We have a 11wk old golden cockerspaniel bitch.  We are 1st timers and would like to do as much as possible to make sure she stays a lovely dog!  We are following training advice from manuals and have booked into a puppy training school for when she is old enough to attend.  Please can anyone give advice on when we should have her spayed.  We have got two different opinions from our vet.  The locum said it would do no harm for her to be spayed at 6 months without having had a season. But the resident vet disagrees and suggested we waited until 3 months after her 1st season I am confused as to what to do and will it effect her behaviour as to when we have it done?

Hi guest. This topic has been discussed to great lengths previously,  so if you do a search on the subject I am sure you will get some very valuably and detailed information. :-) Hope this helps you come to a decision.

I would take the proper Vets advice.  In my and other breeders and those who ahve owned many dogs over the years expereince it is better to wait until the dog or bitch is physically mature before taking away a major part of the bodies chemical system which has an effect on more than reproduction.

After all what you are doing is having a hysterectomy performed on the equivalent oif a 10 year old girl.

Just remeber that when she comes into season to keep her away from qany male dogs for 3 to four weeks from when you notice the fir5st trace of blood. 

You should notice the vulva swelling before she actually comes into season so then just dab her with toilet tissue every day until you get pink or blood staining, and count from there.

Watch her even in yor own garden that she cannot escape ior a loose dog cannot gain accesss.

If you live in an area where there aren't a lot of loose straying dogs then you can still take her out for lead waliks, just not to the park or anywhere dogs are let off lead.

I do agree having a bitch spayed can have many problems, I would wait untill she is mature,
before having her done. It can change her personality.
What a pity, it would have probly been better to have a dog instead.
Do some reseach, ask people who have had puppies spayed. 

You make it sound as if the guest is doing something wrong by getting her speyed!! Why should she have a male instead ! What absolute twaddle....what about the benefits of spaying...reduction of risk of cancer?

Guest
It would be better to leave your bitch for a while before you have her speyed...at least until 3 months after her first season.If you can cope with her seasons though it would be even better to let her have a couple of seasons first.
Archer

I have a border collie bitch and I admit I took the advice of the breeder as opposed to that of my vet because she had bred that line for over 20 years and knows how they mature.
I had my bitch speyed at 3 years old between season.
Apart from the unfortunate weight gain which after a bit of sensible feeding managed to get her back to almost her pre speyed weight, there have been no problems. I feel happy in the knowlege I have let her grow up, avoided most problems in the future and will have no little accidents with my little boy collie who is becoming sexually mature.
There has been no personality change AT ALL and this has been the same for friends bitches who have been speyed.
Speak to your breeder and get advice but the decision is yours.  I would definately go along with allowing her to have at least one season.
Hope this helps

Archer, Hmmm.  Are you a male?  If it was a roaming dog, I would agree, but that would be to stop bringing unwanted pups into the world. But, this I think, is a very much loved one.
Hormones,female's and it is very young.

i don't know of any speyed bitches who have had their personailities changed including my own! :rolleyes:

I would not spey until at least 12 months old unless there were overwhelming environmental reasons such as having an entire male at home with no separation guarantees, or I had an unfenced garden or I was totally incapable of keeping her away from roaming males..........

Dogs need hormones to mature both physically and mentally, there is no rush.

Denese
No I am a female.I own 3 entire males and a speyed bitch.The bitch  was speyed at 9 months old.
I don't understand what I you are saying....roaming male??? My point was why should someone have to have a male instead if they are going to have their bitch speyed ? Speying is a responsible thing to do...as for age I have already said that it would be better to wait
Archer

Archer, I ment roaming bitch! as the guest has a bitch. I agree it is a responsible thing to do.
But, why give a baby "puppy" an hysterectomy. When you choose a pup you think of what you won't and can cope with. If seasons are going to be a problem, or you can't cope with the seasons, the better
chose would be a dog, unless, you are a gardener, and don't won't the dog to kill your plants. But! the
bitch will kill the lawn. If you wanted a mate for your dog and not breed then wait untill the bitch is a little mature first. The trouble is, no one has ever asked a bitch how she feels, she has to rely on us to keep her best intrest at heart.

How do all your dogs get on together?

Hi, Yes, I have met some bitches that have got a little short tempered and snappy.
A friends, very much loved G.S. had her speyed because she had bad seasons.
she has been very ill since, hair dropped out, stopped eating, she nearly lost her, she is 2yrs old
and loved so much never had a litter. Vet checked constantly. No hard fast rules but! I have a dog and bitch, my bitch hasn't be speyed. Have a large cage though if and when needed

With mine, getting spayed improved her temper around season time when she was prone to pick a fight with her housemate.  She was always good with humans but more inclined to be withdrawn and less playful as a season approached, now she is always her jolly self :)
Although minor difficulties may occur with incontinence, for instance, particularly with certain breeds, I think being as poorly as this GS is rare.

Isabel, a bit like women a!! I admit I was shocked at how ill the G.S. was it was done for her good.
You can imagine how bad my friend feels. She, until this day regrets it. 
But! I still think that dogs needs to be mature first. Then its a matter of chose.

denese i have news for you, many matings have occurred through the bars of cages and kennels................

Hi Tohme, I know!! where there is a will there is a way. But! I will keep this in mind.
as yet it hasn't been to much trouble with her seasons.
I use the cage mostly when there are visitors around who seem ignorant about seasons.
Or they go and let the dog out of the run. They both have very good temprements,
so I am lucky.

Hi guest, the 'when to spay' is the endless vets debate. some believe at 6 months, others believe the dog should have at least one season. In my year in college, the opinion is also divided, but I would personally not spay a bitch until she has had her first season.
Carol

We had our Staff spayed at 6 months and before her first season and we though long and hard first but she was mature for her age and so we went ahead. Apart from the first night when she came home when she just wanted to sleep we have had no major problems . The next day she was up and about and we had problems keeping her quiet and still. For the first week she was inclined to wee more than usual but we werent unduly worried because she still went through the night without needing to go and then she went back to normal. She is now 14 months old and everything is great. She has a wonderful non aggressive nature and is a very loving and loyal animal.

I had my girl and most previously owned females spayed at 6mths. ,never had a problem here either :)