Panicking about spaying too early

[LorelaiVictoriaGilmore]

My 9 month old springer spaniel has to have a hernia operation tomorrow morning. I’ve got to drop her off at 8am. The vet today said that we might as well neuter her at the same time to save her another operation / recovery period.

I was mostly worried about the general anaesthetic at the time so I just agreed. I am now having a massive panic that it’s too soon as she is only 9 months and hasn’t had a season yet.

I just did a quick google and got totally overwhelmed! Can anyone give me any advice?

There's been breed-specific research on this. Outlined at www.ucdavis.edu/news/when-should-you-neuter-your-dog-avoid-health-risks with more details at www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2020.00388/full

If you're unsure, though, I'd suggest a discussion with your vet tomorrow morning. You can always decide not to go ahead if you wish.

All of my working cockers have been spayed at 6 months with absolutely no issues.

It seems ok for springer spaniels at this age… I read an article when I googled about it resulting in permanent adolescence!

My mini poodle was spayed before she had a season. She is very silly and immature. I think they are as a breed anyway but I regret not letting her fully develop and have puberty. She is almost 9 now and is getting a bit incontinent. I think this is another issue with spaying early
If I ever get another bitch I will let them have their puberty

Personally I would wait until they're physically grown to their adult height and weight - normally around 18 months or so for springers.

I wouldn't, myself. They're not mature at that age, physically or mentally, even if they have had a season.

The UC Davis info linked by a PP advises not spaying a Springer before age 1 due to the increased risk of urinary incontinence. I'd also consider your bitch's mental maturity, and weigh that against the risk of things like pyometra and mammary cancer. Personally I like my dogs to be proper adults so I now hold off neutering a lot longer than I used to.

And you need to wait till the growth plates have closed so that their joints aren’t affected.

I agree with GrumpyMiddleAgedWoman I would delay if possible.

However I also see the advantage of one op. Is there anyway the hernia op can be delayed for a bit.

No idea if that is a stupid idea as not a medic!

Although looking at the date of your original post I guess the op had taken place by now. Hope she is recovering well

I have had my female dogs all spayed pre season with no issues.

We were advised by our vet to wait until after our ddog first season- she's also a springer.
She's 13 months and still not had her first season

Spaying before first season is the best way to reduce risk of mammary cancer. Spaying between first and second season also reduces the risk but not as much.

@BrownEyedSquirrel

Spaying before first season is the best way to reduce risk of mammary cancer. Spaying between first and second season also reduces the risk but not as much.

Unfortunately it's probably also the best way of increasing the risk of spay incontinence.

Some health issues have a reduced risk after neuter, others an increased one. And the impact varies by breed.

@grumpymiddleagedwoman Absolutely true and an important point to make. However, it tends to be larger dogs such as Labs and Golden Retrievers that are affected with this type of incontinence.
It's also worth saying that hormonally driven urinary incontinence can usually be well managed with daily medicine. I personally advise waiting until about 12-18 months of age, ideally about 3 months after 1st season in Spaniels. However, many (many!) owners opt to spay before 1st season and I'm quite happy to do this. (I've been a Veterinary Surgeon for the last 10 years).