not strictly"breeding"more like"nonbreeding,but has anyone had a bitch spayed before her first season and were there any adverse effects?

I have -and I'll never do it again. She's remained a puppy in body and mind, never reached maturity, never felt as secure as an adult should (she is 7 years old now) and all OTHER dogs dislike her because they can't work her out -she's not a puppy but she's not an adult either. She's right at the bottom of my pack, very timid with other dogs, and they all bully her -even the 10 month old puppy bitch does, they all know something isn't normal about her.

I have known a lot of bitches spayed before puberty and all have had this annoying Peter Pan syndrome.

i have two bitches that were spayed before their first season and had no problems at all. think this will depend on the dog and everyone will have different views on this. my one bitch is head of the house and has no problems getting on with other dogs we've met but thats just my experience.

I have too and she is absolutely fine - no sign of any of the 'Peter Pan' the others have mentioned at all. She has the best dog manners of any of the dogs I have owned. She is a Bernese and we were advised to spay before 1st season because of incidence of cancer in the breed and she was around 7 - 8 months when she was done. It is possible that we were just lucky though but she is now 5 and has had no health issues at all. Our other dog is a setter and she was spayed after her second season to give her a chance to lose her 'puppy' coat. To be honest, at 4, I despair of her ever maturing!

Is there a reason why you want to spay before the first season? I don't think I would do it for a breed that didn't have a higher incidence of mammary cancer.

My dogs sisiter was spayed before first season, seems fine although I owuld have ignored the vet and left her longer. Just my view. She is however an only dog so maybe the traits you talk of arn't so obvious.
American vets seem very pro early sapying and I have heard more and more english vets who are happy to do asap to get it done. Still prefer to wait myself.

I think this is worth reading first:
http://www.naiaonline.org/pdfs/LongTermHealthEffectsOfSpayNeuterInDogs.pdf

I've had several spayed before first season and they have grown into beautiful dogs.

They may well be beautiful, but they will not have developed physically or mentally as they were meant to.

You only have to look at the Eunuchs.

I only know one person who spayed before the first season on the vets advice, and they have had so much trouble with their little girl, and the 'peter pan' i think is her to a tee, she seems stuck in a time warp of puppy age

They may well be beautiful, but they will not have developed physically or mentally as they were meant to.


That is complete rubbish.  I have known litter brothers and sisters of those I have spayed or nuetered young, or known litter brothers and sisters that were spayed or nuetered before first season and I have kept mine entire and they have not grown mentally or physically any different.
I have known entire males that were more "Peter Pan" or late nuetered males than early nuetered ones.

Hormones are important for the full normal development of the organism.

If you removed a girl's ovaries before puberty what effect do you think it would have on her physical development?

I know what your saying JG but from my experience over the years and what I have seen, none have been affected in any way.
I am not saying its not possible but its rubbish to tell people everydog will be immature.
I have known entire bitches and spayed bitches suddenly become immature in thier ways, so it could just be in the dog, the same as I have known more entire bitches become incontinent than spayed ones.

Maybe it is dependent on breed as in a natural breed like mine the differences are very marked even only a few months later.

The difference in head development at 9 months between my Inka and her litter sister whose owners were persuaded to spay at barely 6 months, and the bone was heartbreakingly apparent.  They were very similar in the litter for substance and head.

This is not the first instance, and even more noticeable in males.

Maybe it is dependent on breed as in a natural breed like mine the differences are very marked even only a few months later.

The difference in head development at 9 months between my Inka and her litter sister whose owners were persuaded to spay at barely 6 months, and the bone was heartbreakingly apparent.  They were very similar in the litter for substance and head.

This is not the first instance, and even more noticeable in males.

Could well be, I can only say from the breeds I have had or close friends.

I have known litter brothers and sisters of those I have spayed or nuetered young, or known litter brothers and sisters that were spayed or nuetered before first season and I have kept mine entire and they have not grown mentally or physically any different.

Likewise I can tell you the exact opposite. In fact of a litter of 9 where all were neutered ONLY the two that were neutered early (one bitch, one dog) acted like this.

This is an old article (1993) and a very old study, but below is an excerpt from a article published in the Swedish KC's magazine (translation done by myself). The dog school mentioned is the one that in Sweden is responsible for training ALL guide dogs, all police dogs etc. It refers to only male dogs in this part, but it's very interesting all the same. Back when it was illegal in Sweden to neuter dogs the dog school was allowed to  due to dealing with guide dogs. Hence they were able to carry out their own research.

In Sweden, the State's Dog School in Sollefteå has experience of neutering  dogs. Between 1978 and 1980 the dog school performed the operation at different ages, to determine at which age neutering would have the best effect. This concerned guide dogs which were exempt from the neutering law. According to Sven Järverud, who was the chief instructor at the school at the time, the following results were found:

Neutering before sexual maturity leads to inhibited muscle development, and the dog needs a lot more physical training to be capable of work. Because of this finding, it is now standard practice to not neuter guide dogs until after they have reached sexual maturity.

no,my vet suggested it,and im trying to weigh up the pros h cons!my last bitches were spayed after their first seasons,and have been fine,thanks for your help!

can i just say_aaarrgghh!thankyou everybody forta.king the time to reply,much appreciated,ive now got some serious thinking to do.!thanks again!