Hi there, my dog had puppies 11 weeks ago and apart from her coat she is now back to her normal scatty self.  We have kept one of the pups and she plays a lot with her and is teaching her manners etc.

I thought that I should wait until her next season and then have her spayed, in my mind I thought she would be hormonally balanced by then and not playing around with the pup so much.  However, I have read that she can actually be spayed 12 weeks after having puppies and her hormones should be balanced by then.

Can anyone let me know their experience in this position as I have 1 week to make the decision and would like to know any pros and cons on the timing of the spaying.

She can be spayed when she has completely stopped lactating - no signs of any milk at all. Don't think of '12 weeks' as being a magic number; it might be 12, 13, 14, 15 or even 16 weeks after whelping when her hormones are back in balance. Don't rely on her behaviour with the pup as your guide - she'll probably (hopefully!) be playing with it for years!

She isn't lactating any more.

Would you say that she is as hormonally balanced now as she will be 3 months after her next season which is the other time they recommend. I know either way her coat will turn, I just don't want her relationship with her pup to change because she can't play with her for a while whilst she recovers.

I can't remember from my other dogs but do you know the recovery time after the op?

Each bitch is an individual; my current bitch isn't 'hormonally balanced' until 4 months after the start of a season, but then she hasn't had a litter, which always throws things out a bit. My previous ones were all different again.

Ater a spay a bitch needs lead exercise (no running, jumping or leaping about) till the stitches are removed 10 days post-operatively.

Cheers.  I think I will go for it, not sure she has ever been 'balanced' she is very scatty!

I have spayed all my girls (4 so far) 12 weeks after their last litters (except the two that were spayed at the same time as C section).

With my coated breed it means they only go through the horrendous hormonal moult once, and they can go back to being shown.

I have always had my bitches spayed when pups are 12 weeks old.  As to the playing, don't worry!

I once went to collect a pup of mine from someone who found they "couldn't cope!"  :-(

I had just had her mum spayed, and it was quite emotional seeing them recognise each other.  Naturally, I couldn't let her go a second time.

It is a joy to see them together, now at 3 and 5 years old, they are 2 madcap partners in crime.  Go for it!  :-)