To be regret getting my dog spayed so young?

[goldennuggets1]

I bought a golden retriever as a pup. She’s kennel club registered as are her parents, good working linage etc and all relevant health scoring done too.

We are an experienced dog family but I don’t agree but i had absolutely 0 intentions of ever breeding her and I wanted her spayed asap. I didnt want to put her through the stress or discomfort of a season when it was totally unnecessary. I bought her as a family pet (and I suppose working pet in an unofficial capacity, she comes to the stables with me but spends more time eating horse shite!!)

I consulted my vet who at the time said it was fine to do from 6 months when her hips were developed or something along those lines, and she was checked at 6 months for suitability and was told she was fine. She was then spayed at 7 months and is now the picture of health (and cheekiness!) several years later.

however, I remember at the time there was a bit of uncertainty among certain vets about whether that is too young- mine said she was happy to do at 7 months as she felt it was unnecessary to put her through even just 1 season. But I remember at her puppy class (held at the same vets practice by one of the vet nurses) the nurse took a particular shining to my pup as she was actually a golden retriever breeder herself too, so she had a soft spot for her and she used to grill me on the fact I didn’t want to even give her a season and that I shouldn’t rule out breeding her in the future etc. I explained I had no interest in breeding or making money from her, and I distinctly remember her making 😵 face at me because she said I was wasting all her good linage etc and then I remember she used to make comments to my puppy like ‘mummy said you’re not allowed to have babies even though you have good genetics and your pups would be worth a fortune!’ ‘Mummy wants to rush and get you spayed even though you’re too young’ I was only 20 so I just used to think she was completely batshit so I ignored her completely until my pup outgrew the class. She was spayed at 7 months after my knowledgeable and experienced vet gave it the ok.

but now I’ve heard different things that say a dog should never be spayed so young, especially a big dog and that it can cause serious damage to their growth, health and development and they can die young as an adult. And that apparently they should have at least 1 season.

I remember at the time my vet mentioned this but she said she’s of the opinion that it’s fine if they’re healthy enough just get it done asap

basically I’m so worried now that I’ve accidentally caused my dog damage. I just wanted to do what was best for her, and perhaps from a selfish POV I had a month paid time off work where I could just be at home with her all day which i thought would be good for her recovery. Everything just made sense to do it then.

did anyone else get their dog spayed so young or know anything about it? Should I have given her 1 season? Just hate to think I’ve made the wrong decision for her x

I have to agree with you here. I have a boy and the vet told me you can't do it before 1 years old.

But then at the same time my BIL vet was saying he could get his DDog female done before her first season. I questioned this with my vet when I went in and they disagreed with the practice and said it can be damaging.

As other PP have said it's a bit late now for you to be questioning it but also the conflicting advice is really annoying if I'm honest.

My setter is 14 this week and as lively as ever, and was spayed before her first season, my boxer labs were both done pre first season and we lost one at 11 and one at 13&1/2. Don't overthink it, my friend lost a beloved pedigree spaniel at 6 to cancer - luck of the draw unfortunately.

I had my pure bred Labrador spayed at around 7 or 8 months before she had a season, absolutely no issues with her at all. She is now 11 years old and still has no health issues.
I done it for the exact same reason as you, I had no intention of breeding her because I didn't buy her to make money, I bought her to love. And I done what I thought was best for her, I can't change it now if the advice has changed.

This.

Don’t beat yourself up about this. What’s done is done. It’s most bitches that weren’t meant for breeding were spayed at 6 months, allowing them to have a season is relatively recent- and judging by some of the incredibly bad management of seasons I am not sure is necessarily a good thing.

it’s great you are a concerned owner, keep giving your dog the best care, keep her happy and don’t worry too much

As you say you are now several years on and she is fit and well I can’t see why you are worried . It’s rubbish saying that animals want to procreate - nobody knows if they like it or not . What I do know is that my nans dog got accidentally pregnant and we had hand rear 9 pups as by 2 weeks in she had refused to go anywhere near them . She was spayed pretty sharpish after that .

We let our dog have her first season, were sort of thinking of breeding her once. She had 3 very miserable weeks then only a week later has a phantom pregnancy which was even more miserable. We then had to wait for 3 months before she could be speyed. There's just no way of knowing until it happens, you make the best decision that you can at the time

@goldennuggets1 you should always rely on your own research, after all, you are the cash cow who fills the vets bank account! vets dont always get it right and every breed is different! ie boxers. a dog should not have his bits done till 2 years old but a vet will recommend 6 months! a vet will used a certain kind of anaesthetic but the breeders have acknowleged that the anaesthetic most often causes severe reactions in boxers, why dont vets know this?? cash cow again.

I'm a vet for clarity. I judge every case individually but generally prefer to spay after at least one season. That is what I usually recommend to clients unless there is good reason to recommend it be done beforehand, but again, I don't have a blanket policy, every patient/case is individual. However you are vanishingly unlikely to have done any harm to your dog by spaying her at 7 months. There is a risk of spay incontinence but that can occur regardless of the age at which they're done. Try to put it out of your head and enjoy your dog.

