# Approaching 6 months - wondering when to spay



## annabirdie (Jul 3, 2015)

Hi all-

Rosie is approaching 6 months now which is when our vet suggested a spay. I have read quite a bit about this on the forum and other sites which suggest this early spay is a bad idea for a GSD. My vet responded to my concerns with how annoyed vets get with breeders giving veterinary advice as if they are vets, and went into the mammary cancer rates in spayed vs unspayed females which I am aware of. I am really struggling with this decision. I want to do what's best for Rosie and for our family as a whole, we have 2 kids and they have apprehension over their beloved pet becoming a bleeding and oddly behaved dog, as do I. For those of you who have been through it, how difficult is it to have a female in heat? What amount of bleeding can I really expect (please be as graphic as you need to be.)? Can the average dog owner effectively manage a dog in heat easily? I have heard people say not to even let the dog out in the yard during this time which I think will be difficult. Also, when to expect the first heat? OUr breeder suggested that her dogs generally go into 1st heat 14-16 months old but this is a lot older than the averages I have read elsewhere. We did sign a non breeding agreement so puppies are not an option. Any general thoughts/advice/details on what to expect would be much appreciated. Thanks.


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## MythicMut (May 22, 2015)

I used to have Norwegian Elkhounds before German Shepherds. I haven't had any female GSDs but one female Norwegian Elkhound I had, who couldn't be spayed she was to be bred, used to menstruate very heavily. Although this is out of the ordinary, she did get a clean bill of health from the vet. I had to buy the super size human sanitary napkins for her for use with a doggy diaper. As long as I remembered to put them on, it was not a problem indoors. I did not take her for walks when she was in heat and supervised her in the yard.

I have a friend whose female GSD came into heat for the first time about a month ago. She was about 7-1/2 months old. As with elkhounds, the age varies depending on the dog, just like with humans. He said that he uses diapers in the house but it is so little that he wouldn't bother except he doesn't want to find a drop of blood on something that might stain. He is very wary about taking her on walks during her time and he also supervised her in the yard. Another person I know prefers to keep her female dog diapered outdoors when she is in heat but as someone else said to her, "unless it's an iron chastity belt, it isn't going to do much good!" LOL!

If you are undecided right now don't let your vet rush you into anything. It's a very important decision and it's easy for them to be concerned "with breeders giving veterinary advice as if they are vets" when it interferes with their revenue. (Okay, a bit cynical here but with good reason). Many "breeders" have a tremendous amount of knowledge born from hard earned experience and if you are lucky, hopefully some of them will also respond to your question here. You might consider letting her go through a heat so you can better make your decision and not have to second guess yourself. If you decide it's not a lot of trouble for you, you can also consider tubal ligation for your dog in lieu of spaying. (Yes, that can be done, you just need a vet that has experience doing it).


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## carmspack (Feb 2, 2011)

Spay & Neuter Adverse Effects


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## Wolfenstein (Feb 26, 2009)

annabirdie said:


> My vet responded to my concerns with how annoyed vets get with breeders giving veterinary advice as if they are vets, and went into the mammary cancer rates in spayed vs unspayed females which I am aware of.


Don't let this one vet speak for all vets!!! What the heck! BOTH the vets in the office where I go saw my puppy for her vaccination exams, and BOTH of them separately said to wait at least until her first heat so she can let her growth plates grow and get some of her adult hormones. It was actually pretty funny, because on my first visit I was all set to go in guns a blazin' about how I was going to wait to spay, and the vet came in with the exact same attitude, until we realized we both agreed, haha! She was also saying about how the risks of mammary cancer going up by just waiting a little bit vs the problems that could arise from spaying before maturity were the better odds. You risk bone/joint problems by spaying before the growth plates fuse with a larger breed dog, and I'd even forgotten, but my vet reminded me that with females their hormones actually LOWER their chances of dog aggression.

So, no, it's not that "all vets" get annoyed, it's that YOUR vet gets annoyed. A lot of people seem to have a hard time with the new evidence that's been coming out over the years actually in favor of waiting a bit to spay or neuter, it's like they can't get past their old dogma. I know, I used to push REALLY hard for spaying and neutering BY 6 months, but with the research I've done over the years (reading about actual studies, not just anecdotal evidence) I've changed my mind. If a person is able to manage an intact dog for a bit while the dog continues growing, then they absolutely should have that option and be given the latest information on it. Changing your mind when presented with new evidence is a sign of growth, but not matter the topic, people tend to have a hard time with change. Like they don't want to admit that they've been wrong all this time, even though with the previous evidence, they WERE giving the best advice.

