# What age did you have your Bitch spayed



## Kaz65 (Sep 7, 2008)

Hi I was just wondering what age you had your Bitch Spayed.

I have rang two vets up one says 16 weeks the other 20 weeks.

They have said the sooner the better and that she doesn't need to have a season first.

So just wondered how old you had yours done.

Thanks


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## Guest (Sep 26, 2008)

they say at least let them mature be4 speying them....

my eldest was 3 wen i got her speyed

my youngest is 2 and shes due to be speyed.


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## cav (May 23, 2008)

all bitches mature at different times but would not consider having it done until i thought they were full mature...dont believe every thing vets say


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## JimJamz (Mar 15, 2008)

I had my Akita spey at almost 4yrs. And she is fine.


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## nevey2006 (Sep 5, 2008)

We are wondering this too.

So many very different opinions out there.

All the newly trained vets seem to say early spaying is better.


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## Jo P (Dec 10, 2007)

JMHO but I would never spay a bitch (unless, obviously, for a medical reason) before she has had at least one season


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## andrea 35 (Nov 22, 2007)

I know its becoming more commonplace to spey earlier and earlier ive seen on some american progrmmes the spey strays ect at very young ages i gues to prevent unplanned ltters to help with rising nmbers of unwanted pups , but in my opinion i would not spey untill at least the first season is over and then do it 3 months after so as your half way through to the next season , given that most dogs will be in season roughly 6 months appart.
This i belive is to allow the bitch to mature hormonally and phsically , if you have no desire to show or breed then its possibly a good choice to make we are about to have Daisy speyed we had Jess done about 4 months ago and she was fine after .
There re pros and cons as with anything but speying reduces the risk of pyometra and mammary cancer , one of the down sides can be incontinence but more often in much older dogs being speyed for medical reasons such as pyo .


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## gillieworm (Jul 4, 2008)

Our bitch is 5 months old and we've always been advised to wait until after he 1st season at the earliest to ensure she's fully grown/mature


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## Guest (Sep 27, 2008)

Meg was spayed as an emergency at 22 months,there is no way I would consider spaying a bitch before two years old,unless it was a life or death situation which our case was as she developed Pyometra.
This link is good have a read,

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

Some of the artice states,
On the positive side, spaying female dogs
•if done before 2.5 years of age, greatly reduces the risk of mammary tumors, the most common malignant tumors in female dogs
• nearly eliminates the risk of pyometra, which otherwise would affect about 23% of intact female dogs; pyometra kills about 1% of intact female dogs
• reduces the risk of perianal fistulas
• removes the very small risk (0.5%) from uterine, cervical, and ovarian tumors
On the negative side, spaying female dogs
• if done before 1 year of age, significantly increases the risk of osteosarcoma (bone cancer); this is a common cancer in larger breeds with a poor prognosis
• increases the risk of splenic hemangiosarcoma by a factor of 2.2 and cardiac hemangiosarcoma by a factor of >5; this is a common cancer and major cause of death in some breeds
• triples the risk of hypothyroidism
• increases the risk of obesity by a factor of 1.6-2, a common health problem in dogs with many associated health problems
• causes urinary "spay incontinence" in 4-20% of female dogs
• increases the risk of persistent or recurring urinary tract infections by a factor of 3-4
• increases the risk of recessed vulva, vaginal dermatitis, and vaginitis, especially for female dogs spayed before puberty
• doubles the small risk (<1%) of urinary tract tumors
• increases the risk of orthopedic disorders
• increases the risk of adverse reactions to vaccinations


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## terriermaid (Nov 5, 2007)

i personally would not want to spey before there first season ,i believe in letting the dog mature and i dont understand what the rush is these days ,most people who are resposable enough to take there vets advice ,are able to keep there dogs seperated for there season just doesnt seem right given a pup of 16 weeks ga if not totally nessasary ,lol i didnt spey till 7 years old but then i do breed sometimes


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## Guest (Sep 27, 2008)

Meg was done at 6 years as an emergency because she developed Pyometra.

Trinny is only 8 months and I'm not even considering it yet, I wouldn't do it before she's 18 months, later if I don't feel she is fully mature at that stage. In my opinion no dog or bitch should be neutered until they are fully mature in both body and mind and then should still be assessed individually before making a decision whether it is the best thing for the dog/bitch. 

16 - 20 weeks is a joke in my honest opinion.


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## Guest (Sep 27, 2008)

Thanks for posting this Sallyanne. We had to have Gabby spayed at 6 months because she had pyo after her first season and I was unaware of the risks of osteosarcoma, hemangiosarcoma, and hypothyroidism. Forewarned is forearmed, so they say!


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## Guest (Sep 27, 2008)

spellweaver said:


> Thanks for posting this Sallyanne. We had to have Gabby spayed at 6 months because she had pyo after her first season and I was unaware of the risks of osteosarcoma, hemangiosarcoma, and hypothyroidism. Forewarned is forearmed, so they say!


No Problem,
I think vets should tell you the negatives about neutering so early,but they very rarely do.
I thought Meg was young when she developed Pyo,as it's more common in bitches over 5 yrs,Gabby was very young wasn't she


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## Guest (Sep 27, 2008)

sallyanne said:


> No Problem,
> I think vets should tell you the negatives about neutering so early,but they very rarely do.
> I thought Meg was young when she developed Pyo,as it's more common in bitches over 5 yrs,Gabby was very young wasn't she


Yes, she was. I suspected something was wrong - after her first season she was listless and everything was too much trouble for her. And this was a dog that was normally bouncing about like a tigger. I took her to the vets on three separate ocasions during a two week period; the nromal vet was on holiday and each time the locum tried to tell me that there was nothing wrong, that it was a hormonal change and that she was just "growing up". And then we were at dog training and I suddenly smelt something awful - I looked at Gabby who was laying at my feet and there was a pool of blood and puss around her  we went straight to the vet (thank goodness it was the "proper" vet back from his hols) and she had to have an emergency operation. When I think how close she came to dying, it makes me sudder.

The vet was so angry with his locum that he's never used him since - and he didn't charge me for the operation even though it was out of hours.


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## marlynaveve (Aug 13, 2008)

Why spay or neuter???
Mary
x
Society Against Neutering ::


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## Guest (Sep 27, 2008)

Well Shila is just over a year and Isis is just over 10 months and neither or them are spayed yet.


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## eclaire (Oct 12, 2008)

Hi, we were told by several places that the ''ideal'' age is between first and second season but anything up to 3 yrs will help with the risk of mammary cancer.
claire:-}


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## Chris1 (Oct 3, 2008)

We were going to spay Daisie at 6 months on advice from a vet but when I looked into the subject and spoke to some breeders I decided to wait until she has had one season. The vets are divided at our practice, some say early, others say wait. I trust the advice of breeders who know what is right for their dogs and will go along with them, as at six months she is still very much a puppy and needs to mature first.


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