seasons

Hi there.

I think the general opinion is to ait until after at least their forst season but I know that vets opinions vary on this. Below is information from another thread that covers spaying and the health implications of being done to early. I hope that this is helpful.

I am all for spaying its the best thing for a bitches health But not if shes very young so please do plenty of research before you go ahead, a fair few people now believe early spaying increases the chances of a dog developing serious health conditions later on.

On the negative side, spaying female dogs
• if done before 1 year of age, significantly increases the risk of osteosarcoma (bone cancer); this is a common cancer in larger breeds with a poor prognosis
• increases the risk of splenic hemangiosarcoma by a factor of 2.2 and cardiac hemangiosarcoma by a factor of >5; this is a common cancer and major cause of death in some breeds
• triples the risk of hypothyroidism
• increases the risk of obesity by a factor of 1.6-2, a common health problem in dogs with many associated health problems
• causes urinary “spay incontinence” in 4-20% of female dogs
• increases the risk of persistent or recurring urinary tract infections by a factor of 3-4
• increases the risk of recessed vulva, vaginal dermatitis, and vaginitis, especially for female dogs spayed before puberty
• doubles the small risk (<1%) of urinary tract tumors
• increases the risk of orthopedic disorders
• increases the risk of adverse reactions to vaccinations

http://www.naiaonline.org/pdfs/longt...uterindogs.pdf

Our vet is very pro having them spayed before their first season so we had Lolly spayed early at 5 months (due to holiday times and she's large enough the vet was happier to do it early than risk doing it later) This is the info our vet gave us

" The main reasons for spaying a dog are to prevent pyometra which is a womb infection that can occur after a season and is life threatening if not treated quickly and also ovarian and mammary tumours which can occur in entire female dogs. if spayed before her first season a female dog has a 0.05% chance of getting mammary tumours. However this encreases to 8% if spayed after the first season and increases further to 24% if spayed after two or more seasons"

I like you had no idea which was best but trust our vet completely so happily took her advice. I also didn't really fancy the idea of dealing with a season!!!

Hi Kerry

We are in the same predicament as you! Beau is 6 months on the 16 August. Our vet recommends having her spayed before her first season and at the moment she is booked in to have this done on the 24 August although I am still undecided whether she will have the operation then. Our obedience trainer said she had her Cocker Spaniel done at 6 months which was before her first season and although there were no complications she felt afterwards that it was too young and wished she had waited a bit longer! I asked everyone on here to state at what age their Cockapoo came into season and the youngest was just over 7 months with some being over a year. I definitely do not want to breed with Beau and do not mind her having a season if this is the best option but like others have said EVERYONE has an opinion. I would love it if ALL vets went by one rule as it would be far less confusing. Good luck with whatever you decide