# When to Spay - HELP



## Valkyrie2 (Oct 11, 2011)

I've been told very different opinions when it comes to when I should get Freyja spayed. My breeder told me to wait until Freyja is at least 18 months old in order for her to have developed both sexually and mentally. However, my vet didn't agree with that thinking at ALL. He says "6 months". Anyone have any helpful advice?


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## Konotashi (Jan 11, 2010)

Go with your breeder's advice. I think vets want everyone to speuter at 6 months because 1) more money in their pockets sooner, and 2) most people can't seem to handle an intact dog without making more. 

I'd wait at least 18 - 24 months.


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

Konotashi said:


> Go with your breeder's advice. I think vets want everyone to speuter at 6 months because 1) more money in their pockets sooner, and *2) most people can't seem to handle an intact dog without making more. *
> 
> I'd wait at least 18 - 24 months.


I also agree with your breeder. I do NOT agree with #1 above cause if I spay early or spay late, I'm still paying the vet  

But #2 is exactly why I believe the vets believe in early spay neuter. Most people are not responsible and can't prevent a pregnacy just cause they can't pay attention for a few weeks. OR they change their mind and 'just want to have one litter' to add up to 12 more pups to a world already way to full of dogs as it is. 

I say leave breeding to the breeders who have the experience and knowledge to do it properly. And spay or neuter around 18 months when our pups are physically mature.


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

I would wait until she is at least 1 year old


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## gsdheeler (Apr 12, 2010)

There are some good studies of the pros. & cons. of Spay/Neuter. on line. 
I would NOT spay or neuter early. 
Search .. Spay/Neuter Studies.. and find out what the research studies show before you decide.


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## Rott-n-GSDs (Jul 7, 2010)

I agree: the reason vets want to speuter early is because they see FAR too many unwanted pets and complications with BYB litters gone bad. They simply cannot trust that there ARE responsible pet owners out there.

It is important to wait until the growth plates close until spaying or neutering for a reason that isn't often mentioned: the percentage rate of knee injuries in dogs that were speutered early is when compared to those that were done late or not at all is very high. Part of the reason is because often speutered pets tend to be overweight, but this is not always the case. My Luna (spayed by the shelter at 10 weeks of age) torn her knee ligament and she was in perfect physical condition. A friend of mine has a Mastiff that has blown out both knees and she, too, was spayed early but not at all overweight.

Additionally, the risk of spay incontinence is higher when the procedure is done as a puppy.

Some reading for you:
http://www.naiaonline.org/pdfs/longtermhealtheffectsofspayneuterindogs.pdf
http://www.cdoca.org/downloads/files/Early SN and Behavior.pdf
Is Early Neutering Hurting Pets?
Host related risk factors for canine osteosarcoma. [Vet J. 1998] - PubMed - NCBI


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

I do not agree w/the spay incontinence theory since it's been proved exactly opposite in our home.
Certain things are coincidental, and while we advocate for early s/n in rescue, I understand responsible owner's concerns. 
That said, I would not do 18mos., but I would do a bitch at a year after just one heat.
And that said, we've done early s/n (puppies actually) and never have had a negative consequence once and in fact the puppies do wonderful with early s/n.
S/N at 6mos. isn't going to kill the dog nor make it sick or anything else, or the vet would not do it. The vet is actually interested in keeping your dog alive - and as for the argument..."money in the pocket sooner", that's really kind of a strange take on it, since at 1yr. the dog weighs more and the vet (who usually charge by the weight) could make more money then.

Vets are quite pro alter since yes they do see the worst of the worst and like to prevent unwanted litters, since, should a girl go into heat and accidentally get bred, many folks would not do a spay-abort.

Check this site out, too - 
http://www.columbusdogconnection.com/Documents/PedRebuttal .pdf 
Any arguments against early s/n ought to have counter arguments presented, don't you think?


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## kiya (May 3, 2010)

I had the same type of "disagreement" with my vet. Lakota was the 4th pup that I waited until 18 months to have spayed. I am not convinced that there are any health benefits of early spay/nueter. I was not worried about her accidentally getting pregnant. If you can not guarantee that your dog will not become pregnant early spay is good.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

The benefits are "no oops" and the dogs heal much faster. There's a lot more cutting involved in a mature dog that there's not in a puppy. There's no chance of pyometra and almost 0% of breast cancer later on if you spay prior to a heat. And at 18mos., they've had 2 heats and this negates any benefits of spay in relation to breast cancer.

Since bitches have so much breast tissue (think of our own human breasts x 6 and sometimes more!) it's quite important to get to the spay early to avoid that. So yes, there are some marked health benefits with the girls.


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## Draugr (Jul 8, 2011)

> I do not agree w/the spay incontinence theory since it's been proved exactly opposite in our home.


Yes, but "in your home" provides a *far* smaller population sample than what a scientific study is looking at.

~~
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If it's important to look at both sides of things, then I'd say it's also important to mention that breast cancer has an overall incident rate of 3.4% for intact female dogs. And that only about 50% are malignant.

As long as you are rubbing your girl's belly (hopefully something that occurs daily in a responsible owner's home), you're more likely to catch anything before it becomes large enough to metastasize, reducing your risk even further.

Me personally with what I have read up on, I'd wait until middle age (4-5 or so) or maybe not at all. Pyo is definitely a concern if you don't do it at all, even to some extent if you wait until 4-5. Know how your dog normally acts. I might as early as two years though depending on how heats affected her. Some bitches can become very moody and irritable and all around miserable until they are out of heat again.

It's your decision, read up, and decide what you think is best for her AND you. It should never be a one way street, all about the dog, or all about you, should be a decision made for what is best for the both of you.

IIRC you gain some benefit for reducing mammary cancer risk if you spay before three heats, and after that it makes negligible difference. I would have to look that up though, not sure.

~~
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I would definitely go with your breeders advice, wait until 18 months at least. That way she's had a chance to develop physically and mentally normally.


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## ChancetheGSD (Dec 19, 2007)

I'd wait personally as long as you can be 100% sure there is no possible chance of any "oops" litters.

I personally will NOT be spaying my girl because of my own research. Go ahead and call me a "horrible" person because I plan on keeping my found on the side of the road, God knows what breeds she is, just a pet...Intact. But she will NEVER have a litter of puppies and if for some random reason she DID get pregnant (which I can tell you wouldn't be on my watch and since I don't take vacations my dogs can't go with me, I highly doubt there would ever be a need to leave her with someone else) I would be ok with aborting. Zoey was kept intact until she was 10 and is FINE. She's 13.5 and healthy, active and you'd never guess she was as old as she is! My brothers Chihuahua mix is 8, intact and fine. Granparents had a GSDxCollie who was intact all her life and lived to 16/17 years old. (Dog also ate Kibbles N' Bits! Go figure! )

Everything has two sides to it. While spaying/neutering decreases some problems, it increases the risk of others. I don't feel that something so natural can be THAT horrible for our pets. I mean, breast cancer runs rampant in my family but I'm not removing my breast to prevent it. Instead, I do regular checks on myself and provide myself with proper health care to catch it (or anything else that could pop up) early. Same goes for my pets.


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