confused about spaying

[greyvix]

I need to have my lovely dog spayed before the Summer, as I don't want to leave her when I go on holiday if she's in season. She is due in August I think. I really can't remember when her last season was though. How precise do you have to be?

Bitches' seasons are usually every 6 months or so, and you should spay between seasons, so that would be about 3 months in from the last one. If your bitch is coming into season in August, she should have had her last one in February, and if she was going to be spayed, it would be best to do it around now. I would have a word with your vet.

We got our lab spayed before the first season , so we had no idea when she would be in season IYSWIM - the vet gave her a good thorough check on the morning of op to make sure that she wasn't in season or near and all was good.

I'm sure that it will be OK.

The vet should check. The first time we went to have ours spayed, the vet wasn't happy. Even though it was 3 months post-season, she still had lots of signs of being near to season, or not having calmed down from the previous one, so we left it. In the end she was spayed 3 months after her 2nd season. It wasn't exact timing as I wanted it done in school holidays (quiet house and I have plenty of free time), but the vet checked her beforehand again and this time was happy and the op went really well.
Your vet should guide you. It sounds as though now might be about right if you think she is due in August, so I'd go along for a chat.