what age did you get your dog spayed/neutered

I know different vets say different things about spaying. I have read all the advise on the site also.

Im just wondering from fellow owners. At what age did you have your dog spayed? Is it different for a boy and a girl??

Ruby is a female and my only dog ever so im coming to that time to get her spayed. My mother has a bishon and was told by vet to get her spayed at approx 5 and a half months. Ruby will be 6 months on the 12th of may????

I want to do things right for her. Poor pet. I hate even the thought of it.....

I had Holly done a few weeks ago... she was almost 7 months. Im glad I got it done when I did, although the thought of it worried me sick too.

I was generally told by a lot of people, that it is best, for health reasons, to have them done before their first season.

Thanks ashley could i get caught leaving it until ruby is nearly 7 months? Can they go into heat any time from 5 or 6 months?? Or am i wrong?
I really don't know that much about it.

They can do, I think. But if there hasnt been any signs of her coming into season then you should be ok. Holly showed absolutely no signs of it and I had the vet do a wee pre-op check just in case. I managed to make an appointment no problem at my vets, so that was good.

I had both my charlies done at around 5 years old , they had hormonal issues & were much happier once speyed, though they took a while to get over it
& my papillon done at 18 months ( as soon as I got her) very easy recovery

my sister had her girl speyed at 5 months , she recovered very quickly but I now think thats too young
So if I had another girl i'd wait until they were about 1 ,Old enough to have finished growing but not too old to get over the op quickly

AT said:

I had both my charlies done at around 5 years old , they had hormonal issues & were much happier once speyed .
& my papillon done at 18 months ( as soon as I got her)

my sister had her girl speyed at 5 months , she recovered very quickly but I now think thats too young .
So if I had another girl i'd wait until they were about 1 old enough to have finished growing but not too old to get over the op quickly

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I would have to agree with AT's statement. I like to let the dogs become full grown and then depending on their natures-- I leave some males intact and I've neutered others.

http://www.naiaonline.org/pdfs/LongTermHealthEffectsOfSpayNeuterInDogs.pdf

I thought I was getting Holly done too young as well, but a lot of people must do it at this age to get them done before their first season. I was never going to be comfortable getting her done whatever her age, as she was always going to be my 'baby'.. but she recovered so fast... in about 2 days she was back to normal (she had been quieter than usual before that). We took care to try and stop her jumping around like a loony. The scar has healed brilliantly and you can hardly see it... we got her done about 4 weeks ago i think!

Poor holly. Yes i hate the thought of leaving the vet touch her. I thought it was mostly recommended to get her done before the first season. If i could wait until she was five that would be great or a year old. But i know that would be only putting it on the long finger...... for me because i know i would only be chickening out. Id be afraid some big dog would break in when she is in heat or something. My house is fully fenced in and she is inside most of the time. But id probably have boy dogs coming at her even when im walking her would i??? If she was in heat???

Or am i just watching too much telly...?????

No no it does often happen. I am part of a dog school and we all go walks as a 'pack' and it is quite obvious when one of the females is coming into heat... a lot of the 'dominant' males pay the particular pooch lots of attention, lots of following her, sniffing at her, and... the more confident ones do try and get a leg over. Dont think you would have too many problems though. Lots of people let their dogs have seasons. It is a big decision, and each to their own, I guess. Its a toughie isnt it?!

From a rescue perspective, I have like most in rescue always disagreed strongly with NAIA (an organisation whose lobbying stance on a few subjects I also find deeply misleading -- certainly as misleading as many in the dog clubs find the HSUS).

Given the tiny differences in health stats on when and if to neuter, and given how frequently owners find they didn't keep their females adequately quarantined indoors for the entire 4 weeks plus of heat and hence now are expecting a litter of puppies, -- or are tempted to go for that one initial litter -- I feel most owners are far more comfortable and litters would be significantly reduced if people spayed prior to the first heat. The majority of vets feel around 6 months is the best age. Waiting til 7 months is very risky as it greatly increases the chances the dog will go into heat -- at which point you will need to quarantine Ruby inside for a minimum of 4 weeks -- she cannot be taken for walks and must be supervised in the garden as male dogs of any breed can and will scale high walls to access a female in heat and she will be very hormonally driven to try and escape out to mate with males as well. If you have children then she must be very tightly supervised to make sure a child doesn't leave a door open. Most dogs in the pounds are intact males who are inclined to roam and can travel a couple of miles if they scent a female in heat, and in heat females who often are rescued severely traumatised from an assault by numerous males of all sizes. When I did general pound rescue this was the story every single week.
There is also evidence that females spayed after the first heat are more at risk of urinary incontinence than those spayed before first heat (as well as a lowered risk of mammary tumours).

