When to spay?
Chime in folks. Thanks! Mark  |
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| My Bella is now 2. I had her spayed at 6 months. Some females can go into heat as early as 9 months. |
| She is soooooooo cute. |
She is a cutie! 
Most vets recommend spaying at 6 months... however she will most likely get very leggy and not end up looking square as an oes should because she will not have the hormones to close the growth plates. Also, I'm not sure if early spaying has anything to do with the spay incontinence so common among oes. |
| So when do you recommend spaying, stacey? |
| There have not been enough studies in regards to spaying and incontinence to prove anything. They do know for sure, incontinence in spayed females is due to lack or hormone which keeps the required muscles strong enough to "hold it"
It is believed by many though, that after a first heat, the hormonal changes at that time strengthen those muscles and there are lower incidence of spay incontinence if spayed after a heat cycle. Also, the growth plates close after that first heat. However, it doesn't really matter if a pet oes grows bigger than it would have, she'll just be taller than an unspayed female or one that was spayed after a heat cycle. A female not spayed before her first heat has an 8% chance of developing mammary cancer (at some point in her life), one spayed before the first heat has less than a 1% chance, so I certainly would not put the dog at greater risk only for the look of a normal length leg as compared to a leggy dog who is a pet. As far as whether the benefit of reducing that risk outweighs the risk of having a dog leak urine for the rest of it's life... that is a more difficult one to judge, and it really is up to the individual. OES are a breed especially prone to it, it is a hereditary abnormality of some dogs urinary tract, and very hard to detect in females until incontinence is noticed (almost always after spaying). If a dog is diagnosed with this abnormality, they recommend NOT spaying until after the first heat. Here is a very informative link.... http://www.vin.com/proceedings/Proceedi ... &O=Generic |
| She is a doll! |
| She looks like a muppet... So cute!!! |
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