# What Age To Spay Female, What Age To Neuter Male



## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

I wanted to get your opinion on this.

Next year I am getting a female GSD puppy and want to know what age I should spay her.

I figured this could help others as well

Thank you!

*What age do you think is best to spay a female?*

*What age do you think is best to neuter a male?*


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## GSDSunshine (Sep 7, 2009)

I know for males I would wait until about 2 (if I could). For females, I'm actually one of the weirdos that plans on finding a vet that will do a partial spay....


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## Relayer (Apr 29, 2010)

I always neutered my Rhodesians at about 1.5 year to let them develop a nice muscular physique. I'm not sure what the opinions are re GSDs. I'll be interested in reading about that here.


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## JKlatsky (Apr 21, 2007)

I recently asked my vet this question. She is a very well regarded Reproductive vet, one of the top in the State and one of the top English Bulldog vets in the Southeast. She is not one of those vets that automatically pushed spay/neuter but neither does she push for you to breed your dog. 

She knows that we are not breeding my female, and when I asked about spaying she said she wanted to get back to me about it because she's been reading some new studies that are suggesting that the longer the female keeps her reproductive organs the longer lived and healthier the female is. She doesn't like to do it before 2 if it is avoidable. I understand wanting to spay a female as dealing with heat cycles is difficult and inconvienent, but I think this has more to do with the owner's needs and abilities than the dog.

As far as the males go I don't really see any need to neuter unless there is a medical necessity. My monorchid boy will have his retained testicle removed between 2-2.5 and I am choosing to leave the other one in place. I know some older dogs that have prostate issues are neutered. If you are neutering to avoid behavior problems then I have read that it is best to do it 6-12 months while they are still puppies before they develop adult behaviors.


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## arycrest (Feb 28, 2006)

JKlatsky said:


> ...
> She knows that we are not breeding my female, and when I asked about spaying she said she wanted to get back to me about it because she's been reading some new studies that are suggesting that the longer the female keeps her reproductive organs the longer lived and healthier the female is. She doesn't like to do it before 2 if it is avoidable.
> ...


When you get her answer, would you please let us know her opinion?


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## we4elves (May 11, 2010)

My vet said that if it is done before first cycle it greatly reduces the chance of mammary tumors later in life, expecially in shepherds. I personally don't know what to think, I always hear different answers on this subject.


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## Miss Molly May (Feb 19, 2010)

gsdsunshine said:


> i know for males i would wait until about 2 (if i could). For females, i'm actually one of the weirdos that plans on finding a vet that will do a partial spay....


 i 'm with you on this one!!!


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## Asche-zu-Staub (Apr 25, 2010)

GSDSunshine said:


> I know for males I would wait until about 2 (if I could). For females, I'm actually one of the weirdos that plans on finding a vet that will do a partial spay....


partial spay? define?


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## roxy84 (Jun 23, 2007)

we4elves said:


> My vet said that if it is done before first cycle it greatly reduces the chance of mammary tumors later in life.


 
there is not much debate on this point. it is just a question of weighing that against possible health issues due to spaying early.

there has been at least one study pointing toward females who keep their reproductive organs longer having longer lifespans. the study ive seen was done on such a small scale that i personally didnt find it to be very conclusive. id love to see more studies done in regards to that. anecdotally, every female that has been part of my family has been spayed before their first heat (6 dogs total) and they all lived well past their breeds expected life span. of course, that is not science, just my experience.


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

*So females should go through 1 or 2 cycles before being spayed?*

*Males should be around 2 years old when they get neutered?*


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## GSDSunshine (Sep 7, 2009)

Partial Spay: http://www.belfield.com/pdfs/Partial_Spay.pdf

Basically in a Partial Spay, an vet removes the uterine body, the uterine horns and and the cervix of a female dog. The ovaries are left intact. Therefore the dog is considered sterile, but still retains her hormones (come from the ovaries)


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## AvaLaRue (Apr 4, 2010)

wow...I have never heard of a partial spay. Thanks for the link Kira!


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## Myamom (Oct 10, 2005)

So then with a partial spay...your dog would still be at risk for Mammary tumors...correct? since they are due to the hormones.
Mammary Tumors (Cancer) in Dogs

My hospice foster has mammary tumors...it is very sad.


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## GSDSunshine (Sep 7, 2009)

Yes, there is still a rish of Mammory tumors. Not perfect. But it is a better option for people who don't want to spay there animals but keeps them sterile. And it prevents pyometria (sp?)


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

It really depends on a lot of things. 

There are studies that say it is best to spay before the first heat to practically eliminate the possibility of mammary tumors. 

Mammary tumors, often cancerous generally hit dogs aged nine or ten or even older.

