Luvbirds59

3 different vets recommended waiting until Petey is at least 18 months and another said 2 years old. I really liked the articles, thank you Kratty!


Carol

__________________
~*LIVE~LOVE~LAUGH*~

~LET THE PEACE OF THE WILDERNESS BE WITH YOU~

Dogs come into our lives to teach us about love....they depart to teach us about loss. A new dog never replaces and old dog: it merely expands the heart. If you have loved many dogs, your heart is very big.
Erica Jong

trikeschick

Suki was 8 months old when she was spayed

Didn't impact her growth - in fact if anything accelarated it - she was under size when we had her spayed and is now standing at nearly 29 inches

Definitely believe it reduces the risk of certain cancers. Had a german shepherd who wasn't spayed and died of malmary cancer.

Would think that males benefit more in terms of behaviour but in terms of health/general well-being it would be females

Cons - none
Pros - no worrying about unwanted pregnancies, if no intention to breed allows for freedom to be a pet, no hormonal issues associated with not spaying/neutering (phantom pregnancies, humping everything in sight, agression)

Mama&PapaTeak

This has been proven to be incorrect from my understanding. If you spay early then certain abdominal muscles do not fully develop and strengthen. As the dog gets older they have a higher chance of urinary incontenance. Been there done that, it is not pretty, nor is it always controllable.

Personally I would rather deal with a couple of heats then years of...drip...drip...drip...drip...drip...

Jenny

Isabelle drips - It is controllable with meds though - we have a water proof cover on the mattress. Have woken up many nights to a big wet spot. Can't get mad - it's not her fault. If I only knew then what I know now. . . I would have waited to spay her. Well you live & learn. She also had chronic bladder infections as a puppy. Have no idea if the two are related or not. She's on phenopropoline (sp?) and since then she only drips if she was under a lot of stress so I increase her dose (she's not on the max by a long shot) like after vet appts. We also make sure no water after about 8:30pm and that she pees before we go to bed.
Spayed at either 6 or 7 months (can't remember it was a long time ago )

lanabana

Yes, I believe in spaying and neutering.
No, Bumpy isn't neutered yet, still on the fence due to his vWD as most of you know....nervous about the risk but I still have time. Final decision will be made prior to his 2nd birthday as my vet has suggested.
I am not sure if his growth would have been different if he was neutered - as is, he is a horse - 100lbs.
Pros-all the health benefits
Cons - in my case the obvious, in most cases I see no cons.

Jenny

I asked my vet yesterday while we were there about the heat cycle before you spay and she said they they don't need a heat cycle. Forgot to ask about the dripping. Maybe on our next visit which maybe be sooner than later for the hiney issue

jdb0825

I do plan on spaying my girl; I'm not sure what age.

I have no experience, but have read that sex hormones are responsible for giving the "stop growing" signal and without thoes your dog could end up being taller. According to the article, this will only occur in a small percentage of dogs. The majority of the time they will end up the same.

I do think that it lowers the risk of some cancers.

I have no personal experience so I don't know with benefits the most.

For a pet, I see only pros to getting one neutered/spayed unless you want puppies.

velmadobe

My first bitch went through two heats before she was spayed and she dripped all the time so I don't think that going through a season will change that. However, what I have read is that IF you wait till after a heat to spay then it is best to spay while they are about 1/2 way inbetween seasons. There is a reason for this that has to do with hormones but I am entirely too lazy today to go look it up!

__________________
Dillon's Barclay Amy CD RN WAC CGC TDInc "Velma"
CH Cha-Rish A Moment Like This RN WAC CGC "Louise"
Fitzmar's Command A Minute "Harvard" AKC major pointed

http://fitzmardobermans.freeservers.com/

Murreydobe

[quote=velmadobe;53553]My first bitch went through two heats before she was spayed and she dripped all the time so I don't think that going through a season will change that. QUOTE]

I've lived with spayed bitches most of my life, almost all of whom were spayed prior to the first heat. I've only had one with spayed bitch incontinence, and she was spayed as a mature adult. She was a rescue, so we don't know her exact age, but I'd say she was 3-4 years old before she was spayed.

__________________
-------------------------------------------------

Soquel's Mahogany Rush, aka Rush
CH. Birchrun Who's On First, aka Razzle

velmadobe

[quote=Murreydobe;53562]Exactly! My Velma has been spayed for almost 2 years now and does not drip - she was 2 1/2 when spayed, and I did spay her at the 1/2 way point between two seasons. My first Doberman had two heats - she was spayed right at her 2nd heat and she dripped like crazy - Proin did keep it under control successfully. It really seems to be a crap shoot with the dripping, but I do know that I will stick to spaying 1/2 way between seasons and hope for the best.

__________________
Dillon's Barclay Amy CD RN WAC CGC TDInc "Velma"
CH Cha-Rish A Moment Like This RN WAC CGC "Louise"
Fitzmar's Command A Minute "Harvard" AKC major pointed

http://fitzmardobermans.freeservers.com/