Spaying - before or after first season?

[katchambers]

Everyone, including my vet, a friends vet, our breeder and various dog owners we trust all have different opinions for different reasons, and we are having trouble coming to a decision and we have only 1 month to decide.

 

Do we get Cali spayed at 6 months or do we let her have a season first?

 

We had finally made a decision to spay her at 6 months, for many reasons, 1 of them being its hard to have a to keep an energetic border collie off the streets for 3 weeks while she is in season. However, our friend said she has 2 labradors, one who was spayed before first season and one after, and the one who was spayed before has remained immature compared to the other, we don't want that as Cali has too much energy as it is and we were hoping that getting her spayed might calm her a little as people have told us it has a calming effect.

 

Can you all tell whether you spayed before or after their first season, and why?

 

Thanks

Kat x x

[Samantha J]

We wanted to wait until Holly was at least 12months old and had one season before we got her spayed. Our reasons were that we wanted her to have at least 1yr growing up before we altered her in any way. So she was about 15months old i think when we had her spayed. It did not alter her ways at all, the only thing different was she would eat all her food up. Before she was spayed she was more fussy eating. It didn't effect her energy levels at all. We want to do the same with Zac, wait until he is over 1yr before he gets done for the same reasons as we waited for Holly.

[Journey]

Short answer - wait until her growth plates are closed. You can X-Ray to make sure they are closed and then decide based on her age if you want to wait longer.

 

Karen

[Wendy V]

Early spaying contributes to bladder weakness at a later age. I, too, would wait for growth plates to close. Why do you think she would be running the streets?

[AK dog doc]

Early spaying contributes to bladder weakness at a later age.

 

Or not. My 9 year old Westie, spayed at 5 months (prior to the first heat), has no issues with incontinence. Dave's 12 year old BC, spayed at 2 years (after her third heat), has been on meds for incontinence for over 4 years. I see PLENTY of dogs spayed later in life (as in, after they've been through heat cycles - sometimes MANY heat cycles) who develop incontinence. I also see tons who were spayed prior to the first heat who never have an issue with it.

 

Growth plates are a separate issue.

 

JME, of course.

[Maralynn]

we don't want that as Cali has too much energy as it is and we were hoping that getting her spayed might calm her a little as people have told us it has a calming effect.

 

You've got a Border Collie pup - spaying her now is not going to make a difference in her energy level. When I had my then 6 y/o BC spayed it calmed her down for a whole day and a half. She is slowing down a slight bit now that she's 9 y/o, but still keeps up with my 3 y/o dog quite nicely.

 

Personally, I would wait until my dog was 12-18 months old before spaying. But if you're not sure that you're going to be able to keep her away from intact males, spay her before her first heat.

[sweet_ceana]

Short answer - wait until her growth plates are closed.

This is what we did as well.

[urge to herd]

We got Sami at a year old, had her through two heat cycles, then spayed her at age 2. She developed incontinence by age 4, and has been on medication for the last 9 yrs, with no side effects that I can discern.

 

As to energy level, it made no difference what so ever.

 

Getting through those two heats was no fun, but quite doable. I was determined that no male dogs would be able to get to her. Supervision in a fenced yard, leash walks, and lots of training at home got us through fine.

 

When I get another young dog, they will be altered probably around 16 - 18 months, to get a more mature skelatal structure, if I get dogs who aren't already altered.

 

Ruth n the BC3

[Lewie'sMom]

I vote for spaying before her first heat.

[dogsofmenace]

I vote for spaying before her first heat.

 

 

Why is that? I don't mean that to sound rude in any way, I'm just interested. I don't have any opinions on this subject as I've never had a puppy my entire life; I, too am interested in others opinions and pros and cons of each.

[Journey]

I vote for spaying before her first heat.

 

Why is this a "vote". What about taking the medical factors into consideration? This, imo, is not something to think lightly on. You have to look at the dog and the pros and cons of this "life altering" event. AK Dog Doc has good points, yet no one seemed to respond to or ask why. This is a personal decision as well as a medical one. One needs to do the research, check out "both" sides to the surgery and make an informed educated decision.

 

Karen

[vanillalove]

Well, I'd like to know why! Why should someone wait until the growth plates are closed? And, why would someone feel like spaying before the first heat would be appropriate?