As far as going through heat, we're just finishing up over here! My pup just turned 10 months on the 19th. Yeah, it's been pretty gross, haha! Worse than I'd even expected. My poor dog's been crated an awful lot the past few weeks because most of our house is carpet and she's allowed on the couch. She's also crazy energetic, so I didn't even bother trying those diapers on her, there's no way it'd work, although more laid back dogs seem to be ok with it. Her attitude went absolutely nuts for a while there, too. It's like, as crazy and energetic as she was before, someone dialed her up to 11. Crazy distracted all the time, really sensitive, slightly fearful (more jumpy, I guess, kinda on edge). Made her more likely to fight with our 13 year old husky, as well. Now that she's coming out of it, though, I think that dial's been set slightly lower than it started.  I thought we were going to have huge setbacks in our walks because I hadn't been taking her like I normally would (there are a LOT of loose dogs in my neighborhood), but she's been much calmer. There are more glimmers of her adult self shining through, now. I'm really hoping that once she's done and back on her regular exercise routine that she'll even be good enough to bring with trick-or-treating on Saturday, something I didn't think would be possible a few weeks ago.

So, yeah, don't let your vet push you into anything you don't want to do. If you think you're not in a position to manage a dog in heat, then that's for you to decide, not your vet. Think on it a bit, see what YOU feel you want to do, then tell the vet.


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## graciesmom (Jun 10, 2006)

Jazz is my 3rd female GSD and the first one where I waited to spay. My previous girls were spayed at 6 months. I decided to wait to spay Jazz based on the new evidence, my breeder's recommendation and also based on the fact that Jazz is a small girl. I found Jazz's growth has been slower than my previous girls, might be because she is a parvo survivor or might be just the way she is built. I just wanted to give her the best opportunity for the plates to close, etc. Jazz did not have her first heat until 17 months. Honestly, I was beginning to think there was something wrong with her, but no, her little body just took it's own sweet time. Her first heat was a new experience for me too. It wasn't too bad, we used the little boy underpants and a pantiliner. Not too much bleeding or mess and she was surprisingly compliant with earing the underwear in the house. She is always walked on leash and supervised when in our fenced yard so that was a none issue. We did not have any males jumping fences or hanging around our door. Following the heat, we waited another 2 1/2 months and then had her spayed. The spay is a bigger operation than on a 6 month old, which stands to reason as organs are bigger. Other than being a little shocked at the size of the incision, the spay was uneventful and she has healed nicely. Now that it's all said and done, if I had another female, would I wait again or would I spay at 6 months? I don't know, I think my decision would have to be made based on that individual dog.


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## Waldi (Jun 14, 2013)

annabirdie said:


> Hi all-
> 
> Rosie is approaching 6 months now which is when our vet suggested a spay. I have read quite a bit about this on the forum and other sites which suggest this early spay is a bad idea for a GSD. My vet responded to my concerns with how annoyed vets get with breeders giving veterinary advice as if they are vets, and went into the mammary cancer rates in spayed vs unspayed females which I am aware of. I am really struggling with this decision. I want to do what's best for Rosie and for our family as a whole, we have 2 kids and they have apprehension over their beloved pet becoming a bleeding and oddly behaved dog, as do I. For those of you who have been through it, how difficult is it to have a female in heat? What amount of bleeding can I really expect (please be as graphic as you need to be.)? Can the average dog owner effectively manage a dog in heat easily? I have heard people say not to even let the dog out in the yard during this time which I think will be difficult. Also, when to expect the first heat? OUr breeder suggested that her dogs generally go into 1st heat 14-16 months old but this is a lot older than the averages I have read elsewhere. We did sign a non breeding agreement so puppies are not an option. Any general thoughts/advice/details on what to expect would be much appreciated. Thanks.



We have waited till out dog was 1.5 years old after reviewing pros and cons and determining that we want her to be fully grown with benefit of hormones. This was based on experience with our older female (12 yo golden) who had all the problems associated with early spaying. Our vet agreed with us and support the decision.


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## MythicMut (May 22, 2015)

Wolfenstein said:


> Don't let this one vet speak for all vets!!! ... don't let your vet push you into anything you don't want to do. If you think you're not in a position to manage a dog in heat, then that's for you to decide, not your vet. Think on it a bit, see what YOU feel you want to do, then tell the vet.


