAA


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## crittersitter (Mar 31, 2011)

With a GSD female never before a year. Preferably 18 months - 2 years. My last female was spayed just before her second heat with the first heat being around 1 yo.


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## middleofnowhere (Dec 20, 2000)

I chose to wait with my current two. The older dog was spayed only because she had false pregnancies which were getting worse - during these she felt no other dog should be on the face of the earth. I wait because there are health benefits to waiting or leaving the bitch intact. I had one dog die of hemangiosarcoma and subsequently learned that dogs spayed young are more susceptible to it. Mammary cancer can be survived. Hemangio is a death sentence.


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

My repro vet said 18 months to 2 years is ideal.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

I also would wait till about 2 when they reach maturity. Like Middle, I lost a dog who was spayed early to Hemangio. She also had hip dysplasia and a torn ACL. All of which have a higher correlation to early spay/neuter.


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## Femfa (May 29, 2016)

I’ll second what everyone else said - wait until she’s around two. 

I’m personally waiting until around 3. Don’t know why, but the thought of spaying her right now just doesn’t settle well with me, even though she’s two. Her last heat was the easiest heat she’s ever had since her first one, and I just don’t like the idea of removing hormones from a body if I can help it. Wanted to wait until 4, or even do an Ovary Sparing Spay, but I’m bringing a male pup home soon and don’t want to deal with the chaos for two years. One will be enough, lol.


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## Saco (Oct 23, 2018)

I've read a lot of the research and concur that spaying at 18 months to 2 years is ideal for non-breeding females. If the female is used for breeding or might be, I'd still recommend spaying at around age 7-9 due to the risk of pyometra and higher risk of pyo surgery as the bitch ages. 

Pediatric spay and neuter is irresponsible, and there are myriad documented early and long term physical and mental-temperament issues with it. What a shame people can't be trusted enough to be responsible enough to let the female go through a couple heat cycles. I think education could go a long way in eliminating the need for early spay-neuter. 

Once the bitch is mature, spaying has little impact and I think much of the health issues can be avoided if the owner makes sure the spayed bitch stays lean and active. It can be a challenge to keep even a very active spayed bitch lean- I can attest- but very important.


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## Pawsed (May 24, 2014)

I, too, lost a female to hemangio. She was spayed at 4 months and died at 3 years. She also had very bad hips, the worst my vet had ever seen. 

I won't ever make that mistake again. I have to live with the guilt of feeling I had caused, or at least contributed to, those things that caused so much pain and fear to my wonderful friend.

Please wait until your female is mature to spay her, if you feel it is necessary to do so at all.


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## robert_cobbs (Aug 2, 2019)

i would wait at least for 1 to 2 years before spaying as doing it before that period might lead to some untreatable damage


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