Advice On Spaying

[LM1981]

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I am after a bit of advice on spaying my whippet She is coming up for 7 months and has not yet had her first season, I have always with past dogs (not whippets) waited until after, but my vet has said that it would not be a problem to have her done before she comes into season for the first time :unsure: .

She has very high energy levels and my garden is not huge so I have to admit that the thought of having to have her on the lead for several weeks and not getting the exercise she is used to is not something I am looking forward to (I may not have an un-chewed item left in the house), but ultimately I want to do what is best for her, so any advice would be appreciated.

The other thing to bear in mind is that my neighbours have an un-neutered male Jack Russell cross that is already jumping into my garden on a regular basis :angry: , it’s a cute dog but not one I want violating my baby

 

[moonglow]

Personally,i would not entertain having any bitch spayed until after their first season(whatever a vet says).Then wait for at least 3 months after!

 

[jinnyfizz]

I wouldn't advise speying until after the bitch has had her first season. She needs to develop properly before removing her hormones! She may not even have her first season until she is over a year old - the earliest any of mine had one was on her 1st birthday!!

With regard to the neighbour's dog ...... can you heighten the fence to prevent this happening? You certainly can't risk your girl being got at so, when she does come into her first season, you will probably have to accompany her in the garden and lead walk her in isolated areas where no other dogs are walked.

Your neighbour should also take some responsibility for the dog - no reason to keep him entire as he shouldn't be needed for stud duties :thumbsup:

 

[Hula]

My whippets have all been quite late in having their first season .

If the neighbours dog is very determined you may have to take her out in your garden on the lead to make sure she is safe .

They should also take responsibility for their own dog .

You could always play games with her indoors for the time she is in season.

 

[eve]

I agree with the others.

Personally I think whippets male or female will develop better if they are speyed after their 1st season over in a dogs case once they are 14 - 18 months. It lets them grow and fill out properly. A lot of vets do speying early however.

You need to speak to the owner of the JR and get the fence sorted. It certainly would not be good for your girl to get caught in her first season.

Dogs can go to amazing lengths to get at a bitch in season. If nothing can be done about the fence, then perhaps you could chat to next door and arrange agreed times that JR is kept indoors so that you can take her outside to play.

I know that not all dog owners and neighbours are responsible but hopefully they will understand and help you out by keeping a close eye on their dog for a few weeks. If your garden is not completely secure, you may have a lot of unwanted male visitors, not just from next door and when she is receptive, your girl may try to escape to find a dog . Your best option is probably to keep her on a lead and buy her lots of things to chew and play with in the house.

When she is eventually speyed, she will be on lead walks for 2-3 weeks to stop her running about flat out and tearing the internal stitches. She will also smell attractive to male dogs for a few weeks after being speyed.

 

[T Hoare]

Agree with all previous posts :thumbsup:

 

[LM1981]

Thanks for the advice :thumbsup: I have to admit prior to a trip to the vets last night I had not considered getting her speyed until after her first season, I had always thought you were supposed to wait.

I get on really well with my neighbours and bless them they have put trellis up on top of the wall to try and keep their dog in but he is so small he goes through the gaps, they have also said many times that they are planning on giving him the snip but as yet this has not happened, I may try to broach the subject again when I next see them.

By the sounds of it I may have some time before any of this becomes an issue, on previous experience with other breeds (my parent’s dogs) they had come into season about 6 months, I was half expecting it to happen any day now, good to know that it may be much later.

How have you all coped with exercising a bitch in season, is it just a case of planning walks carefully at times where there are fewer dogs about? My parents have a massive garden so it wasn’t an issue with their dog she could get plenty of exercise there (maybe that is a solution, move in with them for 3 weeks)

 

[~Annie~]

I agree with all the advice given so far but wanted to add another point. One of the worst times to spay is just as the dog comes into season and with a pup who's never had a season you could achieve this inadvertantly. Waiting for three months after her season ensures that her hormones are at the right levels for spaying to proceed. Personally I wouldn't spay until a bitch was at the very least 18 months old, which might mean 3 mths after her second season. They need their hormones to mature mentally and physically and whippets particularly can be late developer :thumbsup:

 

[eve]

Lucky you have great neighbours. If they would get the JR done, that would be great. Better for him too. Mae being in season for 3 weeks would drive him mad. It does take a few weeks for male castration to be effective

Do your parents live too far away for you to use their garden to let Mae have a good run?

May not be a bad idea visiting your parents for the main part of her cycle if they will have you (I think days 10 -20 but you would need to ask the vet that one).

Good luck :luck:

 

[~Sarah~]

I agree with everything that has been said already. :thumbsup: Certainly wait until she has had a season and matured properly, and then arrange for her to be spayed about 3 months after.

I am not really certain why vets try to encourage early spaying, but I suspect the operation is easier on young immature bitches. :-

 

[Hula]

I agree with everything that has been said already. :thumbsup: Certainly wait until she has had a season and matured properly, and then arrange for her to be spayed about 3 months after.
I am not really certain why vets try to encourage early spaying, but I suspect the operation is easier on young immature bitches. :-

Probably more to with the number of bitches who become pregnant during their first season and the number of unwanted dogs many of whom are put to sleep by vets .