:thumbup: Your vet should be working with you in the health care of your dog not arguing with you. It's not unknown for people to research and change vets.



Wolfenstein said:


> She [vet] was also saying about how the risks of mammary cancer going up by just waiting a little bit vs the problems that could arise from spaying before maturity were the better odds.


Some recent studies have shown tha,t although the risk of mammary cancer is reduced for spayed females and testicular cancer for neutered males, spaying/neutering can also increase the risk of other cancers. I have had two neutered males pass way from hemangiosarcoma, one spayed female from TCC (transitional cell carcinoma) and have another spayed female at home with TCC. For me, this no longer seems coincidental. My current male GSD will not be neutered unless there is a compelling medical reason. With all the conflicting information out there and no absolute, it seems like its more like a game of chance and that the real decision needs to be made by the individual.



Wolfenstein said:


> You risk bone/joint problems by spaying before the growth plates fuse with a larger breed dog, and I'd even forgotten, but my vet reminded me that with females their hormones actually LOWER their chances of dog aggression.


Yep! Also if you should decide not to spay and you don't want to risk pregnancy, a tubal-ligation will keep her hormones intact.



Wolfenstein said:


> So I didn't even bother trying those diapers on her, there's no way it'd work, although more laid back dogs seem to be ok with it. Her attitude went absolutely nuts for a while there, too. It's like, as crazy and energetic as she was before Saturday, something I didn't think would be possible a few weeks ago.


If you should decide not to spay her, consider getting her a dogPacer treadmill. It's one of the lower end models but a very good one. It will help to work off energy besides build stamina and muscle tone. My dog uses one in addition to his everyday routine to build muscle tone for future sports. He loves it. All I have to do is open the door to the basement and he is down there in a flash, standing on the thing and waiting for me. He will paw at it to try and start it himself!

Whatever you decide to do annabirdie, it needs to be a decision you feel comfortable making. I don't think you were comfortable with what your vet was telling you if you came to the forum to sound it out. Hope you share your final decision with us.


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## WIBackpacker (Jan 9, 2014)

annabirdie said:


> For those of you who have been through it, how difficult is it to have a female in heat? What amount of bleeding can I really expect (please be as graphic as you need to be.)? Can the average dog owner effectively manage a dog in heat easily?


I waited to spay one of my current dogs until she was a bit older. She was my first experience with an intact female (all previous dogs were spayed around 6 months of age, per vet recommendation). Her breeder recommended that I wait for maturity and health reasons, and my vet was open to discussing timing, risks, and pros/cons. If your vet is not open to calmly discussing the matter, perhaps you should seek out a different professional, but that's your choice of course.

I didn't find managing her heat cycles to be that terrible. Every dog is different, but she kept herself very clean and I washed & rotated her crate bedding daily. I did not need to purchase doggy diapers for her. She was kept in her crate for several hours a day at my office, there was a faint odor, but nothing disruptive or horrible. She was snuggly and whiney, that was it. She did mature a lot, mentally, after her first heat cycle. Far less puppy silliness.

Honestly the only thing that drove me crazy was the fact that we couldn't do all of the social, busy things that we normally do, and she spent her entire cycle on a leash (she was not happy about that). It also disrupted our training schedule, but that wasn't the end of the world. I'm fortunate that I can take my dogs with me 24/7, so for me there was nearly zero possibility of an "oops!" disaster happening due to her being left unattended, or someone else's error.

I think it's great that you're considering information on both sides of the argument, good luck as you make your decision.


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## yuriy (Dec 23, 2012)

annabirdie said:


> Hi all-
> 
> Rosie is approaching 6 months now which is when our vet suggested a spay. I have read quite a bit about this on the forum and other sites which suggest this early spay is a bad idea for a GSD. My vet responded to my concerns with how annoyed vets get with breeders giving veterinary advice as if they are vets, and went into the mammary cancer rates in spayed vs unspayed females which I am aware of. I am really struggling with this decision. I want to do what's best for Rosie and for our family as a whole, we have 2 kids and they have apprehension over their beloved pet becoming a bleeding and oddly behaved dog, as do I. For those of you who have been through it, how difficult is it to have a female in heat? What amount of bleeding can I really expect (please be as graphic as you need to be.)? Can the average dog owner effectively manage a dog in heat easily? I have heard people say not to even let the dog out in the yard during this time which I think will be difficult. Also, when to expect the first heat? OUr breeder suggested that her dogs generally go into 1st heat 14-16 months old but this is a lot older than the averages I have read elsewhere. We did sign a non breeding agreement so puppies are not an option. Any general thoughts/advice/details on what to expect would be much appreciated. Thanks.


