Ideally I could do without Bron having a season with an entire male in the house - any massive disadvantages to having her spayed at 8-10 months if she's not had her first season?

Hi Carla,

I think even more of an issue in a giant breed than any other.  Mine (ickle in comparison LOL) I wouldn't do it - hormones are needed as much for physical as mental development.  Early neutering of either s@x can affect the growth plates - taller, leggier, lankier (and in a Dane that's all that already ) less substance - it's not just about showing we avoid those things but also the strength of the bones :)  Add to that 'Peter Pan syndrome' whereby mentally they may be trapped in puppyhood and it's not what I'd advise.

Think you may have to batton down the hatches (big blue guy behind them) and ride the imminent storm.  Any chance someone could look after (OK, contain!) Willis during the season or alternatively take care of Bronte?  Barring this idea, is kennelling one of them an option?

HTH, Teri x

I agree - I know people in the US spay before the 1st season but it's not something I like the idea of. If possible, it's better to let a friend have one or the other of them if you can't manage both for that time - different in a giant breed from my little Cavs I am sure!

Hi
We have a rescued crossbreed that was speyed before her first season- upon recommendation from the vet
Shes been fine ever since

I have a crossbreed that was spayed before her first season and I'd never do it again. She has remained immature, worried, but above all all the other bitches consider her to be worthless and they pick on her a lot. She never fights back, but say we've been to a show, for a walk, to training anything, with another bitch, then the first thing that happens when we come home is that bitch will jump on Matilda and tell her off. She is so submissive she will just drop down, and sometimes they can keep her like that for half an hour before they allow her to get up. All the bitches that have had seasons get respect, Matilda does not. They don't know what she is, she is kind of sexless -neither female nor male.

> We have a rescued crossbreed that was speyed before her first season- upon recommendation from the vet
> Shes been fine ever since

Vets and rescue centres will often recommend spaying dogs (especially rescues) as soon as possible - but it's not for health reasons.

Why don't you get Willis castrated and then it eases the pressure waiting for Bronte to eventually come into season? 

In addition to the other posts, I never understand the concept that vets are so keen to spay at the mid-point between seasons, as the operation carries less risk - but they are happy to spay before a first season on a bitch that could conceivably come in to season tomorrow?

Willis probably a bit old for castration in your mind, at a guess, but I'd certainly ride out the first couple of seasons by boarding one of them out if you aren't able to keep them separated effectively.

M.

Thanks everyone, I hadn't considered the development side of things, duh

I would fight any vet that tried to remove Willis's balls, I am very proud of them (can't believe I said that out loud lol)

LOL! Carla :-)

I feel the same way about mine (well, my dogs anyway lol).

> I would fight any vet that tried to remove Willis's balls, I am very proud of them

Are you going to have them framed when he is no more? Ikea do those nice box frames ...

M.

"I would fight any vet that tried to remove Willis's balls, I am very proud of them" ROTFLMAO
My Mum had a puppy from me and had her spayed before her first season. She not only didn't develop physically, she remained mentally immature all her life - that's in a medium sized breed, if that makes a difference.
I'd never do it myself unless it was a serious health problem.

do they really make them big enough? lol

>I'd never do it myself unless it was a serious health problem.

Might be a serious health problem for me if she comes in season lol.

LOL - poor Willis would be mortified if he knew mommy spoke so personally in public (or John would!)  :-o

Put the dog in kennels and let the bitch grow up with all her hormones intact.

To spay so young is in my mind barbaric how can you be against docking a pup before it has a fully operating nervous system and then condone a major operation when it will interfere with the correct growth of the dog, vets these days must be indoctrinate in collage. 

I have a crossbreed that was speyed at 8months old.She has always been so loving and loyal not immature in the slightest and she,s just had her 17th birthday.

Pleased to hear you are having no problems with your bitch but the thing is you have know idea what she would have been like had she been left as nature intended at least till she was fully grown.

My breed is fully grown by the time they have their first season.  Most bitches in my breed, dont have their first season until they are almost a year old, and by then they are at full height, and look like they do as adult dogs. 

It is common over here, to spay/neuter at 6 months of age.  If you wait longer, the vets here says it carries more risk to the dog, and of course it adds another couple hundred to the vet bills. 

