Gun Dog Forum

Hey everyone, Im picking up my brittany pup saturday the 26th!! just wondering when i should get her spayed? My vet is telling me 6 months but i think that is too early? Should i let her go through a heat cycle first? i dont want to affect her growing and muscle growth by spaying too early but deifantly want her spayed since i dont plan on breeding her. Let me know what you guys think! Thank you

Spaying before the first cycle virtually eliminates mammary cancer.......................Cj

X 2 ( before 6 months usually)

http://www.cesarsway.com/dog-rescue/spa ... er-or-spay

Thanks for the info!

I'll take the other side and wait till a year and a half at the earliest. Cancer is not common in dogs without repeated problems such as false pregnancies or such. So weigh the consequences against the advantages and make up your mind.

Ask the breeder at what age her girls come in for the first time. That will give you a general idea, since some come in right about 6 months and others after a year. Plan accordingly.
I try to push the envelope toward later in order to avoid things like inverted vulvas and incontinence problems. For most of my girl dogs it's between 9-13 months.

With females you have to weigh more risks than with males, however about 25% of unspayed females will develop a mammary tumor but 50% are benign and the malignant ones are not usually fatal. I had two females that developed mammary tumors and they were both benign.

You have to consider this risk vs other things like improper orthopedic development, risk of other cancers that kill like bone cancer, temperament issues, bad coat and a tendency of early spayed females to be overweight and develop related diseases.

I think im going to wait so we dont mess with her growing

I agree whole heartedly. You, me, and your pup will be happy. lol

Lol thanks ezzy!

dandrus1022 wrote:I think im going to wait so we dont mess with her growing

Yes please wait.

So wait till a 1.5 years?

Early spay reduces mammary cancer risks, but seriously increases the odds of hip dysplasia, obesity, ligament tears, and other cancers.

Hormones for both males and females play a role in bone plate closures in growing dogs. Spay or neuter early and the bone grow to disproportionate lengths. This, combine with weight gain, causes problems with hips and ligaments.

The major recent studies have been published on early spay and neuter: the Rottweiler Study, the Golden Retriever Study, and the Vizsla Study. In all these neutering males showed serious downsides and virtually no upsides for health. In females it is more complicated. Serious downsides, but mammary cancer is a serious problem as well. Seems like the best advice is to wait until after the first heat, and full grown. After the second heat the mammary cancer risks rise.

I would not do it at 6 months. Wait.

Bill

I have two female Brittanys. The older one was spayed immediately after her first heat cycle (about 9-10 months of age) and my younger one was spayed before her first heat cycle at about 8-9 months of age. Dogs are now 12 and 6 and I have seen no negative signs related to their spaying.

I have never had a female spayed & my foundation female was over 15 when she passed I have a daughter of hers she will be 14 in Oct & I have seen no negative effects.I see no reason to spay or neuter.I have a male,an older brother to my 14 yr old to be female he will be 15 next month & still looks & acts like a 9 or 10 yr old dog. :roll:

Vonzeppelinkennels wrote:I see no reason to spay or neuter.

Some of us do not want to breed our dogs and do not want to put up with the heat cycle twice a year.

I don't breed and it's a pain when they live in the house. I wait till 2 years at least.

That's my point it's for convienience of the owners not for good of the dogs.

Spy Car wrote:Early spay reduces mammary cancer risks, but seriously increases the odds of hip dysplasia, obesity, ligament tears, and other cancers.

Hormones for both males and females play a role in bone plate closures in growing dogs. Spay or neuter early and the bone grow to disproportionate lengths. This, combine with weight gain, causes problems with hips and ligaments.

The major recent studies have been published on early spay and neuter: the Rottweiler Study, the Golden Retriever Study, and the Vizsla Study. In all these neutering males showed serious downsides and virtually no upsides for health. In females it is more complicated. Serious downsides, but mammary cancer is a serious problem as well. Seems like the best advice is to wait until after the first heat, and full grown. After the second heat the mammary cancer risks rise.

I would not do it at 6 months. Wait.

