Just booked my puppy in to get spayed and I'm having a wobble

[Wibbywobblywobble]

She's 2kg, so teeny tiny, and will be just over 5 months when she gets done.

I know it's the right thing to do for her sake but I'm feeling really guilty about putting her through this op when she's so young and small.

Is there a benefit to waiting? Is it better to get it done before she has a season? Should I get her the suit or the cone after the op? Any helpful hints and tips?

TIA

Wrong thread sorry

We waited until ours was 21 months and had had two seasons. We’re glad we did as her confidence rocketed with each season. Our vet won’t spay before a year or first season unless medically necessary. They prefer two seasons for small and medium dogs and three for large and giant.

I'm not actually sure what happened, just that her Mum was just over a year old when it happened, and that she died birthing her pups, mine was the only surviving one and I've had her since day one.

It was a friend of a friend kind of situation and they weren't equipped to take on a tiny pup and hand rear her, I am always at home and up multiple times a night so that's how I ended up with her.

We have been through a fair bit together so I'm just trying to minimise the risk of as much as I can.

If I take her out on a walk when she's on heat will dogs just run up and jump on her? What if I don't realise she's started and walk her and it happens. My garden is totally secure so she's fine out there but she loves going to the park and playing with her friends in the morning.

Sorry I am very new to all this so I'm getting all my information from Google and walkers in the park right now.

I would definitely wait until after their first season - they are then more mature physically and mentally. I'm surprised your vet has said to do it so young. What are the chances of her getting pregnant in her first year? Assuming you don't own an intact male dog, then it should be relatively easy to keep her away from other dogs when she is in season - even if this means not walking her in public places for a week or two - you can always hire a dog walking field for this short time.

Please don't get her done just yet.

She's still growing and needs the hormones to mature mentally and physically.

I've had spayed bitches done early (6-8 months, after 1st season) later in life (1.5 - years).
I can't quite put my fingers on it, but the ones done later were better at being a dog.

Bigger dogs should be fully mature and stopped growing before messing around with their hormone production

Yes our vet said the latest thinking was that letting large breeds like ours reach maturity with all the hormones helped with things like hip development, bone plate fusing etc.

So our dog was done aged around 2 and a half as he's a large breed.

Really not sure why this would be so different for little dogs - wouldn't they also benefit from full bone development too?

Ignore the vet and speak to experts specifically on your breed. A vet suggested getting our Dachshund done when he was less than a year old but we refused and waited until he was 2 because that is what the dachshund breed council advise (in their case it massively reduces the risk of back issues).

We walked ours in season either rurally in the middle of nowhere on a long line or around town on the lead. It was fine. If you are worried don’t walk her. It’s only 3-4 weeks. She really needs to mature and onr season should be enough.

Thank you all.

I've cancelled the appointment and decided to wait until she's had at least one season and go from there.

The vet did say it would be harder to book her in when she comes into season because they need to do the procedure at a specific point, but that I've to just keep in touch and let them know.

My gut feeling is that she's just too tiny yet, so I'll just be extra careful when she does come into season.

Our vet, and the two vets in our family, recommend spaying before the first season with small dogs. We had our rescue pups spayed at 5 and 6 months.

She is absolutely adorable. I’ve always waited until mine have had a season, but they are bigger dogs, Labrador. You’ve done an amazing job hand rearing her, that is such hard work. Your connection with her must be so strong, a very special bond.

We had our beagle pup spayed before her first season and all went well. We trusted our vet's recommendation.

It's best to wait until the dog is physically fully developed which is usually after two seasons.
Spaying increases the risk for every cancer (except uterine, cervical and vulval) and when done too young can lead to dogs increasing their risk of joint, behaviour and ligament issues.
Mine ended up having 3 just to give her time to mature behaviourally too.

There is increased blood circulation during and around her heat, which is why spaying should be done at least a couple of months after it. I really believe your vet is pushing an agenda that is not in your (or any) dog’s best interests.

The vet did say it would be harder to book her in when she comes into season because they need to do the procedure at a specific point, but that I've to just keep in touch and let them know.

What an odd thing to say - you can just book her in for three months after her season. If they can’t cope with that, you need a new vet.