Neutering but no season yet???

[Colalola]

Hi looking for advice. Took my dog to the vets as she is coming up 2 years old and never has had a season. They said she looks in good health and she may have silent seasons (I'm sure she hasn't) so we should go ahead and book her in for the procedure anyway. I don't know what to do really? What do people think? I don't know how common this is, they couldn't seem to tell me much. All the other females from her litter have had seasons. Thanks!

I would get her spayed.

Why wouldn't you book her in to be spayed?

100% spay her. No one should have an unspayed bitch unless they are a breeder - it's asking for serious trouble.

Please spay her. We didn’t do ours quickly enough and she ended up having puppies. It was incredibly stressful.

If she's 2, then her growth plates will surely have closed, so I don't see the reason for not spaying. Keeping other dogs away from a batch in heat is so hard if you don't have a proper dog run.

I don't tend to spay bitches until they're about 4, because I want mental as well as physical maturity. But I do know when they're in season, and I have to be alert to the risks of pyometra. One of mine didn't have a season until she was over 18 months, and then had them at almost annual intervals. So there is no hard and fast rule.

If she seems mature to you, and you don't want the risk of seasons and pyo, then she is old enough to stay.

What breed is she?

I would be spay, always spayed or neutered our dogs. If my dog had pyo and died because of not spaying early enough I’d be heartbroken and never forgive myself.

If you're fairly sure that she's not had a season, I'd wait a further 6 months to see if she has an obvious season. Do her vulva and nipples look the same as they tend to get bigger after a season and don't usually return to their previous size once the swelling has gone ?

I prefer any bitch to be at least 2 before I consider spaying and I've only ever spayed 2 of the 5 females that I've had. It really hasn't been difficult avoiding pregnancy nd my decision is made on what is best for that particular dog rather than a blanket approach.

If you dont notice it why would you even get her spayed? It clearly doesnt bother her if she is in season, so no reason to really..

So she doesn't get pregnant

Seen lots of advice to wait until she's had at least one season and she hasn't had one yet. That's why I'm conflicted. I do want to get her done as no plans to breed.

The whole "wait until she has a season" thing is more so people don't neuter at an overly young age. At two, she should be fully grown and matured and fine to be spayed.

Its not that hard to watch your dog. Ive only ever spayed one of my female dogs and that was because she was suffering when in season.

You're very responsible wanting to get her spayed. Not only does it stop unwanted pregnancy, but Pyo is no joke and can quickly become fatal. If she is indeed having silent seasons, you won't necessarily know when she is in heat and won't know to take precautions to avoid an accidental pregnancy.

The 1 or 2 seasons advice is more about waiting until the dog is mature. As she is already 2 years old I would personally be happy to spay now.

Spaying is very sensible. I never understand people who don’t as I’d never forgive myself if a pet died from pyo which is easily preventable.

Indeed. We adopted a rescue dog who'd been found by the dog warden in a shocking state after unscrupulous breeders used and abused her - she was very ill indeed with pyometra and only swift action by the dog rescue saved her life. However, the impact of her awful previous life did return - she got mammary tumours and a huge, inoperable tumour inside her. We only had her for 26 months and miss her every day; she showed us she loved us every moment she was awake.

Please - spay your dogs.