Is a bitch fully grown/mature/an adult after her first season?

[Deadnettle]

My pup, a miniature poodle, came into her first season yesterday and I've been looking into when to get her spayed.

The vet said 3 months after her first season which would make her just a year old (1 year and 2 weeks).

I've read an awful lot about the benefits and risks of when and if to spay but I'm having trouble finding out if a bitch is mature after her season. We did a lot of dog sports with our last dog and would like to do the same with this one, so I am keen to ensure that her growth plates are closed and that she has finished growing.

Does a season mean that she is all grown up and that her growth plates have closed? Our last dog (a male of a different, larger breed) changed a lot physically between his first and second birthday and I'm wondering if the pup will too.

I think it's to do with the size of the breed. I have a large breed & she may come into season as late as 14 months & wont be fully grown until she's 18 months-2 years.

I'd have thought a miniature poodle would be done growing & classed as an adult dog by a year.

Our medium dog finished growing (thickening out) at about a year and a quarter. Neutured at a year and wonder if we should have left it another season in hindsight

I'm 90% certain that she has already stopped growing, if she hasn't she wont have much more to do. I'm just wondering if she will bulk out after a year of age. I want her to be mature physically before she is spayed and don't mind leaving it until after her second season when she will be 18 months.

In saying that she will get spayed in 3 months if she reacts badly to her season or has a false pregnancy. She will get spayed later if her nervousness continues or gets worse. My confident and fearless puppy has turned into a paranoid wuss in the last month or so.

I do wonder about bitches that come into season at about 6 months. If they are then spayed at 9 months, are they fully grown? Are they adult dogs?

What does her breed description say? I've got a lab and they're generally assumed to be 'mature' at about two years old.

The only breed description I could find that mentioned anything about when miniature poodles are mature says that toys and minis are considered adults at 1 years of age and that standards are adults at 2 years.

It then goes on to say that the adult coat doesn't finish coming in until 18 months to 2 years, which leaves me wondering what the definition of adult is.

If she was male I wouldn't have her neutered until she was at least 18 months, if at all. One of the dog sports people recommends 14 months as the earliest to neuter but she will be close to her next season by then.

I'll have to speak to the vets and trainers I think.

Yes I would. Get as much info as you can. It's all a bit of a minefield at the best of times!

It certainly is a minefield! I have read so many studies and so many opinions that I just don't know what to do.

A lot of the info talks about variations between breeds (so one breed is more prone to something than another breed) affecting the chances of certain complications but I can't find the statistics anywhere. I feel like I only have half the information I need to make a properly informed decision.

Many people wait till after the 2nd season. Even minis might not be fully grown at 6 months. Vets are not experts on everything and will definitely push for early spaying, this is now becoming the trend. Spay/neuter is their bread and butter job.

I don't know whether I'll bother neutering my lab. There seems to be some evidence that he might be prone to more health problems from being neutered than not. I think the chances of him getting out and fathering a little of pups is unlikely. The chances of him getting some horrible illness from neutering are probably more of a risk.

Gide DDog is 9 months old (10 months in a week), so will be a year old if she is spayed 3 months after this season. If she had started her first season at 6 months there is no way I would spay her at 9 months, she had grown a lot in the last 3 months. We are lucky that our vet does not like spaying before a first season and we have had no pressure at all to spay.

MsAdorabelle our last male dog was neutered for a very specific reason but if that hadn't happened I doubt we would have done it unless there were health reasons to do so. He was never interesting in bitches (which is a good job after someone took their bitch off lead to the park!), and didn't hump or do any annoying behaviour that some people say all male dogs do.