Can say though, that my late springer was spayed at 6 months, and she was always hyper, like a puppy.  But thats also a springer trait, so I dont know if the spay had anything to do with it.  She matured body wise nicely, so it can go either way.

Down to personal preference I think. 

Kennels are not an option, Willis is nearly 8 and has never been kenneled in his life. I will find a way to keep her intact until she is mature enough to be spayed.

He'd be as proud as I am (willis, not Jon lol)

Put the boys on the Suprelorin implant until she is spayed. I've just had Jessie in season & whilst Wukee & the Cavaliers were very interested(& she in them the little t*rt)Rjj(who is 3)was totally oblivious to her, he's on his second implant. She had a silent season until she was on the peak few days.

Edited to add His b*lls will be smaller whilst the implant is active, but will return to normal after the implant effects wear off

In which case I would use Suprelorin for a year or so and then if one has to be done I would castrate the dog as that will cause the least interferance in both dogs natural lives.

I would have though castrating an 8 year old dane would not be preferable to spaying a bitch after a season when she has matured? I don't see why you would advocate castrating willis and yet be so against spaying?

I,d no idea how she would of grown on anyway with her being a "Heinz 57"  but at the time it would not have been practical for me to let her have a season and I dont think she has ever suffered for not having one.

don't worry, there is no way I would castrate Willis - not a chance. I am more than happy to have Bron spayed once she is matured, Phoebe was spayed with no problems at all so I have no hesitation

I would defo go down the implant route, Rjj was trying to hump jessie from the day she arrived, just over a week after his implant, he left her alone & when she was flashing her a** at him at every opportunity when she was in season, he never even reacted !

thats really interesting... i've not heard of the implant before? Bron is 6 months and immature, I doubt she will come into season for another 4-6 months yet

You need to start before she comes in season, the implant effects last for at least 6 months, the time before effects are seen does vary from dog to dog I thought it would be 6 weeks or so, but in fact it was much sooner with Rjj.

I better not let him read this bit: A significant decrease in testicle size will be seen during the treatment period. In very rare cases, a testicle may be able to ascend the inguinal ring



lol

LOLOLOLOL indeed that would really worry him :-D

Eeeeeewwwwww!

(only on CD are you able to discuss such things and get away with it :-) )

> I don't see why you would advocate castrating willis and yet be so against spaying

Because he is fully mature and had the benefit of his hormones to do so.

Yes but he is 8 years old, which i would have thought is a good age for a dane and not the time to be giving an anaesthetic, even if he is healthy and fully grown. Surely its best to wait until the bitch is mature by using the implants.

I agree. I wouldn't risk it with him at all. Not even if he was younger - for a start he has a meltdown if he has to go to the vets and has to have 3 ACP's just to get him in the place.

At 8 yrs of age i wouldnt ever consider giving a dane a G.A unless it was imperative to its health, i would seek alternative ways to keep them apart as suporelin will calm them down but is not guaranteed to stop all urges and can still "do the job"

>Because he is fully mature and had the benefit of his hormones to do so.

8 years of age is old for a giant breed - I'm not sure I'd put a 13 year old dalmatian (a roughly equivalent age) under anaesthetic if there was an alternative.

> 8 years of age is old for a giant breed

8 years is a good age but i wouldnt consider them old as such, they can happily live till 13 dependant on each and every dog

He looks well though - check out the piccie link in my profile ;)

he does look good, a credit to you. very dignified like my 7 year old but once shes out she's like a pup still.

I think its because he's not gone grey at all, unlike phoebe who looks like an old woman lol
took all 3 across the field last night - narrowly avoided being taken out like a human skittle

>i wouldnt consider them old as such, they can happily live till 13 dependant on each and every dog

Absolutely - the KC health survey gives a mean lifespan of 6½ years, with the oldest reported being 14 years 2 months.

Willis is very fit and healthy, but I still be very cautious about unnecessary surgery.

do you have a friens or relative the boy could stay with when she ha her season, probably best it was him as a dane bitch can be very messy and might not be fun for someone else if they had the bitch

No, he has never stayed anywhere else in his life. I could never put him through that. He and I are very close, he adores me - he's never even been in kennels. He's a big sloppy, stupid baby lol. I will probably keep both bitches in the stable outside whilst she has a season - get them used to it in the day beforehand.