hello all:-D
i didnt know weather to put this in behaviour or health? so i put it in general
i have a nearly 6 yr old GSD female,people at training keep telling me to get her spayed as it will be better for her general wellbeing....
to be honest i dont want to put her through unnecessary pain when she has gone this long being entire, it doesnt bother me her having seasons and in our village there is only four other dogs (two males) and we rarly see them(we live in the middle of knowhere). our garden is fully enclosed so there is not chance of any other dogs getting in and her getting out and she is always kept on a lead when she is in season.i also have a male chihuahua that is castrated.
im naturaly quite shy and dont really want to argue with people at training about what i do with my dogs but they wont listen to me when im saying i dont want to put her through an operation for nothing,its really getting to me as everytime i go to training i get comments about it,like our trainer the other day said have you decided when kias going to be done then? i replyed no i havnt yet because im still looking into weather the pros will out weigh the cons.when i was at a show last month one of the people from training commented that if kia was spayed she would have got a much better place as she would of been much more responsive to me!!! she didnt even see us working! they make comments on my age because im young (20) therefore i dont know what im talking about

what do you all think? am i in the wrong? because everybody is making out like i am
what should i say to them? any help will be much appriceated :-)

just to add
kia isnt aggressive or a naughty dog in anyway she is a good dog and gets on with all other dogs and people.:-)

These two articles really helped me out with this decision.  Thank you to the person who posted the first one, (Moonmaiden?  sorry if it was someone else).  It is not a easy decision and you will probably note some contradictions in the articles but both seem to be well presented and not biased in any way.

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

http://avmajournals.avma.org/doi/pdf/10.2460/javma.231.11.1665?cookieSet=1

I always spay my bitches when they have finished being bred from. The reason? It's far preferable to still be young-ish (8) and have to undergo planned surgery then, then suddenly get life threatening pyometra and require major surgery when perhaps 12 years old or more.

I kept telling my ex husband he should spay his pet bitch, she was 8 and had never had pups. He didn't do it -and sure enough, she developed pyometra and ended up being spayed as an emergency aged 9 -she only just made it, it was touch and go.

I have my almost 8 year old booked in to be spayed on Friday, as with previous bitches I have a 100% record of pyo in old age and like Marianne, I feel it's better to do it when they are younger and healthy. This bitch has had one litter, but now has silent seasons, so I guess her hormones may be slightly haywire anyway.

However, for all my good intentions, I can't say I'm particularly happy to do it - for no good reason really. I do think it's the most sensible thing though.

M.

On the other hand.... if you are happy with your bitch, and there is no health reasons for having her spayed, then why bother? I know of bitches that have been entire all their lives without any health problems. Though I do get mine done once they are past breeding age, it's more because I do not want the risk of a pregnancy in an older bitch rather than risk of pyometra. No matter how vigilant you are there is always the off chance that someone might leave a door/gate open just at the most inopportune time ;-)

It has to be your choice. Don't let anyone bully you into it, either way.

And as to your bitch paying more attention to you once she's done - what a load of £$%&£$%!!!! My youngest will watch me all the time, waiting to be told where to go, but her mother is a right pain in the  backside. Both are entire, but they are so different temperamentally that I am only now getting to grips with mum. My nearly 10 year old bitch is another that is a pain in the you know what. Must admit though, I do like a dog with character :-D Just makes life more interesting, especially on a wet, cold winter morning when you are in a hurry to get somewhere and the dog goes hunting....... ;-)

thanks for all the comments guys, im so split in my decision im really not sure what to do???

I was advised by my mentor who has been breeding since 1953 to have the girls spayed after they had finished breeding. She found Pyometra happened almost invariably at some point otherwise usually in old age. 

Statistically bitches that have never been pregnant are at higher risk of Pyometra as they suffer the effects of prolonged hormone levels that predispose to Pyometra more than bitches do whilst pregnant or lactating.

Al mine have been spayed between five and 7 years of age when fit and well.

A friend had a cross collie bitch who also had Pyometra at 11 years old and nearly died.

I think they are being completely unfair pestering you, fair enough to offer advice but it sounds like they are trying to bully you into a decision and it should be your choice.  That said I am in favour of spaying, as said pyo is a big risk for entire bitches and there are reduced risks for certain cancers.  It sounds like she doesn't have any bother but a lot of bitches suffer with phantom pregnancies which can be very distressing for a bitch.  My preference is to wait till they have matured some what physically and wait till they have had a season.  As for her being more responsive to you if she was spayed I think that's a load of old tosh, that's all in the training :-) Any op is a worry for our dogs but it really is very routine and bitches are usually back to their normal selves very quickly.  Do as much research as you can and make an informed decision.

Karen

thanks for more replys.
its the pyo that im worried about,if she does get it later in life i will feel so bad that i didnt have her spayed earlier.

about the show that we were at,i dont think she could of been more responsive! we did a great round and i was really impressed.we were in nov and usualy we are in beginers so i think we did pretty good to end up with 5th!

i spent about 4hours reasearching about it last night,ended up going to bed at 2!!!

thanks for the replys everyone :-)

> Though I do get mine done once they are past breeding age, it's more because I do not want the risk of a pregnancy in an older bitch rather than risk of pyometra.

Agree with LindyLou on this one.  I have never made the decision due to risk of pyometra.  I've owned spayed bitches, and entire bitches.  Never had a pyo, but I wouldn't have thanked anyone for bullying me into a decision.  I sometimes have girls that I consider too small for breeding.  I have them spayed rather than risk accidents.  But I will not, under any circumstance, get them spayed until they have had a season, and matured.  I know my vet would recommend getting them done younger, but I wait until after their first birthday.  That's my decision, and you should stand by your decision.  Think about it a little longer if you need to, and shy or not, don't let the b*ggers get you down!

thanks jean,i was actualy going to PM you about wether you do obedience with your chihuahua's? or know anybody that does? i wanted some advice and tips is possible.

i started this post because i feel as though i have been putting the decision off for the last 5years, its so easy to just brush it under the carpet and not think about it,but i have to deal with it and decide.
part of me feels like why do it now when she is fine the way she is, but on the other hand i think i should be also thinking about the future not just now,im so confused its really getting to me.
thanks for the replys everyone:-)

Hi
I read your thread about your dilemma to spay your girl. A good friend of mine had 2 springer spaniel sisters with the intention of having a litter from one or both, eventually it  never happened. I did mention about having them spayed at around 5 yrs due to troubles that it can cause. She kept putting it off, about 2 years later they were moving home and that weekend of the big move her bitch Milly became seriously ill. She was so poorly- surprisingly the vet didn't operate but gave her antibiotic's . They moved to their new house and sadly had to rush Milly to a new vet, it was touch and go for a week as Milly was in the hospital for that amount of time, lucky she pulled through.

Having seen my good friend go through this heartache with this, I would recommend you have this done for your girl. My friend did say to me if she had realised that this can happen she would of had it done years ago- she had a male dog before and didn't know about this. Her sister Molly was fine.. no troubles, but her owner made sure she went in and had her operation soon after this.
It doesn't alter their personality at all, as it does with males- no testosterone to worry about. It makes them put weight on, but just reduce there dinner portions.