Not a job they enjoy doing although some people might think it is a great thing for them to be doing so they can make lots of money :angry:

 

[TTT]

I agree with everything that has been said already. :thumbsup: Certainly wait until she has had a season and matured properly, and then arrange for her to be spayed about 3 months after.
I am not really certain why vets try to encourage early spaying, but I suspect the operation is easier on young immature bitches. :-

Probably more to with the number of bitches who become pregnant during their first season and the number of unwanted dogs many of whom are put to sleep by vets .

Not a job they enjoy doing although some people might think it is a great thing for them to be doing so they can make lots of money :angry:

I took my pup for vacination recently and speying was one of the first subjects mentioned. I was surprised they were offering to spey prior to first season, but given the above reasons, very understandable. I will get my bitch done following her first season, and at least over a year old, when she has had a chance to mature. I heard some folk mention the increased risk of urinary incontinence in young speyed bitches, which for me, would be a concern.

 

[Hula]

I agree with everything that has been said already. :thumbsup: Certainly wait until she has had a season and matured properly, and then arrange for her to be spayed about 3 months after.
I am not really certain why vets try to encourage early spaying, but I suspect the operation is easier on young immature bitches. :-

Probably more to with the number of bitches who become pregnant during their first season and the number of unwanted dogs many of whom are put to sleep by vets .

Not a job they enjoy doing although some people might think it is a great thing for them to be doing so they can make lots of money :angry:

I took my pup for vacination recently and speying was one of the first subjects mentioned. I was surprised they were offering to spey prior to first season, but given the above reasons, very understandable. I will get my bitch done following her first season, and at least over a year old, when she has had a chance to mature. I heard some folk mention the increased risk of urinary incontinence in young speyed bitches, which for me, would be a concern.

Urinary incontinence has always been a concern for me too . Maybe something you should discuss with your vet as I don't know in what number of spays this would be likely to happen .

My own vet assured me it was more likely to occur in some breeds more than others , whippets not being one of them .

 

[jinnyfizz]

How have you all coped with exercising a bitch in season, is it just a case of planning walks carefully at times where there are fewer dogs about? My parents have a massive garden so it wasn’t an issue with their dog she could get plenty of exercise there (maybe that is a solution, move in with them for 3 weeks)

Moving in with parents is a thumbs up!! :thumbsup:

I am lucky as I have my own land and don't have to walk my dogs where they are likely to meet other dogs but I still operate a policy of "staying indoors" for my in season bitches as there are a couple of dogs local to me who are not castrated and I don't want to attract them to my property.

It really is one of those times when it's best to keep your girl indoors and just give her a quick once around the garden half a dozen times a day to keep her as happy as possible. If you take her out you are possibly courting disaster and will most certainly attract alot of unwanted attention from any entire dog within 100 yards of her :blink:

My youngest has just come into her first season today .......... she is just over 14 months old :thumbsup:

 

[TTT]

I agree with everything that has been said already. :thumbsup: Certainly wait until she has had a season and matured properly, and then arrange for her to be spayed about 3 months after.
I am not really certain why vets try to encourage early spaying, but I suspect the operation is easier on young immature bitches. :-

Probably more to with the number of bitches who become pregnant during their first season and the number of unwanted dogs many of whom are put to sleep by vets .

Not a job they enjoy doing although some people might think it is a great thing for them to be doing so they can make lots of money :angry:

I took my pup for vacination recently and speying was one of the first subjects mentioned. I was surprised they were offering to spey prior to first season, but given the above reasons, very understandable. I will get my bitch done following her first season, and at least over a year old, when she has had a chance to mature. I heard some folk mention the increased risk of urinary incontinence in young speyed bitches, which for me, would be a concern.

Urinary incontinence has always been a concern for me too . Maybe something you should discuss with your vet as I don't know in what number of spays this would be likely to happen .

My own vet assured me it was more likely to occur in some breeds more than others , whippets not being one of them .

Interesting....can you recall any of the more prone breeds? I know a few collies and also a terrier who suffer this. Good to know the whippies are not so likely.

 

[LM1981]

Though it started out as a joke I think maybe moving her to my parents when the time comes is not such a bad idea after all, they live nearly an hour away but I have done the commute to work in the past and I am sure they wouldn’t mind if I had to leave her with them overnight a couple of times should I have any really early meetings (she is like their third grandchild and totally spoiled). Hopefully I will have a few more months before it is an issue but better to have a plan in place :thumbsup:

 

[Dizzychick]

Just wanted to say thanks for all the advice on this. My Lily is still small but I was wondering what I should do when the time comes, all your advice is helping me make up my mind.

My vet is recommending 6/7 months before first season as they said that this reduces chanced of cancer later on. However, my trainer said to leave it till she is at least a year old and has had one season at least. His view is that spaying too early does not allow their hormones to kick in as they should and almost keeps them in 'suspended puppyhood' meaning they cannot emotionally deal with things as they get older such as seperation etc. It would sound like good advice to me, just the extra hassle of managing the season and keeping her out of the way of other dogs - that's not something I am looking foward to but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

I have to say that our old JR/Border X dog we had neutered at 6 months and he never seemed to grow up. Suffered extreme seperation anxiety and wee'd constantle when her was excited, scared etc... dunno if the early op was the cause but I guess it could have been.

xx