To Spay or Not to Spay

[Linds]

Well, I was planning on having our new five and half month old pup (Kaylee) and my five year old female (Hannah) spayed together. I even have the appointment set for this coming Tuesday.

But I've been thinking about it and trying to decide if we should get Kaylee spayed yet or wait till she is a little older. She's a mutt and we were told Great Pyrenees and Pit Bull, not too sure about the Pyr. though. But she isn't going to be huge, probably around 60ish pounds with a nice height.

Everything I read is one extreme or the other and I wanted some opinions.

Should I go ahead and get her spayed next week when she will be about a week shy of six months?

Or wait, and if I wait how long should I wait?

Thanks for any help or opinions any one can give!

[skittledoo]

I would say spay before her first heat... don't want to risk her getting loose and an accidental pregnancy... also you risk more cancers if you don;t... spay before her first heat if you can

[Dekka]

if you do a search there were a few threads where people discussed this very topic :D

[noludoru]

LOADS of threads on chaz about it. :)

[Maxy24]

Yeah it seems all the articles are biased one way or the other non have an unbiased approach to it. That said I don't know much about females but so long as you can guarantee she will not get pregnant, run off, be left out unattended during a heat etc. then I don't really care either way. There are health issues on both sides of it and it's always seemed with males to avoid most health problems you wait until 2-3 years old then neuter but I'm not sure if it's like that with females since I know they can get uterus infections that increase in likelihood every heat.

[elegy]

You need to read the pros and the cons and make your own decisions.

Personally I'd spay her.

[milos_mommy]

I would spay her. The only reason to not spay a healthy puppy at a young age aside from if you'd show her (but she's a mix) or if you DO spay at a very young age, it could cause her to not grow to her 100% fullest most mature size.

I'm not even sure if that's true. It's just something i've heard.

[Picklepaige]

I always heard it is better to wait with males, and go early with females.

[milos_mommy]

Uggh i wait until Milo was 14 months and TOTALLY regret it. I have a feeling his DA wouldn't be nearly as bad if he went in earlier.

[Dekka]

Uggh i wait until Milo was 14 months and TOTALLY regret it. I have a feeling his DA wouldn't be nearly as bad if he went in earlier.

Not likely. welcome to JRTs ;) I really don't think it really affects DA. I have met just as many JRTs that are DA that have been juv spayed as those that are intact.

[GlassOnion]

Spay now.

[fillyone]

If I would be willing to do EVERYTHING to make sure there was no accidental breeding, I'd wait until at least 18 months.
But then, I'm one of those that believes hormones in dogs do something other than drive reproduction.

[JennSLK]

Id do it now. You have to be SO sure that there is NO chance she will get preg. It only takes a few seconds for her to slip out a gate and if shes in heat the boys will be right there. if u wait untill 18 months then u have 2 maybe 3 heats to deal with. 30 days of crating her or he wearing a diaper when she is in the house. if u dont want blood all over ur house that is

[Dekka]

If I would be willing to do EVERYTHING to make sure there was no accidental breeding, I'd wait until at least 18 months.
But then, I'm one of those that believes hormones in dogs do something other than drive reproduction.

Me too, I won't sell a pup to anyone who wants to do a spay/neuter before a year. But there are lots of threads on this all ready...:D

[fillyone]

Me too, I won't sell a pup to anyone who wants to do a spay/neuter before a year. But there are lots of threads on this all ready...:D

I always hope that perhaps one person will do more research and not spay/neuter too young.

That of course does go along with what I said, I'd have to be willing to make the commitment....Hmmmmmmm, no wonder I have a male :)

[Boreayl_Chinooks]

The following are a couple of good references that I'd recommend:

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

http://www.caninesports.com/SpayNeuter.html

I know that I don't want my pet puppies intact indefinitely as potential breeding accidents, but I feel there are enough concerns about early spay/neuters to wait until maturity in some cases. It sure looks like more research is needed. My best advice is to consider the pros and cons. The decision should then be between you and your vet. However, know that intact females in heat can be very messy, smelly, and one brief moment of inattention can result in a pregnancy as she'll attract neighborhood males to your yard.

Debbie

[Renee750il]

One of the health issues you have to weigh is your own mental health ;)

Some females are more, errr, DIFFICULT than others . . .