 

I know with males, lots of people say that if you neuter early you may nip in the butt certain unwanted male behaviours. Although, that can totally not be the case as well, my Pete marks up a storm on his walks if I let him and still lifts his leg. We had him neutered at an early age, I think 6 months?

[Shetlander]

Why is this a "vote". What about taking the medical factors into consideration? This, imo, is not something to think lightly on.

 

Spaying before the first heat greatly reduced the chance of mammary cancer, from what I've read. IIRC, there is some reduction in the disease if you spay before the second heat and from what I recall no difference if you wait longer until after the second heat. In all the emphasis on growth plates lately, other benefits seem to be overlooked.

 

For what it is worth, the one female I've had (Sheltie) was spayed at 5 months. At ten years old, she's never had the slightest issue with incontinence.

[MaggieDog]

If you aren't sure you'll be able to keep her away from intact males if she goes into heat - SPAY BEFORE the first heat. If you can be sure she'll never be left unattended in a yard or outdoors for even a second (and that includes behind a fence because both males and females will do their darnest to breed, even through fences/crates) then you may want to consider waiting due to potential health benefits.

 

My Maggie was spayed right after her first heat, but she wasn't mine at that time so I didn't have to deal with any of the repercussions. Ziva was spayed at 10 months and I'm not sure if she went into heat before that or not - I was paranoid about her going into heat so I was vigilant about checking things periodically, but she did become very interesting to males for a bit. She showed no visual signs of heat, so I wonder if she went through a silent heat. Silent heats can go undetected by humans but you can be sure other dogs can tell, so that's another thing to take into consideration.

 

Maggie is 9 yo with no health issues, though she does have some behavioral problems with other dogs and some anxiety issues. Ziva is 17 mo and is healthy as a horse behaviorally and physically.

[kaos]

My two were both spayed before their first heats and we have had no issues with continence, nor any one our past dogs that were all spayed prior to a year. I think mammary cancer is a pretty good reason for early spay rather than concern about growth plates in a pet that will not be a high performance farm/ranch working dog. People always seem to be really pre-occupied with their pets potential for sports acclaim or the aesthetics (I like my dogs to "look" mature, not sure I get it)

 

Sara

[Samantha J]

I personally believe that when a dog is either spayed or castrated then it must have some sort of effect with them that we dont maybe see. It is a major operation for a bitch to be spayed and it must effect the hormones in both sexes in some ways. I just think whilst they are going through a rapid growth stage it might effect them more than when they are more mature. JMO though.

 

Also our vet that we go to wont spay or rather she advises to wait until they have had one season so we can then roughly count 3 months later for the operation. I dont know if it is much more complicated or maybe more dangerous if they open them up to operate whilst they are in heat. We wanted to wait anyway and so didn't really ask.

 

We didn't find it difficult with Holly taking her out, she didn't have much off lead time outside of our garden though but she still got walked on lead everyday. We were just extremely careful, i actually took a walking stick out with me. Not to beat any dog with of course, just something to help deter them if i came across any that came near her. She didn't go out as often though and not as far. Also i tried to make sure i wasn't alone when i took her out. Again just a bit more security if we did meet an off lead dog.

[Lewie'sMom]

My reason for voting (sorry if that word mislead anyone) is for the health benefits. From the research I've done on it of late spaying before a bitch's first heat completely eliminates any chance for breast cancer. After the first heat cycle the chances of developing breast cancer increase to seven percent and to twenty-five percent after her second.

 

Spaying also prevents a life threatening infection of the uterus called pyometra. Pyometra normally occurs in mid-life to senior aged females six weeks after a heat cycle. As progesterone prepares the uterus for pregnancy the uterine wall engorges with blood and suppresses the uterine immune function. The conditions during heat are prime for bacteria. When pyometra occurs the uterus fills with bacteria, pus, dying tissue and toxins. Untreated, the prognosis is grim. Only immediate spaying can save her life.

 

my 2 cents

[Samantha J]

Spaying before the first heat greatly reduced the chance of mammary cancer, from what I've read. IIRC, there is some reduction in the disease if you spay before the second heat and from what I recall no difference if you wait longer until after the second heat. In all the emphasis on growth plates lately, other benefits seem to be overlooked.

 

 

We had read about that and that is the reason we wanted to get Holly spayed after her first heat and not wait any longer. I know the risks would have been reduced more if she had been spayed before her first one but after thinking about it all and our personnal views on the growth phase we decided on the over 12months and after her first heat for her.