If you feel you can tightly manage her through a heat and absolutely under confinement, then some wait til 3 months after first heat.

ruby2 said:

My house is fully fenced in and she is inside most of the time. But id probably have boy dogs coming at her even when im walking her would i??? If she was in heat???

Or am i just watching too much telly...?????

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I had unspeyed girls for about 10 years & only once had a dog sit outside the house.( I must admit he was a persisent little so & so ) though we didnt live in an area with any dogs left to roam free

YOU ABSOLUTELY CANNOT WALK A BITCH IN HEAT. You also cannot leave her in kennels or boarding. A fenced yard is not necessarily adequate -- as noted. And waiting til age 5 is putting her at risk of pyometra -- there's a quite high risk in this breed (far higher than average) and risk increases as the dog gets older.

You wouldn't take her on a walk (at least not too far) when she is in season. I've taken an in season bitch to an AKC show. That is a grouping of hundreds of intact males ranging from chihuahuas to irish wolfhounds. Not one male acted up. Loose, untrained dogs can be an issue, so you would never have her outside without you RIGHT there to protect her.

Sorry i dont know if some people took my post to mean that dogs were being walked whilst in heat???? Thats not the case!! I was using it as an example to say that dogs can sense these things... and it was an indication to the owner... before any swelling or bleeding began. An example I used to indicate that you need to be very careful!

I've had intact dogs for 25 years. I am a huge proponent of proper pet ownership (we've never had one accidental litter, even tho I have intact animals of both sexes in the same home).
I've been active in cavalier rescue for the last 7 years and I have never had a cavalier given to rescue because it was accidentally bred. Most dogs are given to me because their owners didn't have time for the dog-- the dog had expensive health issues-- or the owners died.
My oldest cavalier that is 8 -- she had been the picture of health until she was spay-- now she has moderate hypothyroid (common with spay females I was told). I had a friend whose dog died on the table during a neuter. All surgery carries risks-- all procedures have benefits and costs to the body. jmo

We had Daisy spayed at about 7 months. We wanted it to be before her first heat which I mistakenly thought was about 1 year. When a conversation here or with the vet said 8 months was pretty normal for a first heat, I rushed her in. She had absolutely no problems during or after the surgery.

The only downside I've heard about later on this board is that it might make a female get larger than she otherwise would have if you spay her before the first heat. I have no idea if that's really true, or if it's just an old wives' tale. If it is true, then I'm kind of sorry I didn't wait till after her first heat because she turned out very big for a Cavalier. But then again, I wouldn't want to put her at risk for any reproductive cancers either, nor would I enjoy going through a heat season, so it would have been a hard call even if I had that additional factor to consider. There's no way to tell if spaying her "early" led her to be big, or if she would have been this big anyway. I'd like to see a scientific study on the matter before I would put much stock in that early spay- bigger dog relationship.

I was told that as well, Daisy's Mom. Holly is a small girl... and gets A LOT of exercise with me. Its something I am aware of and so know to try and keep an eye on her weight and her diet! I dont think I could have went through a heat either

Ashley said:

Sorry i dont know if some people took my post to mean that dogs were being walked whilst in heat???? Thats not the case!! I was using it as an example to say that dogs can sense these things... and it was an indication to the owner... before any swelling or bleeding began. An example I used to indicate that you need to be very careful!

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My neutered male indicates when a females hormones are changing (up to three weeks before the girls season starts). He just starts smelling where the girl has urinated. The males don't start to get anxious until the LH surge (which is two days before ovulation) it stops after the eggs aren't viable - usually about day 18-- but I keep them separated until at least day 21.

Daisy's Mom said:

There's no way to tell if spaying her "early" led her to be big, or if she would have been this big anyway. I'd like to see a scientific study on the matter before I would put much stock in that early spay- bigger dog relationship.

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We have two from the same litter one was speyed at 5 months the other at 7 ( after a season) The one speyed at 5 months is twice the size of the other.

though she had a few health issues that I put her small size down to rather than the later speying

Geeeeeneeeeeey macarooonies
There is an awful lot to it isnt there. My god. So much to think about....:lpy:

Sooooooooo little time..........

All very good advise. You know so much more than me. This is a great site.....icon_nwunsureOk im thinking im thinking............My poor ruby. I don't need any big dogs clearing the fence to get to her......I'm bad enough myself with big dogs....... Think i'll make an appointment for her when she is 6 months old.:blabla: I obviously don't intend breeding her....I wonder will it make her bigger? Is there any evidence of this??????