I got my girl spayed at 6 months due to pressure from the vet. The same reasoning yours is telling you. That's routine brain washing from their end. With any future dogs I have, they will be given a chance to fully mature prior to any fixing.


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## middleofnowhere (Dec 20, 2000)

There's a study on the internet that discusses the relationship of cancers in dogs to early spay/neuter. Find it, print it out, give it to your vet. Mammary cancer can be detected early and survived. Hemangio is a death sentence. Skeletal weakness can also be a product or exacerbated by early (under 2 years) spay/neuter. That can't be reversed. 
When BTE2 was a youngster, my preferred vet wasn't at her practice the day we went in. The vet tech & the "other" vet went off on a rant about spaying. I just looked at them. I should have just yelled "I'm not doing it so shut up already." I didn't. When the vet of choice saw us next, I mentioned the recent research on spay/neuter. She was not particularly pleased that the other two had leaned on me about spaying. She did go to look at the information and was pleased to have it. Her response: "It's not so clear cut any more, is it?" Loved that woman. Here, my vet partners with a wholistic (sp) vet and is pretty OK with dogs being responsibly kept intact. I did spay BTE2 at 5 because she was having false pregnancies & regarded all other dogs as unworthy of existing during these.
So - I'd the heck wait. And if your vet doesn't like it, just tell him you will watch for mammary tumors and be aware of pyrometria (sp) - So do a breast exam on your pup every so often & be aware of her general health. that's something you would do anyway, eh?


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## annabirdie (Jul 3, 2015)

Thanks everyone for the thoughtful replies. I will wait and see how the first heat goes and hopefully she will be more the "drop here" "drop there" type if I'm lucky. We have no loose dogs wandering around in our neighbourhood (I live in a smaller town) so I don't worry too much about an accident. Most of you are reaffirming what my gut tells me. I am glad to hear that not all vets are saying what mine is saying. To be honest I have been a little unhappy with the lack of conversation on the topic by the vet. The breeder that I got Rosie from has been doing this a long time and I do think her opinion on German Shepherds counts for quite a bit! Let's hope she is also right on the 14-16 month first heat


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## MythicMut (May 22, 2015)

I'm glad you are feeling better about this and able to make a determination regarding what direction you would like to go in. Nothing is worse than a vet that belittles your opinions or knowledge or is a know-it-all. Do you have any pics of your girl you can share with us?


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## JB-Kona (Apr 13, 2015)

Kona is currently in heat at 8.5 months old. She started two days ago. My wife and I both work full time and it hasn't been a problem at all. No children.

We first noticed she was in heat when we found blood on the bed Monday morning. We crate her during the day and at night and she has been keeping herself clean. We have noticed some small spotting on her crate bed (it's waterproof) about 1/4" in diameter. When we're home she's able to roam the house the normal. We've put an old pair of panties on her to catch any of her "drippings". We still take her out to play in our back yard with a 6ft privacy fence. We don't have a large dog population in our neighborhood and i've never seen any strays. 

I feel like we're normal dog/pet owners. Not breeders or trainers. We're not having a problem managing her heat and don't really foresee it being an issue. We will eventually spay her, but just wanted to wait for one or two heats. 

You're welcome to PM me if you have any questions.


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## middleofnowhere (Dec 20, 2000)

OK I didn't talk about how to manage heats -- so far (one dog spayed at 5, the two year old still intact) so good. 

Lived in town for the first four years with the one spayed at 5. Let her out with supervision in the large, fenced back yard. Walked her on lead at low dog traffic times. Took her to training. No suitors. Improvised doggie pants from human cotton underwear (cut down the front from waist to crotch, the cut is at the dog's back, feet through leg openings, sides tie over back -- insert 1/2 a feminine pad before putting on drawers) for in the house. She bled for the full three weeks - which, I decided, was my reminder to keep her chaste for three full weeks.

Live in the country with the 2 yo. Intact doxies "next door" (about 5 acres between us) so her supervision is more intense - she's basically leashed outdoors or kenneled for the 3 weeks. I have hardwood and tile floors here and her bleeding is less intense and for a shorter duration. Her enthusiasm about britches is for removing them perhaps because I rarely put them on. We do go to training and tracking when she is in heat.
So far it has not been as big a deal as I thought it would be.


