Spay or not to spay?

[rob190364 2,594]

I was planning on getting my pup spayed when she reaches 5 months in a few weeks but have read a few reports saying it can have a detrimental effect on the growth of the pup along with a few other potential disadvantages.

 

Does anyone know if there's any truth in this? If there's a chance it might have any kind of negative effect then I probably won't get it done. How many people get their dogs neutured and does it affect the way they work?

[skycat 6,174]

It is a fact that early spaying, before the bitch has had a first season, can cause urinary incontinence: some vets will deny this, but others will admit that it happens. Most vets love to spay and castrate as early as possible, but what they don't tell you is that neutered animals of either sex can have various health problems.

 

Sure, a spayed bitch cannot get a pyometra, which is an infection of the uterus, but it has been proved that bones lose density after neutering, which is not a good thing: bit like post menopausal women who suffer a lot of bone loss unless taking hormone replacement therapy.

 

I would only spay if there was a serious medical reason for doing so, BUT many people do work spayed bitches and they never have problems. Most enlightened vets today will advise against spaying before the bitch is mature and has had one season (or heat). If your vet is trying to get your bitch spayed when she is to all intents and purposes still a puppy, I would seriously question their ethical stance on this.

 

When you remove the ovaries you effectively switch of the hormones: gone, finito, caput, and whilst bitches don't have the same amount of testosterone as male dogs, all hormones are important to an animal's growth.

 

To sum up: if you must have her spayed do wait until she has had a first season, which is usually from between 9 to 12 months old, though it can be later in very sighthoundy lurchers.

 

This is not just my opinion: try Googling: Dangers of early spaying: you'll come up with a host of sites written by professionals on why it is not a good idea.

[rob190364 2,594]

It is a fact that early spaying, before the bitch has had a first season, can cause urinary incontinence: some vets will deny this, but others will admit that it happens. Most vets love to spay and castrate as early as possible, but what they don't tell you is that neutered animals of either sex can have various health problems.

 

Sure, a spayed bitch cannot get a pyometra, which is an infection of the uterus, but it has been proved that bones lose density after neutering, which is not a good thing: bit like post menopausal women who suffer a lot of bone loss unless taking hormone replacement therapy.

 

I would only spay if there was a serious medical reason for doing so, BUT many people do work spayed bitches and they never have problems. Most enlightened vets today will advise against spaying before the bitch is mature and has had one season (or heat). If your vet is trying to get your bitch spayed when she is to all intents and purposes still a puppy, I would seriously question their ethical stance on this.

 

When you remove the ovaries you effectively switch of the hormones: gone, finito, caput, and whilst bitches don't have the same amount of testosterone as male dogs, all hormones are important to an animal's growth.

 

To sum up: if you must have her spayed do wait until she has had a first season, which is usually from between 9 to 12 months old, though it can be later in very sighthoundy lurchers.

 

This is not just my opinion: try Googling: Dangers of early spaying: you'll come up with a host of sites written by professionals on why it is not a good idea.

Thanks Penny, I've just found the link below which goes into more detail but pretty much says the same as you've said....I'll leave her in tact I think!

 

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

[Neal 1,930]

I had my older bitch spayed after a really nasty incident which may have been complicated by her having another season. She was over three at the time and the fact that I no longer had to worry about her seasons made me decide to go ahead and get my next bitch spayed too.

 

However, she was only about eighteen months old and had only had one season. The day before her spay was due, I read a thread on here regarding spaying with advice from, among others, Skycat. Following the advice I came really close to cancelling the spay but decided to go ahead with it as it was so last minute. Although she's been fine health-wise, she's stayed more puppyish than her half sister and I'd definitely advise against getting it done until a bitch had matured both physically AND mentally.