I have poured over previous threads on spaying.  I had made up my mind to have my bc spayed after she has had her first season.  The vet says half way through the gap between.  I know the health benefits and the down side and have made up my mind that she should be spayed.  However she has a really fabulous coat - she is a red and white - supposed to be short coat but it is so thick and glossy that everyone admires her.  How can I help to keep her coat looking good after she is spayed?  I feed her on Burns now and give her no supplements.

My second question is can anyone say how temperament is affected?  When people say that bitches become more aggressive  after spaying how can they ever know what there dog would have been like if left entire?  Some  say their dogs have quietened down but then as they grow up that is also quite likely.  My girl is not aggressive and is good with adults and children. But she is sensitive and gets excitable outside her own home.   I would hate to have her become aggressive. 

Hi, my 3 year old Dane was spayed 2 years ago. We struggle with her weight a bit but I have never regretted the decision. She was a little bit hormonal before being spayed and now all that has gone. There has been no difference in her coat, but she is short haired. I wouldn't hesitate to have a bitch spayed in future - she also recovered very quickly, no scar and only one stitch!

Hi, I was just about to put a similar post on here about spaying when I saw yours. My BT is 6 months old and I have booked her in to be spayed next week which I decided to do after a conversation with the vet, but now I am getting cold feet about it. I am mainly worried about temprement, she is so lovely now with other dogs and my children and I am so worried that this may change if spayed before her first season. The vet said this doesn't happen. Has anybody had experience of this happening with their dog ?

I have had quite a few bitches spayed of different breeds and ranging from 6 months to in thier later years.
NEVER has the coat changed and NEVER have they got aggresive, in fact in a couple that suffered hormonal mood swings they dissapeared and temprement improved. Also I have NEVER had a nuetered bitch become incontinent but I have had an in tact one.
I do wonder if these that says the coat changed or they got more aggressive after spaying would have had the same problem had the bitch not been spayed anyway.  Obviously noone can be 100% sure about that.
But I can say that one GSD bitch I had started to get crabby around 2years old and I had her spayed a year later and she really mellowed.  Best thing I done for her.  I can also say one male dog I had, had a fantastic coat (a CKCS) but when he was 3 his coat went all fluffy, wavy and awful, had him checked out but everything came back clear and he was healthy in every other way, now had I had him nuetered young or younger would the coat change then have been put down to the fact he had been nuetered
I think we have to be careful.  I did actually get him nuetered age 5 and for the record it didn't improve his coat either, but then it also got no worse.

Bev

I think what is meant about aggression, is that unlike in males when bitches are fighters/dog aggresive the removal of the female hormones does not improve things, but would make them if anything worse.

As for coat, my friend has a Brown and White bitch who was spayed after her first season.  she was a good colour and after spaying she lost her coat completely (quite usual, as it is in bitches after a litter), she then grew a nice coat and has kept it since, , this is over a year now since she was spayed.

Generally it seems to be certain breeds whose coats become less nice, notably spaniels.

All the spayed Border Collie bitches I know have good coats, maybe a bit more undercoat.  Don't know any smoothcoat ones though.

Hi
Had My bl and white BC spayed when she was two. Wanted to let her mature and have a couple of seasons. No change at all to temperament. Have struggled with weight though. Did everything right but she gained from 19kgs to 26.5kg in a year yet she was getting plenty of exercice and I had reduced her food. Think she was just one of the unlucky ones but we're getting on the right track and found a food that is working. Coat has gone beserk, really thick and from long straight to long curly, bless her.
With red and whites their coats are more sensitive anyway to sun etc. It could really go either way for her. Chances are her coat will thicken up. Look at mink coat conditioners if her coat goes wispy. It really helps.

Hi

i'm new to this site but I've found the help on here amazing.  I'm having similar problems with my bitch.  She's just been in season and now I have to decided whether to spay or not to spay...and to be honest I can't make my mind up about it.  She's never had a litter and some say it's best to let them have one litter, others say it doesn't matter so I'm not sure which way to turn...  the only thing I do know is that I have 3 months to decide!  :-)

Hi Ellie,

There are certainly NO medical / physical benefits in allowing a bitch to have a litter - quite the reverse in fact :(  It is an old wives tale, myth, whatever that bitches "need" a litter.  The most responsible thing to do for your much loved pet is have her neutered between seasons to prevent possible accidental matings in the future and also as a preventative measure against pyometra (a life threatening womb infection).