Other studies show that the risk of osteosarcoma and hemangiosarcoma and other problems increase significantly when the animal is neutered OR spayed and especially when they are spayed early. I think that the thought is that the hormones that are there naturally, are removed and the lack of those hormones increase the risk that these cancer cells will grow and take shape. Prognosis is very bad. 

Many people encourage spay/neuter because of the many unwanted dogs in shelters, and the people who say that they made a mistake, oops, and laugh it off as carelessness and irresponsibililty on the part of owners is just a given. If you cannot keep your dog intact and under control, by all means, spay or neuter.

Lots of people want to keep the dog intact because they either want to show in conformation, or they would like to do some type of work with the dog and do not want to affect the dog's work ethic. I have heard of a bitch that was very promising in training for police work, get spayed and afterwards was not at all excited about any of it, she was dropped from the program. 

Some people would just rather not perform any operations on dogs that they do not need. The real risks of anesthetic and complications trump the increased risk of some illnesses. Kind of having a dog seriously injured or killed because you were trying to prevent something from happening down the line. 

And then there is behavior. Some people want to neuter their dog to prevent male behaviors, humping, showing their goodies, marking, aggressing toward other dogs, (and the worst reason in my opinion) roaming. Spaying is generally not encouraged as a behavior modification or prevention.

I think with behaviors, if you can remove the hormones before the behaviors begin, the thought is that they will never develop. It is possible. 

Others swear up and down that their dog's behavior improved after being neutered. Well there is just no way to gage whether the dog simply matured and would have improved without the surgery. Most neuteres are done when the dog is in the canine equivelancy of teenager mentality, and this is a temporary phase that dogs generally outgrow without any external measures besides continuing their training and providing consistant leadership.


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## Jessiewessie99 (Mar 6, 2009)

I would just wait until the dog is fully mature then spay or neuter.


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## ChristenHolden (Jan 16, 2010)

I will have my girl spayed when she's had 2 to 4 heats, I want her at least 1.5 yrs old. want to make sure she fills completly out and won't be as lanky and all leggs, neck, and tail.


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## NarysDad (Apr 29, 2010)

JKlatsky said:


> She knows that we are not breeding my female, and when I asked about spaying she said she wanted to get back to me about it because she's been reading some new studies that are suggesting that the longer the female keeps her reproductive organs the longer lived and healthier the female is. She doesn't like to do it before 2 if it is avoidable.


I have heard this too, but just can't remember where. I have heard older than 2 yrs old. I will search my forum as this is where I think it was originally posted.

males I wait till they are 2yrs old, but have heard of others doing it sooner


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## NarysDad (Apr 29, 2010)

Here you all go I found it

A new study done at the Murphy Center on Rotties regarding spay and neuter. They looked at female Rotts who lived 13 years and more and found that they had either never been spayed or had been spayed after 6 years of age. Their incidence of cancer was very low. Rottie girls spayed young had a very high incidence of cancer and all kinds of other problems as well and very few lived past age 11. Statistics for males neutered young as opposed to males never neutered were very comparable. I just throw this out for discussion. I find it does, however, at least in females, support my own experiences. Anytbody want to talk about it? Details of the study in Whole Dog News, I understand


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## micheleroyalty (Aug 8, 2010)

My breeder says wait until 2 years old for my female, mainly due to the abnormal growth that occurs if they are spayed before the grow plates close in the legs. I did spay a female early and she was abnormally tall for a GSD. So my current female is going to wait until age 2. She just went through her first heat at 10 months and it was not so bad. I did not let her out at all that month, except in my yard with me present. So I have 14 months to go, 2 more heats. The Internet vets and GSD breeders say the same. The shelters want all dogs neutered but they are most interested in population control. I am most interested in a good healthy dog.


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## arby665 (Nov 21, 2012)

I met a female GSD this weekend that was just crazy looking. The owner said she was spayed young and I wonder how much this affected the way the dog looks. She looks like she's walking on stilts. Super tall and skinny. Just weird looking.


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## ladyb (Oct 11, 2013)

I spayed mine at 6 months, before a heat. She is and looks great. We took the ovaries out and left the uterus. Another option...


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## my boy diesel (Mar 9, 2013)

there's so many poorly bred dogs out there
i can't see how anyone can point to spay/neuter 
as a cause of looking tall or gangly or anything 
without seeing both parents 
when i see a nonstandard looking dog of any breed i assume
poor breeding more than speuters


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## aqueous18 (May 13, 2013)

My male was just neutered today at 9 months. I had a hard time keeping weight on him when he was younger, and our vet wasn't so die hard to force us into it earlier. She actually suggested we wait until he got some more weight on his bones. I don't think waiting a few extra months negatively affected him at all. Granted it was $30 more expensive as a dog over 50 lbs. I never saw any unwanted behaviors like humping or marking. In fact, he doesn't even lift his leg to pee lol 

I do know my GSDs growing up were not neutered. My boy we had to put down at 9 from his hips. The 150lb tank lived to be 13 before he got put down from his hips. Neither ever developed cancer, but they ended up getting a lot more "crotchety" sooner and to a greater extent then our fixed males. Food for thought I suppose.