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## annabirdie (Jul 3, 2015)

MythicMut said:


> I'm glad you are feeling better about this and able to make a determination regarding what direction you would like to go in. Nothing is worse than a vet that belittles your opinions or knowledge or is a know-it-all. Do you have any pics of your girl you can share with us?


Thanks again! This is Rosie today.


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## MythicMut (May 22, 2015)

Where did you hide her?  I don't think it uploaded correctly.


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## annabirdie (Jul 3, 2015)

Sorry it didn't attach the first time!


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## annabirdie (Jul 3, 2015)

And now it's sideways....no idea how that happened sorry.


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## MythicMut (May 22, 2015)

Well she is still a doll even if she does like to sit on the wall (LOL)! Thanks for posting it.


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## annabirdie (Jul 3, 2015)

JB-Kona said:


> Kona is currently in heat at 8.5 months old. She started two days ago. My wife and I both work full time and it hasn't been a problem at all. No children.
> 
> We first noticed she was in heat when we found blood on the bed Monday morning. We crate her during the day and at night and she has been keeping herself clean. We have noticed some small spotting on her crate bed (it's waterproof) about 1/4" in diameter. When we're home she's able to roam the house the normal. We've put an old pair of panties on her to catch any of her "drippings". We still take her out to play in our back yard with a 6ft privacy fence. We don't have a large dog population in our neighborhood and i've never seen any strays.
> 
> ...


Thanks so much! This is a reassuring story!


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## ausdland (Oct 21, 2015)

A topic of interest to me, albeit premature. I'm going to wait until my pup is at least 18 months old and hoping to gain knowledge of tubal ligation or hysterectomy instead of full sex organ removal and hoping to find a NorCal vet who performs those surgeries. 
Does anyone here have experience with one and/or the other v. full spay?


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

annabirdie said:


> For those of you who have been through it, how difficult is it to have a female in heat? What amount of bleeding can I really expect (please be as graphic as you need to be.)? Can the average dog owner effectively manage a dog in heat easily?


For us, it's been all over the map. Sneaker's heats were so light that we didn't bother spaying her until she was 8 or 9 years old. Cassidy was a bloodbath. It looked like we'd slaughtered small animals all over our house. She'd lay on the floor for a nap, and when she got up there would be a puddle of blood on the floor. I followed her around with a bottle of carpet cleaner for weeks, and there were beach towels everywhere covering all the wet spots. (Graphic enough? :wild Yeah, it was bad. 

Dena was nowhere near that bad, but not as light as Sneaker. By then, I'd heard of doggie diapers, and by the time I decided to go ahead and buy some for her, she lightened up enough that I ended up not bothering. 

Halo's heat wasn't bad either. We spayed Cassidy, Dena, and Halo after their first heat. Managing them was not an issue. Heats average 3 weeks, so I put Halo on house arrest for a month. Same thing with Dena. Leashed walks should be fine, though. Behavior wise, all of ours were calmer, moody even, when they were in heat.


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## zudnic (May 23, 2015)

My females both not bad and very light. Hardly noticeable. I'll do the males if I also have females. But I wait until the male is mature. Its easier to do the males then females. I supervise my dogs outside, never alone outdoors. So I tend to not do either, unless I have opposite sexes together. Fixing either is more for the people who leave their dogs to roam free, over people who are with their dogs near 24/7, like me. I don't buy a medical/health reason to do it. 

I have two vets. One said oh he's almost six months time to neuter him! The other agrees about waiting until mature.


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## WateryTart (Sep 25, 2013)

annabirdie said:


> Hi all-
> 
> Rosie is approaching 6 months now which is when our vet suggested a spay. I have read quite a bit about this on the forum and other sites which suggest this early spay is a bad idea for a GSD. My vet responded to my concerns with how annoyed vets get with breeders giving veterinary advice as if they are vets, and went into the mammary cancer rates in spayed vs unspayed females which I am aware of. I am really struggling with this decision. I want to do what's best for Rosie and for our family as a whole, we have 2 kids and they have apprehension over their beloved pet becoming a bleeding and oddly behaved dog, as do I. For those of you who have been through it, how difficult is it to have a female in heat? What amount of bleeding can I really expect (please be as graphic as you need to be.)? Can the average dog owner effectively manage a dog in heat easily? I have heard people say not to even let the dog out in the yard during this time which I think will be difficult. Also, when to expect the first heat? OUr breeder suggested that her dogs generally go into 1st heat 14-16 months old but this is a lot older than the averages I have read elsewhere. We did sign a non breeding agreement so puppies are not an option. Any general thoughts/advice/details on what to expect would be much appreciated. Thanks.