Best wishes, Teri :)

  

Thanks Teri

The more I think about it the more sensible it seems.  and I'm not sure how we'd cope in our house with pups to look after! :-) It's manic enough as it is!!

No problem :)  At least you had the foresight to ask!  Unfortunately some people may think it was in their bitch's best interests and learn the hard way.

I'm glad you've found the site - it's a great source of general info and nice to share tales (and tails) with equally dog-besotted folks :D 

regards, Teri

Had my bitch spayed early December and she hasn't changed temperament wise at all, she is still the big softy she has always been. Now and again she can get a bit grumpy, but then can't most bitches? ;)
In fact I've just had a talk with my neice. She has a young staffy who is just into her first season and I asked her if she was getting her spayed and she replied she'd heard it was better for them to have a litter first I told her that was rubbish and, as she had no other reasons to breed from her, she will be getting her done soon.  My eldest bitch, a bc cross, was spayed about 7 years ago and neither her coat or temperament changed, though I am expecting maddies' coat to go woolly as this is, apparently, typical of leonbergers :rolleyes:

Dee

Thanks for the advice and information.  We are now well into her season and I must say I don't really won't to go through this again.  I was taking her out for part of her usual walk but when we had snow there were so many folks coming this way with dogs, children and sledges that I thought it would be too much hassle.  I take her round the fields at the back of our house on a long lead in case.  We had a male lab (posted about it's aggressive nature before when it was always out - it finally bit the postie and haven't seen it much since thank goodness otherwise it would be laying siege to us now)  I can't wait for her to have a good run again and get back to normal. 
As for aggression she is still a food guarder - I have not done much on that problem recently but my husband fed her a few meat scraps - very high value reward without any real work on her part.  She was behind her dog gate at the time and when he leant back to pat her head she snapped at him - her teeth made contact with his knuckles!

i thought i would share this with you all. 15 years ago , i had a lhaso apso bitch who i loved with all my heart. i never got her speyed and her seasons were light and not a problem , i never had any intention of breeding from her either. one day when she was 10 years old , one of the kids left the door open & she went missing for a couple of hours. to cut a long story short, about 7 or 8 weeks later she was very sick throwing up and looked really ill. i rang the vet who came out just as she died in my arms. he examined her & said she was with pup & had been in labour , we didnt know she had been in season , let alone pregnant. she was far too old to cope with it & godknows what dog had caught her, it was horrible , and even now i wish i had got her speyed to spare her what she went through.I will never forgive myself & i think if you have no intention of breeding , then speying is probably the sensible option . IMO

Agree with Teri. Please don't go down the route of having a litter for the sake of it. It's for totally the wrong reason. My bitch never had a litter and I got her spayed at just over 2. She hasn't lost out or her temperament changed for not having one.

I would never consider breeding from my dog - there are so many dogs out there if I wanted another.  We never spayed our first bitch - an Irish Setter, but she was so easy to look after (hadn't heard of all the health problems that she could have had then) - a BC is a different kettle of fish - she could escape from our property much easier -  I try not to take my eye off her in the garden now just incase she sees a dog passing on the road.  If she did escape and was missing for any length of time I would have no hesitation in taking her to the vet just in case.  I doubt it is possible to tell if anything had taken place?  Would there be any consequences in giving her medication as a precaution?   I am doing all possible to make sure that we never get to that point but the information could be useful for others too.

Nothing much to add except to say I had my weimaraner bitch spayed after her first season - She was a great dog - her coat stayed lovely, her temperament was fab. No hassle of coming in to season or worrying when she was.. I wouldnt hesitate to have my bitch spayed. Its not for everyone and its a bigger op than neutering a male but I only have positive things to say about how it was for us. Having said that, her temperament may have been good whether we had her spayed or not???

had girls spayed myself, all well, only change in temp is that there is no PST (pre season tension) lol.....Its a worry with such a big op, but they are far better for it, in my opinion, and you dont have to make walks at midnight or 5 am for 3 weeks every six months! go for it.