Hi,

I've a 7 month old dobe puppy who hasn't had her first season yet.  I am never going to breed from her and wanted some advice regarding having her speyed.  I have heard rumours about dogs putting on weight, change of personality etc. and would like to know the pros and cons.  Obviously, my first concern is Jess, I don't want to put her through having a major operation unnecesarily.  I am rather worried about the change of personality as she is such a lovely little (well, not that little!) puppy. 

All advice greatly appreciated. 

Josie

PS - first post, so please be nice ;-)

hi, i'm new too.

Bailey is having her spay operations this friday afternoon, so I am sharing the same worries as you are.  But I have researched and checked with people who have their dogs spayed.

1. Overweight = No if you monitor food and excercise
2. Change of personality = Some say no and some say that their pets got more dependent on their owner
3. Lazy = Again increase amount of daily excercise

On the other hand if spayed prior first season the risk of Cancer is reduced to 0.5%, while if spayed after first season the risk goes up to 8%

>On the other hand if spayed prior first season the risk of Cancer is reduced to 0.5%, while if spayed after first season the risk goes up to 8%<

I'm not contradicting you, but in all the years that I've had bitches and spoken to breeders, I've never come across anything like it, where did you get the above info from? :) And how have these studies been prooved? I really am interested ;)

Got from various sites in the internet, as cancer it is referring to mammary cancer and not in general.

Although even our vet, who is really a trustfull person, says that it reduces risk of mammary cancer.

Well Josi, I can only go on my experience and those who's advice I trust implicitely, including my old vet. I not pay any attention to scaremongering. All of my bitches either died of old age or other completely unrelated afflictions.

Although the internet is a very knowledgeable tool, I wouldn't necessarily believe all that you read on it unless it is a reputable site and has substantiated facts from medical associations. :)

Well different people, different opinions.

In any case, whatever decision we take for our pets, we always have the best of intentions and deep down we all hope it is the best for our pets.

Hi josi,  Sadly my first bitch did die from a mammary tumour.  Because of that, I had the second one speyed but she died from another form of cancer anyway.    Good luck with making your decision, it isn't easy.  I now have a male dog and he is neutered but it was just as difficult with him too!

Hi Josie & welcome to CD :)

At what age were you thinking of having her spayed? It is really better to let her have a season first and then get her done, although I like to wait until they have 2 seasons, just my personal preference ;) This way, you give her time to mature mentally and physically, as people often say on here, it is like a 10 yr girl having a hysterectomy, you wouldn't do it.

As to the side effects, in my experience, you don't really know that they've had it done. I have had all of my bitches spayed at varying ages, my current bitch, GSD, is a little heavier on coat, but very cold weather at the moment :D but her personality has stayed the same, she's still neurotic :D They only put on weight if you let them, so excercise is important. It's the same as us really, if you eat too much and don't excercise then you'll put weight on :P

HTH

Hello there! 

I'm definately going to let her have at least one season, if not two.   She is 7 months now and hasn't had a season so it could be up to a year from now that we decide to go ahead.   To be honest, I don't like the idea of her having a GA at this young age unless absolutely necessary as I know, much as it is rare, there can be complications. 

I just don't want to rush into something and have the op done before she is fully developed. 

Hi Josie!

When I've had bitches spayed I've always been guided by my old vet, who advocated spaying midway between seasons, never before the first one unless it was a medical emergency. There are many reasons for this, not least the fact that the blood supply to the uterus is at a normal level, so surgery is easier and safer, and also the hormones are at their lowest level, so there's less risk of behavioural problems.

There are side-effects of spaying, but they're not terribly common, and can usually be treated.

Weight gain: there's no doubt that some bitches do put on weight after spaying, no matter how little they're fed or how much exercise they're given, but experience seems to point to that being more the case with bitches who're spayed after having a litter, rather than maiden bitches. If others put on weight it's generally because we let them (like ourselves!)

Personality changes: not common, especially if the bitch was mature when spayed.

Coat changes: not normally a problem in smooth-coated breeds.

Urinary incontinence: It's not uncommon for elderly bitches to experience a degree of incontinence (just like elderly people!) but bitches who were spayed before their first season are more likely suffer this from a much younger age than would otherwise be expected. This can be treated with lifelong medication.

If she's spayed you'll never have to worry about her coming into season and attracting dogs to your door! It is indeed major surgery, but vets have a lot of experience with the operation, and anaesthetics are a lot safer than they used to be, although naturally there's always a risk with any surgery. Even in unspayed bitches the incidence of mammary cancer is very low (it seems to be about the same risk as with people). The risk of pyometra in unspayed bitches is rather higher than the cancer risk, and to be honest that's the only health concern that would personally sway me. But that's just my opinion!

To sum up a rather lengthy post (sorry!), if you're going to have her spayed, do it about 3 months after a season, either her first or her second. Hope this helps.
:)

Hi Jeangenie,

That's a great help - thanks!

It makes alot of sense to have the op between seasons, just need now to decide between which ones!!