Advice Please - When Should I Neuter My Dog?

[maggiemay2]

Join our free community today.

Connect with other like-minded dog lovers!

Login or Register

hi guys,

I have two whippets bitches which i am thinking about neutering. one went a year old in july and the other is coming up to 6mnths old. the year old+ bitch has never had a season and obviously the pup hasnt had a season yet.

i'm stuck between a rock and a hard place as to whether to wait until they have had their first season or to get them done before... I've received information to support both so wanted to know your opinions.

any help much appreciated

 

[abbey]

The advice that we give to clients on this is to spay BEFORE the first season..this zeroes out all possibilities of mammary tumours in later life, a bitch doesnt need to ahve a season or a litter..its much safer to spay them at about 6m. Old style thinking was to allow a season then to spay midway between the first and second season. Hope this helps.

 

[nina]

Just MY personal opinion but i would NEVER do it before a first season.

I would let her mature fully, have one season & then have it done if you really feel a need to. :thumbsup:

 

[nina]

Oops, posted twice :b

 

[alfyn]

Just MY personal opinion but i would NEVER do it  before a first season.
I would let her mature fully, have one season & then have it done if you really feel a need to.  :thumbsup:

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

​

I'll second that! :thumbsup:

 

[jok]

And me, first season before speying. I would imagine your vet would advise to do it now :wacko: We've experienced the heartache of mammary tumours and the injections used to prevent seasons. I won't add anymore, except i would certainly allow one season :thumbsup:

You won't get many replies i doubt - always a controversial subject

 

[beaubeau]

Spaying is the removal of the ovaries and uterus; this involves opening up the abdomen and is a major operation. This will stop all seasons and is irreversible.

 

I would never have a bitch spayed before a first season !

 

Vets are now coming around to the idea of spaying after the first season.

 

My vet wouldn't have recommended having mine done before her season ! In fact, they were apposed to it. ) She was still my baby and growing :huggles:

 

Of course, we know that after each season the chances of Pyometra increases slightly so if you are not planning to breed, then it would be advisable to spay them sometime after.

 

As you said, you've received most of the information. This is just my feeling on it

 

Tracey x

 

 

[Evie]

Just MY personal opinion but i would NEVER do it  before a first season.
I would let her mature fully, have one season & then have it done if you really feel a need to.  :thumbsup:

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

​

Nina,

What effects does it have on a bitch to have her neutered pre first season, physically/mentally? I'm curious. My bitch was neutered at 6-7 months and never had a season. So far, so good; but just wondering what effects this might have on her.

 

[abbey]

Vets used to always advise spaying after a first season, but opinions have changed with most Vets now..unless the bitch has infantile vaginitis we always recommend spaying before the first season, and that is also the recommendation of the RCVS. Spaying a bitch can lead to urinary incontinence in a small percentage of bitches. Personally i would take every chance of preventing mammary cancer as statistics show that they have 0% chance is spayed prior to the first season. Go along with whatever your own personal vet advises..i am only saying what our advice to clients is and from my own experience over the past 20y..i have spayed all my bitches bar two and never had any problem. Hope you can get a balanced argument from both sides of the coin and make an informed decision from there.

 

[nina]

Just MY personal opinion but i would NEVER do it  before a first season.
I would let her mature fully, have one season & then have it done if you really feel a need to.  :thumbsup:

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

​

Nina,

What effects does it have on a bitch to have her neutered pre first season, physically/mentally? I'm curious. My bitch was neutered at 6-7 months and never had a season. So far, so good; but just wondering what effects this might have on her.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

​

I can only speak from personal experience, to me its a bit like carrying out a hysterectomy on a 10 year girl who has never had the chance to have a menstrual cycle or for her body to develop fully :wacko:

Or to become mature both physically & mentally.

Obviously after having owned dogs for more than 25 years i have had bitches speyed BUT always later in life & with no unusual or dire consequences.

The only bitch i have ever owned who was done before a season was a bitch we took on as a rescue from Battersea dogs home & their policy was to neuter straight away i think she was about 4 months :blink:

Whilst we loved her to bits i can honestly say that

1. She never matured mentally & acted like a pup throughout her life & was the hardest dog EVER to train in EVERY way & just acted like a pup well into her adult years.

2. Never matured in body, NEVER had any spring of rib or depth of chest & even at 7 plus still looked like a gangly teenager (w00t)

Think about it logically, hormone activities bring on changes both physically & mentally in any female whatever the species, whatever the age, at the very least i think every female should have the chance to reach maturity both in body & mind :thumbsup:

Just my opinion & experience & think everyone should do what they think best :thumbsup:

 

[Evie]

I can only speak from personal experience, to me its a bit like carrying out a hysterectomy on a 10 year girl who has never had the chance to have a menstrual cycle or for her body to develop fully  :wacko:
Or to become mature both physically & mentally. 

