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The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

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Original poster

How easy is it to keep an entire bitch?

47 replies

Puppalicious · 17/05/2021 10:16

I’ve heard that spaying my breed of dog can make keeping its coat (already high maintenance) unmanageable. I also think I read that in some Scandinavian countries they have much less neutering rates than here but owners are just responsible. So I’m considering not spaying my bitch. No intention to breed. How tricky would it be? I have a fully enclosed garden (terraced house).

OP posts:

StarCourt · 17/05/2021 18:06

I got my 2nd rescue dog 10 weeks ago, I wanted a bitch and already have a neutered dog. As she is a rescue and is 4 yrs old she was supposed to come to me already spayed. But they 'forgot' to do her. As I found out 2 weeks in, when she was leaving blood everywhere and my dog was going crazy trying to mount her for 3 weeks solid!

LostArcher · 17/05/2021 18:10

Hi @Puppalicious. I have a rough collie too. She's five months now. I too have read on Collielife about the coat and am concerned. We go caravaning and at the moment are really worried that booked holidays may coincide with us being on a touring park with male dogs going bonkers. Ours loves being outdoors so would be utterly mis being inside. I think we are deffo going to do one season and possibly another and then neuter. She's beautiful but we have no intention of showing or breeding. Here is a pic for cute factor.

tsmainsqueeze · 17/05/2021 18:40

@Puppalicious

Breed is a rough collie. Seasons do seem like a pain but so does trying to keep the matted wool that I saw on the breed website... I could maybe spay her later in life for pyometra reasons.

You may not get chance to wait for later in life , i'm a vet nurse and every once in a while we see a pyometra in a young dog , the youngest i have seen was only 6 months old . Also spaying before 3 years will greatly reduce her chance of developing mammary tumours something that i would worry more about than a pyo which although serious and potentially life threatening mostly can be surgically treated and cured ,mammary tumours tend to be malignant with a good chance of secondary lung tumours .

LEMtheoriginal · 17/05/2021 18:47

You are putting her at risk of false pregnancies (distressing), mammary tumours and pyometra . Why would you do that?

LEMtheoriginal · 17/05/2021 18:51

Waves at @tsmainsqueeze - fellow VN

mrscatmad31 · 17/05/2021 19:06

Ex vet nurse- please spay her for all the reasons above, they are much happier and healthier

GrumpyMiddleAgedWoman · 17/05/2021 19:21

IME it's not too difficult to keep an intact bitch. I'm able to walk a bitch in season in quiet areas away from other dogs - I took one out yesterday for 40 mins and saw no other dogs at all. I have late-maturing breed and wouldn't choose to spay before 3 or 4. There is also evidence that in some breeds later neutering is protective against spay incontinence, some joint issues and some cancers.

But I would spay if I wasn't going to breed her, partly because seasons, while not a big deal, are limiting and a bit messy, but mostly because of the risk of pyometra. Mammary cancer does seem to affect some breeds more than others, so that can be a concern too (though I think the stats are that only half of cases are malignant - could be wrong there though).

Original poster

Puppalicious · 17/05/2021 19:40

@LostArcher, she’s a beauty! I don’t know how to post pics or I want post one up. I’ve found walking a rough collie puppy certainly gets a lot of attention (although maybe that’s the same for all puppies!)

OP posts:

MamaWeasel · 17/05/2021 19:48

Our Boo used to get really quite maudlin when she was in season. That all stopped when we had her spayed, she was so much happier.

catwithflowers · 17/05/2021 20:06

My SD brought her young entire bitch over a little while back and our old spayed dog went wild when they were playing together in the garden! 😳. We had no idea that a spayed dog would react so strongly to a young dog nearing the end of her season so goodness only knows what entire male dogs must be like when a bitch in season is nearby!!!

We had our retriever spayed at around 18 months on our vet's advice.

LostArcher · 17/05/2021 20:48

@Puppalicious Us too. Walks take ages as everyone stops for admiration and fluffles!

To post a pic you press the paperclip and faff about with instructions from then on. I find it a bit hit and miss!

MaddieElla · 17/05/2021 20:56

Our cocker spaniel is 4 and we are just about to spay her. I wouldn't have done it before now.

Wasn't a problem to keep her safe from pregnancy. Despite MN judging anyone who doesn't walk their dog 19 times a day they really don't need it. Well, mine doesn't. She's a lazy swine.

We were considering having one litter from her, to keep her pedigree going and the next generation (something we wish we'd done for our rainbow bridge baby dog ) But at almost 4 I think she's too old and now I'm more concerned about cancers and the god awful piometra.

