To spay or not to spay...
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| As time has gone on, I think vets go by different schools of thought. I worked at a vet years ago (loved every second of it!). They began spaying and neutering dogs at 3 months old, after they received their rabies vaccine. We worked in Detroit, there was a huge stray population, so I don't know if that was a factor in spaying/neutering so young. When I moved to Illinois, my vets office would not spay my girl till she was 6 months old. There are people on the board that say that you shouldn't consider spay or neuter till 18 months of age for large breed dogs. |
| I would wait til she is at LEAST 9-12 months old but really you should go with your breeders recommendation, NOT your vet. There is a lot of information now that shows early spaying and neutering can and does cause some very serious issues down the road. http://www.caninesports.com/SpayNeuter.html Some vets will push it earlier because of pet over population but it really isn't in the best interests of the dog. Most OES do not have their first heat til at least 9 months old and some not til 2 years old. Of course there are always exceptions, but it's healthier for the dog overall to wait til after that first heat, or at least til it is more physically mature. |
| Mine average a year old for first season. Maybe there are OES who come in before 9 mos, but not the lines I'm familar with. This is going to sound harsh but if a vet suggested spaying at four months old he would now be my FORMER vet. In addition to what Willowsprite shared, here's some more food for thought: http://www.naiaonline.org/pdfs/LongTerm ... InDogs.pdf Now, this only speaks of RELATIVE RISKS, not absolutes, so don't let it panic you. It should merely serve as things to consider. Mind you, given her apparent adverse reaction to being vaccinated as I recall, I would pay special attention to the part that addresses that, in particular since this is a breed that is prone to immune mediated issues, as well hypothyroidism and cancers like osteosarcoma and hemangiosarcoma, and hip dysplasia and... (see http://www.oeshealth.org/files/OESHealt ... rt2009.pdf for the most recent breed health survey to see what kind of health issues appear frequently in the breed.) There are also behavioral considerations: http://www.cdoca.org/downloads/files/Ea ... havior.pdf When all is said and done, you also have to consider your ability to prevent and unwanted litter. Even with that in mind, I don't see that you can't safely wait till she's at least six months old. But like Willowsprite said, you best resource on that count is her breeder who should be able to tell you, among other things, when the girls in her line typically come into season. And please tell/remind the vets about her suspected vaccine reaction before any surgeries. Probably a non-issue, but better safe than sorry, so feel free to scare them just a little into be extra safe, why not. Kristine |
| Since I had never had any experience with an 8 week old puppy and the stages they go through, I depended on this forum AND my breeder to help me. She knew I wanted to spay Heart but again, not too early as to do damage to her. The breeder could tell when her girls are coming into heat and she had kept one of Heart's sisters. One day, when Heart was about 9-10 months old she called me and told me to make an appointment for the spaying as soon as I could because Calie, her sister, was looking like she was going into her first heat soon. I did what she told me and about 3 weeks later, Calie did go into her heat. I am glad I had the forum and my breeder for support on this one!!!!!  |
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