Bill

People believe what they wish do believe about neutering. So far the research is greatly over rated and aimed at proving a issue exists.
There are millions of neutered dogs who have no health issues. I have a 17 year old female who was neutered at six months. Still in very good health. Deaf, but I do not think that was caused by neutering.
We like to neuter or guide females before there fisrt heat usually at 12 to 14 months. Last litter had there first period at 9 months.
If you do not neuter a non breeding female you can almost guarantee health issues and false pregnancies. Mammary cancer and Pyometra kills many unsprayed females......................Cj

I have had many many dogs over the past 70 years and have had one die of cancer and the rest died of old age. The one that had cancer continuely had false pregnancies which I am sure could have played a part in the problem since she was always coming into milk and no pups to ease the swelling. But out of all of my dogs I am yet to neuter one except for the last one I have had since she was a house dog along with our male. And she got hit by a car a few weeks later. Doubt if neutering had any=thing to do with that but if I had agenda like many groups have today I could put up the statistic that neutering is really bad for a dog. I can also tell you cheese many times results in death to rodents but .................................

cjhills wrote:

Spy Car wrote:Early spay reduces mammary cancer risks, but seriously increases the odds of hip dysplasia, obesity, ligament tears, and other cancers.

Hormones for both males and females play a role in bone plate closures in growing dogs. Spay or neuter early and the bone grow to disproportionate lengths. This, combine with weight gain, causes problems with hips and ligaments.

The major recent studies have been published on early spay and neuter: the Rottweiler Study, the Golden Retriever Study, and the Vizsla Study. In all these neutering males showed serious downsides and virtually no upsides for health. In females it is more complicated. Serious downsides, but mammary cancer is a serious problem as well. Seems like the best advice is to wait until after the first heat, and full grown. After the second heat the mammary cancer risks rise.

I would not do it at 6 months. Wait.

Bill

People believe what they wish do believe about neutering. So far the research is greatly over rated and aimed at proving a issue exists.
There are millions of neutered dogs who have no health issues. I have a 17 year old female who was neutered at six months. Still in very good health. Deaf, but I do not think that was caused by neutering.
We like to neuter or guide females before there fisrt heat usually at 12 to 14 months. Last litter had there first period at 9 months.
If you do not neuter a non breeding female you can almost guarantee health issues and false pregnancies. Mammary cancer and Pyometra kills many unsprayed females......................Cj

Those with long experience with gundogs (or dogs generally) already know the advantages of not castrating males. The downsides are also clear, including disproportionate growth and the tendency to lose or not build muscle to the degree intact dogs do, and the converse condition of adding extra fat that is common in neutered dogs.

What wasn't proven (but suspected) was how bad for the joints and ligaments castration is for dogs, especially when done early. Three major studies have focused on the issues of castration and health. The evidence is very strong that castration leads to a myriad of health problems related to irregular growth, including hip dysplasia and ligament tears. There are also cancer risks that are very significant.

One can not remove the the hormone producing organs of a young animal and reasonably expect there will be no consequences. In male dogs all the health consequences are negative.

Female spay (not neuter) is a more difficult issue, as there are significant risks of female cancers. There are also significant downsides to spay from a health perspective. It is not a "slam-dunk" decision. Personally if I had a female (I never have) I'd be torn between post-first heat, post-second heat, and never. Leaning towards never. But I'd need to think about it. I don't discount that there are risks to not spaying females, as well as advantages. The advantages are real too. Unmentioned earlier is the risk of incontinence due to spay, plus the orthopedic issues.

Bill

Thanks everyone for the advice! I think im going to wait till after her first heat or wait longer

Vonzeppelinkennels wrote:I have never had a female spayed & my foundation female was over 15 when she passed I have a daughter of hers she will be 14 in Oct & I have seen no negative effects.I see no reason to spay or neuter.I have a male,an older brother to my 14 yr old to be female he will be 15 next month & still looks & acts like a 9 or 10 yr old dog. :roll:

One very good reason to spay is to avoid a potentially life threatening uterine infection called Pyometra. They can be of the "open" or "closed" variety and a female dog can die from it if not treated. Treatment is often unsuccessful and an emergency spay is called for. There is a saying - "never let the sun set on pyo"

I suggest spaying after one cycle. Pyometra can happen to any breed, any time in the life of an intact female dog. Often it occurs shortly after a heat cycle has finished.