When to spay?

[Amy]

I have a 6 month old min. german schnauzer. I have been told by the vet to
spay her now, but have been told by the trainer to wait until after her
second heat? He says if I spay her to soon we are going to extend puppy
behavior ( have an eternal puppy). What do you suggest?

-Amy-

[CCDOX]

I don't know if it's different for different breeds, but I had my dachshund
spayed at 6 months of age and had no problems - she is a normal dog (ok, a
normal, spoiled dog) whose puppyhood was no longer than it should have been.
Dorothy

[Dianne Schoenberg]

In article <20000719141712...@ng-df1.aol.com>,

Agreed. While it's a fairly popular belief that spaying young
results in "permanent puppyhood", there's absolutely no
scientific evidence to support that belief.

Personally I think that puppyish traits are more the result
of genetics than altering... witness my OES, who turns 11
tomorrow and is STILL a puppy :-). She was spayed at 1.5
years. Happy birthday, Chloe-bear!!!

Dianne

[shootin...@webtv.net]

i can only say what my vet says. 6 months is the usual time becaus they
don't want the dog to have a heat because it then gets the hormones
producing things like all those mammary lumps even a couple years after
spaying sometimes. he said it is felt that if you beat the first
heat you beat the cancer tumors and even the benign ones. this is
all i would know. if you don't you will have to take our chances if a
heat comes on. then you would have to wait until it is over to do it
and the hormones are started up. how does anyone else feel about this
beat the hormone thing---it seemed to make sense?

[Sally Hennessey]

On Wed, 19 Jul 2000 15:03:08 -0400 (EDT), shootin...@webtv.net
wrote:

It's my understanding that there have been studies that show that
spaying prior to the first heat almost eliminates the possibility of
mammary cancer. After a couple of heats, the benefits in terms of
mammary tumors are reduced until there is no difference between a
spayed bitch and an unspayed bitch - - with respect to the likelihood
of developing mammary tumors. Of course, an unspayed bitch that is
not being bred should still be spayed, because there are other
benefits.

It was explained to me by a vet that spaying during a heat cycle is
not advisable because of the increased likelihood of bleeding. Some
vets will do the procedure if the dog has just begun the cycle; others
will not. It has nothing to do with hormones.

Sally Hennessey

[greg30127]

Every vet I've ever talked to says to spay BEFORE the 1st heat. To reduce
the risk of certain Cancers later in life. With each heat, you "lose" some
of the risk that you take away before the 1st heat. The simple way of
putting it, anyway.

GH

"Amy" <luvmijp...@home.com> wrote in message
news:AOad5.85809$T9.7...@news1.rdc1.sdca.home.com...

[LSahara]

> have been told by the trainer to wait until after her
>second heat? He says if I spay her to soon we are going to extend puppy
>behavior ( have an eternal puppy). What do you suggest?
>
>-Amy-
>
>

And that would be bad because........?
I have read an article recently in the whole dog journal where they are now
spaying animals when they are as young as 8 weeks old.
The pros say that the cat/dog heal much quicker as if nothing had happened.
Testing showed that it didn't affect their growth.

Cons are concerned with the immune system and the anesthesia.

My friend had her kitten spayed at 8 weeks. She was very happy with the
results.

My opinion: I'm not ready to do it that young but I'm a believer in having the
spayed before their first heat. Why put the dog/cat through that discomfort?
Kath
Love your dog? Feed him BARF
http://members.aol.com/kf2357/barf.htm

[J&D]

You're vet's right. You won't be extending puppy behavior, I have never in
my life heard that one!!

Amy <luvmijp...@home.com> wrote in message
news:AOad5.85809$T9.7...@news1.rdc1.sdca.home.com...
> I have a 6 month old min. german schnauzer. I have been told by the vet
to

> spay her now, but have been told by the trainer to wait until after her

[CareyGSD]

Amy,

Keep the vet, make the appointment right away and dump the tranier!

Most shelters now spay/neuter at 8 weeks of age. The animals recover much
faster.

Early spay/neuter SOMETIMES can affect physical development of secondary sexual
characteristics, but I've seen it both ways so there's no guarantees. And it's
mostly with males.

Lauri Carey- Founder Chicagoland Shepherd Rescue Inc.
The Base Pack - 7 dogs & 2 cats
The Foster Pack - varying number of GSDs
Rescue Homepage - http://www.gsdr.org
MY Homepage - http://members.xoom.com/careygsd/index.htm

[Michael Ball]

"LSahara" <lsa...@aol.com> wrote > I have read an article recently in

the whole dog journal where they are now
> spaying animals when they are as young as 8 weeks old.
> The pros say that the cat/dog heal much quicker as if nothing had
happened.
> Testing showed that it didn't affect their growth.
>
> Cons are concerned with the immune system and the anesthesia.

I think there is a definite trend toward "pediatric sterilization."