Obviously after having owned dogs for  more than 25 years i have had bitches speyed BUT always later in life & with no unusual or dire consequences.

The only bitch i have ever owned who was done before a season was a bitch we took on as a rescue from Battersea dogs home & their policy was to neuter straight away i think she was about 4 months  :blink:  

Whilst we loved her to bits i can honestly say that

1. She never matured mentally & acted like a pup throughout her life & was the hardest dog EVER to train in EVERY way & just acted like a pup well into her adult years.

2. Never matured in body, NEVER had any spring of rib or depth of chest & even at 7 plus still looked like a gangly teenager  (w00t)  

Think about it logically, hormone activities bring on  changes both physically & mentally in any female whatever the species, whatever the age, at the very least i think every female should have the chance to reach maturity both in body & mind  :thumbsup:

Just my opinion & experience & think everyone should do what they think best  :thumbsup:

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

​

It certainly seems to make sense; so long as owners are sensible and don't leave the bitch open to opertunities of unwanted mating etc. With rescues though they can't always be guaranteed the new owners will be careful enough and it's probably a case of being better off neutered sooner than suffer the consequences.

Thanks for your reply. :thumbsup:

 

[AnnSa]

I didn't know this was in two sections, but for whats its worth this is

my opinion.

 

I have two bitches and have decided on later rather than early

neutering..............as you say there is so much different advice

given on this subject.

Sada has had a season but i will wait now until Kaya has and

they can go together

 

[ingsay2000]

I agree with allowing one seson. My vet agrees that this is the modern way of thinking. Although I had two girls previously who were both speyed before their first season and both lived happy healthy lives until they were 16.

 

[Mark Roberts]

I have to agree with Nina, a bitch isnt fully mature till after she has had a season so I'd say definatly wait till after.

 

[alfyn]

Here's an interesting article for you....

http://www.naiaonline.org/pdfs/LongTermHea...euterInDogs.pdf

 

[Mattie]

Dogs mature at different rates just like humans do and the large breeds seem to be later maturing than the small ones. I have a 13 month old Greyhound/Lab who has just come into season, she won't have another but I know she is now mature enough for this op and also her insides are all working properly.

A friend's dog has just come into her first season, she is 27 months old, another's dog was 6 when she had her first season.

The incontinence doesn't work out either, only 1 of my dogs was spayed before her first season and that was before I got her, she didn't get incontinence but my other dogs who were spayed after their first season, every one has become incontinent. Incontinence is easy to solve in a dog, I have one now that is incontinent but she is on Proplin and there isn't a problem.

 

[marion]

for what it is worth i agree that i would wait!

I have had two rescue whippet crosses both spayed before 1st season, both big puppies!!!

one has now passed away from eating silly nonsense like squeaker's from toys. cos she was a silly pup at heart!! )

you are removing the process by which they mature.

mentally and physically.

They remain puppies.

in cow's or horses they would not gain weight, their chests would not drop and they would not attain the inherited knowledge that would show them how to deal with other animals. Younger or older than themselves.

As for preventing illness such as mammary cancer that is a strong argument.

But i would have rather met them as they would have been if they had been allowed to mature in their own time.

 

[Caravan Monster]

My vet says spay before the third season to minimize risk of mammary tumours. From a breeding point of view, this gives the owner the chance to assess well, if not fully, whether a bitch has that something special to make it suitable for breeding from.

My girl has had mammary lumps removed several times. Her previous keeper bred from her at one year old and she remained unspayed. Several ops and over £1000 later (and my vet works for v. reasonable rates), no lumps since feb, so fingers crossed.

 

[hellybobs]

I was advised to wait until Inca had, had her first season as she has a number of UTI's as a pup and also the had a small Vulva. and letting her mature would help.

Inca didn't have her first season until she nearly 16 months old and she had a very bad time of it, I've never known a bitch suffer so much during a season as she did, the vet ended up giving her meds to stop her.

Inca was speyed after this and she then became incontinant and is propalin.

I've also had a JRT with mamory tumours too and it not nice at all, she was unspeyed her whole life and had 1 litter and developed the tumours when she 17 years old, she underwent 2 lots of surgery until the vet found out the cancer had spead to her internal organs and my lovely girl went to the bridge aged 18.

 

[rls22]

My vet says spay before the third season to minimize risk of mammary tumours. From a breeding point of view, this gives the owner the chance to assess well, if not fully, whether a bitch has that something special to make it suitable for breeding from.
My girl has had mammary lumps removed several times. Her previous keeper bred from her at one year old and she remained unspayed. Several ops and over £1000 later (and my vet works for v. reasonable rates), no lumps since feb, so fingers crossed.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

​

Fingers crossed for your girl :huggles:

We lost one of our dogs due to mammary tumours last year. She survived many, many years after first being diagnosed. :thumbsup: