and under no circumstances do I want to breed her. I will leave that to the experienced.  So she is under house arrest. Not having a lady dog before, how long do I have to keep her under house/garden arrest. Also now she is having her first season when can I get her to the vets and have the op?

The advice I have received is very varied  some is a little confusing. Some said get her spayed at 6 months (I was very uncomfortable with this). The others say a couple of seasons.

thank you

Keep her away from all male dogs, or where they go, for 21 - 28 days. Don't even let her into your garden unattended!

She can be spayed 3 months after her season ends, provided she's not showing any symptoms of phantom pregnancy. :-)

Just to be sure I will leave it till the 28th day, before house arrest ends. In that time we will refocus on exercising her mind and cementing other training requirements.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge

No problem. :-) It's refreshing to come across someone wanting to be careful. :-)