i need some advise, my girl is 2 years old hungarian vizsla and i am contemplating getting her spayed.

these are my reasons for:
no heats
my other dog is top dog and i don't want ziggy being higher ranking just because she is entire.
i don't want to breed from this girl as she has had some socialisation problems

my reasons not too:
she is perfectly healthy - GA for no reason
some say the female hormones have a softening effect and considering she can be a bit snappy with dogs i was wondering if spaying her might make her worse.

basically i need some veiws on this matter

also are you allowed to show spayed bitches?

thanks in advance
anna

edited to say - i don't think her natural behaviour is to be aggressive because she has many doggy friends and has no problems socialising with entire males (she is a bit of a  flirt :) )

Yes, you can show spayed bitches. Just inform the Kennel Club beforehand and they'll send you a 'permission to show' letter.

As for the rest: I'm afraid that's a decision only you can make. It sounds as though you're aware of the pros and cons, which is good. Now you have to decide whether the benefits outweigh the risks. There's no one right answer, I'm afraid. Good luck!

Being entire doesn't always make a dog (or bitch ;)) 'alpha' - you can have very assertive speyed bitches who lord it over entire ones who are more submissive, or you can have two that just decide that a certain resource is more important to them than another, which is in turn more important to another dog......  Unfortunatley it just ain't that simple :(

If your two girls are living together happily, and you can manage the clean up ops when she IS in season, if they were mine, I'd leave things as they are - you can't turn the clock back if speying DOES make her worse than she is now.......

this is a decision only you can make but if she can get a little snapy now she may get very snapy with other female dogs during seasons and can result in some nasty fights.
If i was worried about that i would really suss the situation out i would let her have one season and see how she behaves during that season and if she fights with other females or gets very snappy then i would choose to spay for her and any other females safety.

there are times in her seasons when she just goes for my other dog and she does seem to get more snappy in her seasons. i don't want her snappiness whilst on seasons to take away all the training i have done with her

thank you for the reply i am starting to make my desision but still a long way to go before my mind is  made up

Anna, another way to look at it is that her chances of developing pyometra are going to massively increase, the longer that she isn't spayed.  There's no rush or need to spay her now, at 2 yrs, 3yrs, 4yrs and maybe even 5 yrs, but after that, imo, you are dicing with death a bit, if you don't spay.  And if you're going to spay her then, why not spay her now, completely eliminate the chances of a pyo and avoid the inconvenience of several years worth of seasons.  Personally, if I had a bitch and was 100% sure I would never want to breed from her, and she was fully mature (as at 2yrs, she is), then I would spay. 

ok so your girl does get short tempered in her seasons which i wouldnt be worrying about it throwing out all the training you have done i would be more concerned with the injuries she could inflict upon other females or herself and onetwothree has a very good point pyometra is a big concern i know even though my girl is young i worry about that after every season. I would discuss your concerns with the vet and way up the pro's and con's with him/her.

To be honest Slee I wouldn't listen to a vet's view on whether to neuter or not -after all, they'll be biased as they'll either get paid or not depending on what they say..........

Don't forget spayed bitches can become incontinent as well.

i thought incontinence was most likely to happen if they were spayed early as their bladder and muscles hadn't had time to develope - might be something i have just heard tho

Also the oestrogen affects the lining of the urethra; a lack of the hormone after spaying thins the lining making control more difficult.

i would never let anyone elses dogs get hurt so she wears a  muzzle at all times unless on lead and wearing a head collar - havn't worked out how to use both yet.

thank you for all your veiws they have been very useful and i am probs at the desition to get her spayed but will need to talk to my dad as she is technically his dog.

thanks for all your help - if anyone else has any veiws they will be gladly recieved.

anna

just thought i would let you know that ziggi is booked in to be spayed next thursday.
thanks for your help it was really nice of you to help me make this decition.

thanks again

anna

goodluck with the spay :)

thanks, i am v worried but have decieded now so must go thro with it

In my opionion, You do not get very far in shows with neutered bitches or dogs. As the idea of most shows in to improve the breed. You could have a beauty! but! they never seem to get very far if they are neutered.
I have see it happen. Fun shows are fine.

first and foremost she is a pet and her temperament is not good enough to breed anyway. i thought the consensus of opinion on this forum was to not encourage people who do not YET have enough information about their chosen breed. i have also heard that it was mostly neutered males that didn't get placed cos you can see something is missing. in the breed standard it says nothing about the females reproductive system.
thanks for your opinion tho and i am not getting at you (just incase you thought i was i was just simply saying how i feel)
anna

There's many a neutered bitch does well in the show ring   In double coated / long haired breeds the coat can often become too thick, almost cotton wool like, and furnishings too abundant but an experienced groomer could take care of that :)   The OP has a Vizla ...... can't see why there would be a problem

>As the idea of most shows in to improve the breed

That was what they started out as but in these days IMO it's very different :)   For some exhibitors - i.e. serious breeders - that's still the case but the majority shown may never be intended to be bred from as most hobby exhibitors show for just that, the hobby and social event.

Regards, Teri :)

Showing the neutered ones if good examples still shows what the lines can produce, so still helps in the decison mak9ing re choosing a good sire or breeder.

>You do not get very far in shows with neutered bitches<

Don't you ?

Rosa Bleu the sheltie did extremely well as a spayed bitch including BIS at champ shows I think & she had to be spayed very early because of a health problem. I made up my Beardie Champion(in the days when Beardie entries were huge 30 + in every class)after she had been spayed

Not bad for a couple of bitches that should only of gone to "fun"shows

Rosa was top dog (bitch) all breeds one year.

On the theme of bitches that would not be used for breeding but could and should be shown.

In this instance a bitch well past breeding age, not neutered but certainly not going to produce any puppies.

E****s Imogen at B*******k won the reserve Challenge Certificate and Reserve Best in Show at the EBCA Ch show when she was 10 and a half years old.  Removed the kennel names so's not to advertise,

In my own experience neutered bitches do win classes and I have seen a neutered dog placed regularly although not BOB.

My Pharaoh Hound bitch took two Championship show Groups after she was spayed plus several Group placings and many CCs.  I know she is another breed like the Vizla with a short coat so we didn't have to worry about it being too thick/fluffy but as has been said before if you're any good at presentation that can be sorted too.

A very good friend of mine took the Bitch CC record with a spayed Terv.  I've personally not known any bitches who were placed worse after spaying than before.

Debs

>A very good friend of mine took the Bitch CC record with a spayed Terv

Must have been quite a while back - who was that Debs?

regards, Teri :)

just thought i would let people know that she is at the vets now ready to be spayed and will be back home sometime in the afternoon.

thanks for all the help everyone so kindly gave me.
anna