Yes, studies have shown elevated risk, but you have to look at it in statistical context. The differences are statistically significant if they are being reported; this means that yes the aforementioned differences are meaningful in that they are not likely to be due to pure chance/randomness. But this doesn't mean that their magnitude is necessarily huge.

I understand vets may be thinking they'll listen to a breeder when the breeder has earned their DVM (and it would be understandable for them to feel that way), but responding with attitude isn't helpful to the client or their dog. A measured discussion of the risks and benefits to various approaches is much better. My puppy's first vet was very clearly advocating a spay at six months, but once we explained that we were under contract and I also mentioned that I had read some studies and it seemed like that sweet spot for balancing risks and benefits to a female was after the first, she was fine with it and agreed with me that this was a good balance. I think she wanted to hear that I was making a conscious choice and not simply parroting what a breeder had said to do.

Re management, I went through just one season with my dog, and my dog is actually pretty easy overall, but it wasn't hard.

Check your city ordinances (and training club rules if applicable) and make sure you abide by those. My city does not allow a dog in season off the owner's property. Another reason we spayed after her first season was because she was miserable being under house arrest for so long. We have a fenced yard, and I worked/played with her a lot, but she was bored and I don't blame her. Next girl I think we'd have to wait longer per contract, but this one was in season for about four full weeks and I didn't want to make her go through it again if I didn't have to.

My girl went into season at almost exactly 12 months of age, pretty consistent with other dogs I knew who were from similar lines. She knew she had 3 choices: 1) Naked outside, 2) naked in crate, 3) panties in the house. She was really good about choosing what she wanted to do and would tolerate the panties if she was choosing to be inside and uncrated. We had two pairs of the panties (one spare so there was always a clean pair) and just put a thin maxi pad in them. My husband was lucky enough to be the one around on the exactly 3 occasions during that month when it went to crime scene magnitude and he about died, but that was the worst that happened. Management was really pretty easy with her (I understand not all dogs are so easy).


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## Muskeg (Jun 15, 2012)

In my experience, a female in heat is easy. A female in heat around intact males in the same household is a pain, but manageable. 

I've lived in a few different places and gone through heat cycles and never had any male suitors (from outside the household dogs). Never had outside males come calling or pay any interest. 

My malinois girls all come into heat at the same time- an advantage really as it makes management simple. Their first heats were around 10-11 months, subsequent roughly 6 months later. 

They do not bleed enough to cause a problem. A drop here or there which I wipe up. But I have hardwood floors. With carpets it might be more difficult.

Personality-wise the main issue I see is that the girls get crankier with each other just before the bleeding-part of the heat cycle. So I watch for that and manage. Otherwise, their drives for work are the same, and if anything they are more affectionate with me.

They do not smell or have any odor. 

Their nipples do get significantly larger after their first heat cycles. Not sure if that is related to mammary cancer. My GSD was spayed at 2 years and her nipples are significantly smaller than my intact girls. Just a physical change you will notice after a female's first heat cycles. I also do see maturity in the girls, which I really like. Less puppy silliness, more focus. 

Their coats also get thicker and shinier during-after heat cycles. Which is a nice side effect. 

The boys in the house have the toughest time. I keep them separate but there is a lot of whining, a few days where they don't have much appetite. It is very obvious when the girls are in standing heat- they hold their tail to the side or up, they will try to seek out the males in my house, and they are less willing to settle in the house. For my girls, standing heat lasts exactly three days. I keep girls separate from males completely for three more days after that, and then supervised only for another week or two, just to be safe. 

The most annoying part by far is keeping my personal dogs separate for a week or two and the males whining whining whining. If I just had a female, heat cycles would be very easy. Hardly noticeable aside from wiping up a bit of blood spots now and again. 

My opinion, though, is that spaying is an easy solution for most dog owners. I'd just wait until 18 months, or go through at least one heat cycle, whichever comes later. Intact dogs are not for everyone.


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## annabirdie (Jul 3, 2015)

Thanks so much everyone for the info and replies. I have decided to wait until she is mature to spay her - at least a heat or two. Hopefully she will be on the neater side  I would like her to mature properly and fill out as nature intended it. We do have a male as well but he is fixed. I have a non breeding agreement so I will be careful but have never seen a stray in our neighbourhood. Wish me luck!


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