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## Carriesue (Aug 13, 2012)

Something I noticed once at a lure coursing event, there were two male Rhodesian ridgebacks, one in tact the other not... The intact male was very masculine and muscular, the neutered male had no muscle definition and no secondary sex traits... he could have been male or female. Not saying it's necessarily related but it just struck me how different they were. For both sexes I prefer to wait until 1.5 to 2 years. My 17 month male GSD is intact, with him I have noticed increased dog aggression as he's matured and other dogs take an instant hate to him... since I live in such a crowded area and take him everywhere I am considering neutering him earlier though.


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## arycrest (Feb 28, 2006)

I'm getting a 17 month old boy next Tuesday. I've arranged for him to have a vasectomy up in Arkansas tomorrow and hopefully he'll feel well enough to travel on the 11th.


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

Just in case no one posted it yet ---> http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/health-issues/172560-best-age-spay-neuter.html has some good links and info to read


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## Axle (Jan 29, 2014)

aqueous18 said:


> My male was just neutered today at 9 months. I had a hard time keeping weight on him when he was younger, and our vet wasn't so die hard to force us into it earlier. She actually suggested we wait until he got some more weight on his bones. I don't think waiting a few extra months negatively affected him at all. Granted it was $30 more expensive as a dog over 50 lbs. I never saw any unwanted behaviors like humping or marking. In fact, he doesn't even lift his leg to pee lol
> 
> I do know my GSDs growing up were not neutered. My boy we had to put down at 9 from his hips. The 150lb tank lived to be 13 before he got put down from his hips. Neither ever developed cancer, but they ended up getting a lot more "crotchety" sooner and to a greater extent then our fixed males. Food for thought I suppose.
> 
> ...


It's great that your vet cared enough to suggest you wait. Our vet has been asking when we plan to have him neutered since we first took him in at 12 weeks. She was pushing for before 6 months. She also made it sound like it would be much more expensive to have it done later in life but $30 seems well worth it. My 8 month old doesn't lift his leg to pee either! I'm more than fine with it lol


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## aqueous18 (May 13, 2013)

Axle said:


> It's great that your vet cared enough to suggest you wait. Our vet has been asking when we plan to have him neutered since we first took him in at 12 weeks. She was pushing for before 6 months. She also made it sound like it would be much more expensive to have it done later in life but $30 seems well worth it. My 8 month old doesn't lift his leg to pee either! I'm more than fine with it lol



I guess it just depends on how long you wait. My Dad tried to get his black GSD neutered at 9 because he was acting out so bad, but we couldn't find a vet who would do it. 


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## Mocha (Dec 3, 2013)

This is a very opinionated question and you'll most likely get quite the variety of answers. I personally wait, and am a strong believer that it allows the dog to develop more naturally and reduces the risk of disk problems and other structure problems. As well as cancers , etc. I also think it really helps them mature more naturally. However, some people will argue for hours that their dog was spayed or neutered at 3-6 months and "turned out fine". However for me, "turned out fine", isn't much anecdotal evidence. 

But it really does depend on the owner, if there's behavior problems they just can't deal with, or feel they can't keep their female confined during her heats, then it's better to be safe than sorry. (By that I mean avoiding "oops" litters). 


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## redandgold (Jul 2, 2013)

I think I had Molly neutered at 6 months. She immediately had a growth spurt and put on a whole lot of muscle.

** Edited by ADMIN. Please watch the language.**


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## redandgold (Jul 2, 2013)

aqueous18 said:


> My male was just neutered today at 9 months. I had a hard time keeping weight on him when he was younger, and our vet wasn't so die hard to force us into it earlier. She actually suggested we wait until he got some more weight on his bones. I don't think waiting a few extra months negatively affected him at all. Granted it was $30 more expensive as a dog over 50 lbs. I never saw any unwanted behaviors like humping or marking. In fact, he doesn't even lift his leg to pee lol
> 
> I do know my GSDs growing up were not neutered. My boy we had to put down at 9 from his hips. *The 150lb tank* lived to be 13 before he got put down from his hips. Neither ever developed cancer, but they ended up getting a lot more "crotchety" sooner and to a greater extent then our fixed males. Food for thought I suppose.
> 
> ...


Where'd you get a 150lb German Shepherd?? Sorry for the derail, but I had to ask...


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## Chip18 (Jan 11, 2014)

redandgold said:


> Where'd you get a 150lb German Shepherd?? Sorry for the derail, but I had to ask...


 Well 150 seems kinda extreme but just Google
oversized GSD, you'll be surprised!


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