Our vet is very much on board with us waiting until now and never pressured us to do it very young.

MaddieElla · 17/05/2021 20:59

Spellcheck

StillMedusa · 18/05/2021 00:18

Catpurple We can agree to disagree on that one. My vet specifically told me (whe, I asked) whether I needed to keep her in house when in season, and was told to keep walking her , but on lead and away from other dogs... which in the middle of a field away from all the usual dog haunts, is precisely what I was doing!

Moot point now as she is spayed, but the onus is equally on owners to have control of their entire males...

IthinkIsawahairbrushbackthere · 18/05/2021 00:25

Over the years my parents had two bitches that were not spayed and my husband and I had three that were. My parents' bitches both died of hormone related cancers around the age of 10 (rescues so couldn't be certain). Our bitches all lived to be 15. That was a mix of breeds - small terriers, collie, retriever and mixed breed. I would never have an unspayed bitch.

CatPurple · 18/05/2021 07:39

Moot point now as she is spayed, but the onus is equally on owners to have control of their entire males...
I agree they need to also have control but I don’t agree the onus is equal: There’s only so much control the owners of the males can physically have in that situation due to the fact that there’s no way for them to actually know that there’s a bitch is season nearby until it’s too late. If they’re out walking and the male suddenly gets scent from a mile away then even a rock solid, gold plated recall isn’t going to stop them pelting over.
Whereas the owner of the bitch can control what happens (by not going out) as they are the (only) ones that know she’s in season.

TheDiddlyGang · 18/05/2021 07:54

I agree they need to also have control but I don’t agree the onus is equal: There’s only so much control the owners of the males can physically have in that situation due to the fact that there’s no way for them to actually know that there’s a bitch is season nearby until it’s too late. If they’re out walking and the male suddenly gets scent from a mile away then even a rock solid, gold plated recall isn’t going to stop them pelting over.
Whereas the owner of the bitch can control what happens (by not going out) as they are the (only) ones that know she’s in season
I agree with this entirely.

Dogs won’t die from missing a walk for a few weeks and tbh, I don’t think it is fair on the bitch to walk them in season, if a male does get the scent he is going to come racing over harassing her and she is likely to be scared and very upset.
Sometimes other bitches react badly to bitches in season aswell and sometimes neutered males still show an interest in bitches in season too.

sonjadog · 24/05/2021 09:17

I live in Norway and as people say, it is illegal to neuter or spay dogs here unless there is a medical reason or behavioural reason for it. Dogs in Norway still have long and healthy lives (I haven't noticed lots of dogs dying earlier than dogs in the UK), but I do think dogs in the UK seem calmer and more social than here. Not sure if it is to do with neutering/spaying or other factors, but it has occurred to me that it may be linked.

IrmaFayLear · 24/05/2021 10:42

It depends on where you live and your lifestyle.

In the wilds of Norway sure you can keep an unneutered dog. In Surbiton, not so much. If it’s a dog who lives outside on a farm, then it’s a possibility, one who is indoors with a family, visiting busy parks and going for pub lunches... noooooooo !!!!

Before my dog was neutered he could detect every bitch within a two-mile radius. He’d go potty outside certain gates and don’t underestimate the ladies, too. They’re not all demure spurning the advances of rampant males, but are pretty keen themselves!

I did dog boarding, and took a female dog for a walk the owner had assured me was not in season. I was running like a maniac through the park hotly pursued by slavering males (after the dog, not me!) which was a bit of a hair raising experience.

SlothMama · 24/05/2021 16:05

I'd spay her, I waited until mine had two seasons and reached the age of two. She'd get awful moods after her seasons, so she's much happier now and I didn't want to breed from her!

Regards to walking in season, I walked her later in the evening only on road walks. Where I knew dogs would be on lead or should be secure in their own gardens or homes. We didn't have any hordes of males after her like some would make you believe!

We took her to secure fields for a run off lead a couple of times too, she's an active breed and there's only so much mental stimulation that we could do!

Norfoal · 24/05/2021 16:17

Its worth noting the effect it has on male dogs too. We had an intact female in for foster and it made my neighbours dog go absolutely crazy trying to get to her, there's no way we could have taken her on holiday etc

Male dogs will pine like they are in the most horrendous pain for an intact girl several doors up or that passed by.

christyt114 · 24/05/2021 16:57

Get her spayed.

I got my bitch spayed at age 4. She still died age 8 of mammary cancer.

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