When to spay?

[Merrydance]

We have a 4 month old bitch puppy. Our current vet has suggested we have her spayed after she has had her first season. He said that is what he has always advised but acknowledged other vets have differnt views. Our previous dog was spayed before her first season and there was no issues. We have no plans to breed so just need to decide when is best to spay. Just asking about others experiences?

I spayed my dog before her first season because she's not a pure breed and I wasn't overly worried about adult size which can be compromised in an early spay

Some vets also suggest bone formation is compromised but I haven't seen any evidence of this

What breed?

I wouldn’t spay before first season. There’s a higher incidence of bitches becoming incontinent later in life if they’re spayed early. Personally I think dealing with a bit of mess and inconvenience is well worth it to protect their bladder and bone health.

She is a cocker spaniel.

There is a certain amount of evidence that early neutering can predispose towards certain illnesses (cancers, mostly) later in a dog's life. This study www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2020.00388/full looked at 35 breeds and indicated that for cocker spaniel bitches, you were better off neutering after they turn two. Obviously this is just one study and so not necessarily the last word, but it looks fairly comprehensive.

Your main risk with an intact bitch is the womb infection pyometra (which can kill a dog very quickly, so you need to keep a close eye during and for sometime after a season).

This study just looked at physical consequences. Personally I prefer to let my dogs develop mentally and socially before I start taking their hormones away. I don't know of any conclusive scientific studies on this (and even if there was one, I'd like to see several before I made up my mind).

If you have hard floors, seasons are not, IME, that massive a deal. I'd rather go through a few and end up with a dog who is a proper adult, rather than removing key hormones from a developing adolescent.

Thanks for your replies, a lot to consider

We were recommended after first season, but she had that quite early so our vet then said let her have another. She grew up a lot in that time so I do think it was beneficial to wait.

I would wait until she's had at least one season, ideally two depending on when she has the first one.