We have been advised to get our bitch dressed from 6 months onwards. We do not want to breed, as she is a family pet, but we have concerns about a full hysterectomy from the age of 6 months. She is a friendly, fun loving dog and we would not want her mood to change or put on too much weight that she would not enjoy our runs out.Can anyone give advice on experiences they have had getting this op at a young age such as 7 or 8 months. And would she be aware of the difference.
Thankyou for any advice,
From a young family who want to do the right thing by their dug!!

I woul wait untill after the first season if I wanted to get a young bitch spayed.

I would wait until three months after her first season.
:)

From my own personal experience i have always got both my males and females done at 6mths. They were still the same dogs before and after,matured just fine etc. etc.

Most folk say wait till after their first season,you can do that also if you want,but i just prefer not to go through all the hassle of a season,for myself AND my dogs! As for the males i would rather not wait till they start marking their territory inside and the other horrible things entire males do,i would rather nip things in the bud before they start happening,no problems to deal with then ,coz they never got a chance to start :)

Why dont you register so you can ask more questions that i'm sure you have :D
You need to tell us bit more,what worries you have etc.

As for the weight issues,i think thats somewhat of a myth ,i've never had any weight gain after spaying with my girls,they still get the same amount of exercise and food. No she wont notice the difference,whatever that means :)

Three months after her first season is the best time :)

The reason why a lot of Labs put on weight is over feeding and lack of excercise ! If you make sure you control this then you shouldn't have any problems :) I have had five bitches speyed and have never had a problem with their weight :)

Lucy
xx

Like a lot of other people, I would wait until she is half way between seasons - ie 3 months after her 1st season. If you have her done at 6 months, you won't know if she is just about to come into season. I've found in my breed (not Labs) that bitches done before their 1st season never fully mature either physically or mentally.

Same with my breed and many other breeds that I am familiar with, like Golden Retrievers, GSD.  Also neutering before puberty does alter their natural growth patterns.  The hormones are responsible for telling the body when the growth plates should grow.  Generally a dog netered before maturity will be taller than it would have been and be finer boned and nto develop the body it would have done.

I was just interested to know where the term dressing came from, as I had only heard in in relation to skinning animals?  "Dressing a Carcase"  How has it turned into neitering, and where :D

I have no idea where the term came from, but my Mum always talked about getting a bitch dressed, maybe something to do with where I live?

Used up here in Fife too. Friend's child informed my mum that they didn't want the cat to have kittens so she would need to be dressed and would a collar be enough :D
Anne

I went to see a weimaraner bitch and on looking at her I assumed that she was around 6 months old.  She was in fact over 2 years old but has been spayed at 6 months on vet advice.  She had not and will never mature.  I also saw a dog I bred this week (again a weimaraner) this time a male and he had been castrated at 6 months old.  He too was very immature looking, was carrying loads of weight, he was acting very much like a puppy and not the majestic, aristocratic animal that befits a mature male weimaraner.  I always advise anyone who buys a puppy from me, especially a bitch to let the girl have at least one if not two season and then have her done.  I think it is like having a hysterectomy done on a 10 year old girl who hasnt had that rush of hormones bringing on the "teenage" years so there they cannot mature into the fully fledged adults that they should be.

just my personal opinion

lynn

"Dressing" is also used as a term for removing the innards of a table bird. So one would pluck & dress a chicken, duck, etc. Crabs are also "dressed".  Presumably this is why the term is used for spaying a bitch?