# spaying a female



## cristofa (Aug 8, 2010)

wat is the difference in behavour of a spayed female german shepherd? I havent got mine done yet i would like to find out more before i do so


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## DonP (Apr 13, 2009)

Mine was spayed about 2 mos. ago and I don't see any difference.
Don


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

It is hard to say behaviorwise. 

They sometimes suggest neutering a male for behavior or aggression issues, but never a female. 

There was a study that indicated that females tended to be more reactive when spayed. And if you have a female that is reactive, spaying can actually make her moreso.

If you have more than one bitch and want to avoid hormone-related issues between bitches, maybe it is a good move. Once bitches do fight -- really fight, I do not think hormones play much of a part in keeping it alive though. But usually if my girls get nasty at all, it is when one or the other or both are coming into season. Best to just keep them separated then. 

Females have a hormone that is released that actually will calm down situations. With a ovarihysterectomy this hormone is no longer produced, and so it can make bitches seem even more aggressive or reactive. 

I have yet to hear of bitches that have gone in to be spayed who have not had these issues, come out with issues though. So, I would not worry about negative consequences in behavior or temperament due to a spay, unless you are already having issues.

I have heard of a young bitch being trained as a police dog who showed a lot of promise, they spayed her, and she lost interest, and was eventually dropped from the program. Often bitches will put on weight after a spay. 

I have had a mongrel bitch spayed at about a year of age and she was just as energetic and amiable after the fact as before, other than stomach cancer surgery at 18 months, she have almost no health problems, and we put her down at 14.

I had one older bitch spayed at 6.5 years. She had a bladder infection, then checked low thyroid, and died at 8.5 years from hemangiosarcoma. She had no behavioral or temperament changes from being spayed. On her last day, she bounded out into the field and I thought how she resembled Joy the puppy bounding around.


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## cshepherd9 (Feb 11, 2010)

I have had 3 females in my adult life and all have been rescues, therefore they have all been spayed. I have never noticed any difference in behavior before and after. My first dog did gain some weight but she was a lazy dog by nature so I didn't attribute it to the spay.


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## Jessiewessie99 (Mar 6, 2009)

We got Molly spayed and she was just as hyper and lovable as she was before the spay.


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