Age to spay a dog

[AnnieP1]

I have a 21 week old labradoodle x border collie and my vet says she can be spayed now. However the owner of my dog's litter sister has been told by her vet not to spay until a year or eighteen months old. Why is there such disparity in vets advice as I am now uncertain as to the correct course of action! I have done some research online and again found conflicting advice. In the US and Australia they are increasingly spaying dogs from eight weeks old. Has anyone experienced any problems in having their dog spayed before their first heat?

[3luckystars]

I am wondering about this myself. Our dog is 7 months old now.

The vet says you can do it as soon as the big teeth are in. I don't know enough to know that though. All the teeth look big to me?

Anyway, I am going to leave it until her first heat is over. I'm not an expert so ignore what I say next because it's just my own opinion, but any dog I have seen getting neutered really young/before going into heat has remained very puppy like and spends the rest of its life humping things like a male dog.

The other thing I have noticed is that a few weeks after a dog is in heat, ( like around the time the puppies would be due) the dog gets a bit down and sick for a while.

So in summary : I don't know, but it was nice to talk.

[Giraffe31]

We had our 8 month old spayed last week and she hadn’t had her first season. Our vets advised that they could do it from 6 months and it was up to us whether to wait or not as there are pros and cons for both sides. In the end we decided we wanted it done and our the way so we went ahead and booked it in. 2 weeks on and the scar is almost completely healed and 2 days after she was back to her normal self, you wouldn’t even know she’d had it done

[Wolfiefan]

It’s a tricky one. Personally I would rather wait until my dog was mature. (But we have a giant breed.)
Each season has seen a development in her confidence and maturity.
But you need to be able to guarantee that she can’t get near a dog when in season.

[CallMeRachel]

Far too young at just 21 weeks imo.

Advice recently has been more along the lines of waiting until the dog/bitch is at least 1year old/18 months ideally.

Personally I chose not to have my bitch neutered, she is 5 years old now and never had any problems. If I was to neuter, I would wait until 3-4 months after her first season when the hormones are most settled.

[MrsRubyMonday]

Absolutely wait until after first season. Our Labrador had to have a minor surgery when fairly young, and our vet suggested that while she was under, may as well spay at the same time, save two lots of anaesthetic, two recoveries etc. What they didn't tell us was that for bigger breeds especially, the hormone development that takes place around their first season also alters some of the structure of their reproductive area, which can have a knock on effect. Our lab is now 8 and has been on medication for urinary incontinence ever since the surgery, as she never developed the muscles needed to hold it in properly. It's not a lot, a dribble if she lies down for example, but not pleasant. Luckily she doesn't mind the medication on her food. The vet never warned us this was a possibility although further reading has suggested it's fairly common. I wouldn't risk it again.

[Jabbythehutt]

Depends on your situation, size/behaviour of your girl, if you have other dogs, there are no hard and fast rules really. Smaller breeds I would spay ASAP to make risk of mammary tumours and womb infections as small as possible. Labs upwards I would allow one season maybe but bear in mind every season they have reduces the protective effect spaying has against mammary tumours. Giant breeds you can argue leaving entire until they are fully grown which may not be until 2-3yo as it may reduce the incidence of degenerative joint diseases. But yes, the reason vets have different views is it often is weighing up pros and cons.

[Singlenotsingle]

My vet said 6 months. Dog is a Chinese crested powderpuff, quite small.

[Skarlet2018]

I was told not to do it until she's mature because of the effects on joints and bones. Having read about the risks of incontinence I've decided not to do it at all.