Regarding the breeding thing, there's no benefit whatsoever to the dog in having puppies, only risks. Dogs don't dream of being mothers. All dogs are wonderful, and many are well bred, but they don't all need to be bred themselves. There are too many pet dogs being bred as it is and you've done the right thing not adding to it. Unless you're in a very rare breed there will be countless dogs out there with similar/equally good/better lineage, in a common breed like the GR, 'well-bred' dogs are not a rarity. Unless they themselves are objectively proven as a good example of the breed via working/showing etc. then a pedigree alone doesn't guarantee quality. The dog themselves also needs to be health tested even if they come from health tested parents. Some DNA tests can show hereditary clearance but that's not possible with clinical eye tests or hip scoring, and the latter can only be done after the dog is 12 months old.

Anyway, it's a long way to say that you really needn't worry! There are never any guarantees in life let alone with animals, but your girl is much more likely to live a healthy, happy life than not. You're obviously a very caring and conscientious owner which is the most important thing any dog can have, believe me 🙂

My terrier pup was spayed young! Like you, never wanted to breed, and had VERY firm advice from the vet and at puppy class about why spaying young/ before a first season is better for them. Try not to worry, she'll be fine ♥️

Dog #1 was spayed after her first season, and she wasn’t quite right after that. I can’t say for sure it was the spaying but the behavioural issues started after that. We sadly had to have her pts after 7 years of trying to solve the issues.

Dog #2 hasn’t been spayed and has a season about every 18 months. I didn’t want to risk the behavioural issues happening again. We’re careful to keep her confined to barracks when she’s in season. But she’s poorly now and can’t get out much.

If wee had another dog would I get her spayed. More than likely.

you did the best you could with the info you had at the time. Yes, there is evidence now that spaying (and neutering) later is beneficial to dogs, particularly Goldens and other large breeds, but don't beat yourself up about it.

Do you know what breed it was? (the study about early spaying preventing mammary cancer).

My grandad loved dachshunds, but never spayed them. He lost a few girls to mammary cancer.

All of my dogs, large and small, were spayed before their first season.

It’s never been an issue.

A colleague lost a dog she loved more than anything, because some crackpot convinced her that every dog needs to have some puppies to be happy. Canine pregnancy can sometimes be just as complicated and fatal as ours.

Why put them through that? For a few grand? For some cute puppies to hand over to strangers who you can never really be sure will treat them well behind closed doors?

The dog doesn’t give a shit. They aren’t ever going to staring off into the distance, wondering what it would be like to be a mother.

This reminds of a ex friend who had a lovely lurcher. She wanted to breed from her. Her girl would not comply, so they tied her to a post and restrained her to get the deed done.
When she had the puppies, she rejected them. Didn't want to know at all.

That’s made me rage!

Not a chance I’d ever let someone do that to one of our dogs. Poor girl.

Dog One had a first season, escaped and we ended up getting the morning after pill for her and then spaying - it was an absolute nightmare, but we were in no position to support a teen dog mum.
Dog two, was spayed before any seasons and like yours is adorable and healthy, so occasionally I do think, how sad, the world would be a better place with her puppies but that is not my life. I don't want to be a dog breeder and our beloved dog is very much part of our family not a puppy,money machine.

Pretty sure it was golden retrievers and the one I am thinking of is quite an old study now on a group of around 40 bitches - it appeared to show a significant reduction in mammary cancer if the bitch was spayed before the first season, a reduction (but less significant) if spayed after the first season.

However on googling I can't find it (though ive only looked for a few minutes) because the results im getting are about a much newer study that seems to show spaying may reduce the risk of mammary cancer, but increases the risk of other cancers.

Its tough stuff to read through and hard for people to align with their own personal experiences, because hardly anyone associates the cancer that kills their older dog, with an early spay done years before of course. And owners are typically looking at only personal experience with their own dogs!

My preference after donkeys years of working with dogs is to spay after the first or second season (occasionally third with a giant breed), unless there is some pressing reason to do so - for example if the owner lives with people who cannot shut doors and has entire males, or theres a big entire stray dog population and an insecure property.

My goal in spaying is to avoid pyometra (the risk of this increases with each season) and being honest, convenience for me, and removing what can be a stressful time for the bitch. It isn't (at least in my house) particularly to do with reproduction as I am confident I won't have any accidental litters.

I find it does help to think through what ones actual goals are, too many people believe spaying/neutering will fix all sorts of things, behaviour problems and magical 'prevent all kinds of cancer' being the top answers!

I'm collecting a GR pup in 3 weeks
Breeder has a policy of neutering at 15m or second season, whichever comes first

Your girl is happy and healthy, in a safe and loving home. That's all she needs 🧡

Tomorrow we are taking my sons Corgi into the vets to be spayed. They waited on advice from the vet. I have just done some Google research after reading your post and there is a huge disparity of agreements as to the best age to spay. I never found any consensus. My point is, many vets / owners/ breeders have different views. There is no right or wrong.

So you haven't done anything wrong. Your doggie 🐶🦮🐾 sounds beautiful ❤️

The veterinary nurse was batshit and unprofessional. I see absolutely no reason why you should have valued the input of someone who made passive-aggressive comments to your dog!

Maybe more trustworthy sources of data do suggest it would have been statistically better to neuter later, but you can't undo her spaying and then redo it. Can you? Disregard that if you do secretly have a time machine, and get me the lottery numbers for next week.

For the rest of us without time machines, none of us get to know what would have happened, if we'd decided differently. If you had waited to spay her, maybe you would have been one of the owners whose dog escaped and got pregnant during her first season. It happens to a surprising amount of people.