[Maralynn]

Here is a recent thread on the subject Spay/Neuter Health Implications

 

The only 2 valid benefits that I see for early (under 1 y/o) spay/neuter is the prevention of pregnancy and the reduced risk of mamory cancer. Since I don't let my dogs run loose, and they are secured when I'm not around, then I've already got pregnancy prevention covered.

 

The increased risk of cancer is something to consider. However, the risk only goes up like 6 % after the first heat. And some breeds have an increase in bone cancer when altered at a younger age (rotties for instance). Several other problems have been linked to early altering as well (as shown by some links in the other thread). Not much is concrete yet, but it's enough to convince me that holding off altering my dogs for at least 18 months will quite possibly be preventing more health problems then altering them early would.

 

The prevention of unwanted male behaviors is more than just neutering - it's training! I've seen plently of males neutered at a young age that still mark all over the place, etc. Kipp was neutered at 2 y/o and never marks - in fact he squats when he pees.

 

Hormones help the dog to mature mentally as well physically. With a family pet it dosen't matter as much, but with any serious sporting/working dog, I think it can make a difference in the final outcome if you let them mature before cutting off a major source of hormones.

 

The fact that most people aren't prepared to deal with intact animals (and prevent pregnancy) is really the only reason I see to advocate early spay/neuter.

[Shetlander]

The fact that most people aren't prepared to deal with intact animals (and prevent pregnancy) is really the only reason I see to advocate early spay/neuter.

 

Just as I find bringing a cancer risk down to virtually zero is a pretty good reason to advocate for spaying before first heat. I also like to differentiate between pediatric spaying (at 2 - 3 months) and what is now being called "early" spaying but what was the norm for many years.

[MaggieDog]

The fact that most people aren't prepared to deal with intact animals (and prevent pregnancy) is really the only reason I see to advocate early spay/neuter.

 

The above is not something to be underestimated. I recommend most people get their animals altered before sexual maturity because the vast majority here suck at keeping intact males and females confined. The 18,000 animals that come through the doors of the shelter I work at each year is testament to that problem.

 

If you can be responsible about intact animals, then by all means wait.

[Maralynn]

Just as I find bringing a cancer risk down to virtually zero is a pretty good reason to advocate for spaying before first heat.

 

Yes, and that risk is not something I take lightly - Missy was spayed at 6 y/o and had 2 benign tumors removed when she was spayed. It had me very worried until the biopsy result came back. And I still check her frequently to make sure there are no more tumors. However there is pretty solid evidence that spaying before 12 months of age can greatly increase the risk of ostiosarcoma and hemangiosarcoma. So, IMO, it is worth the slighty increase chance of one type of cancer to decrease the chance of other cancers. But in the end it comes down to what you are personally comfortable with.

 

 

I recommend most people get their animals altered before sexual maturity because the vast majority here suck at keeping intact males and females confined. The 18,000 animals that come through the doors of the shelter I work at each year is testament to that problem.

 

Yup. And that is the reason that I'd still reccomend to the majority of people that they get it done sooner rather than later.

[ziggzmom]

Everyone, including my vet, a friends vet, our breeder and various dog owners we trust all have different opinions for different reasons, and we are having trouble coming to a decision and we have only 1 month to decide.

 

Do we get Cali spayed at 6 months or do we let her have a season first?

 

We had finally made a decision to spay her at 6 months, for many reasons, 1 of them being its hard to have a to keep an energetic border collie off the streets for 3 weeks while she is in season. However, our friend said she has 2 labradors, one who was spayed before first season and one after, and the one who was spayed before has remained immature compared to the other, we don't want that as Cali has too much energy as it is and we were hoping that getting her spayed might calm her a little as people have told us it has a calming effect.

 

Can you all tell whether you spayed before or after their first season, and why?

 

Thanks

Kat x x

 

 

Hi Kat,

 

This article is interesting, especially if you're interested in doing agility or some other dog sports with Cali.

 

http://www.caninesports.com/SpayNeuter.html

 

Janet

[Shelley86]

Thanks for starting this topic - it is something that I've been thinking about a lot lately. Nova is 5 months old, and I'm currently faced with the decision on when to spay her. I want to get her spayed - but it's a matter of when is the right time. I'm starting to think I'm going to wait longer because she will be an active dog, most likely doing flyball/agility... I'll continue to think on the matter and research, but its interesting to hear others information.