Age to spay?

[mersc726]

So I have already gone to the search link and have looked at post upon post upon post about a good spay age, but I am still unsure because of what others have told me.
1. That if you spay before growth plaits are closed your dane will not achieved its max weight/height.
2. That you dane will have joint problems from early spay.
(I know people say your dane can get cancer if you spay to late, but breeders never spay their dogs until later in life. I think that if the breeders thought they were risking their dogs with cancer they

These are just to list a few...
So this was my plan unless someone gives me some sort of knowledge that would make me change my mind. I was planning on waiting to spay my girl and pexi her at the age of 2 years. I have heard that danes grown plaits do not close until this age....
I am just trying to do whats best for my girls please give helpful info.

[Tucker's Mom]

Does your breeder have a spay/neuter contract? If so, the appropriate age that they prefer should be in there. If there's no clause, then I'd say 2 years is really late. I think the average age on here is 8 months to do both. That way a spay can be done before a first heat cycle and before any potential behavior problems come up. Behavior problems I believe are more prevalent in males but there's still some things that can arise. I would try to avoid a first heat if you can. Look up pyometra. There might be some good added information that can help sway your thoughts and opinions too.

[mersc726]

Does your breeder have a spay/neuter contract? If so, the appropriate age that they prefer should be in there. If there's no clause, then I'd say 2 years is really late. I think the average age on here is 8 months to do both. That way a spay can be done before a first heat cycle and before any potential behavior problems come up. Behavior problems I believe are more prevalent in males but there's still some things that can arise. I would try to avoid a first heat if you can. There might be some good added information that can help sway your thoughts and opinions too.

No my breeder does not have a spay clause...correct me if I am wrong but pyometra only happens if a bitch is bred and has a false pregnancy.

[Tucker's Mom]

In the Vet terms section it states that it is caused by an accumulation of pus in the uterus brought on by a bacterial infection.

[Greenmagick]

There are pros and cons to going through a first heat. I personally would not do earlier than 9 months. With Ivy I did it at 11 months and wish I wouldve waited a bit longer honestly and just dealt with the first heat. She has a tilted vulva that a heat may have helped.

[mersc726]

In the Vet terms section it states that it is caused by an accumulation of pus in the uterus brought on by a bacterial infection.

Ok thanks so I guess that that can happen without any breeding just from the result of the heat cycle.

[mersc726]

There are pros and cons to going through a first heat. I personally would not do earlier than 9 months. With Ivy I did it at 11 months and wish I wouldve waited a bit longer honestly and just dealt with the first heat. She has a tilted vulva that a heat may have helped.

Thanks that good to know....so how much longer would you of waited just so she could have 1 heat cycle or longer?

[Greenmagick]

Probably just for her to have one cycle and then give it about 4-6 weeks after before doing surgery. I am not upset with my timing and think it went pretty well (she was almost in heat when she got spayed) but I jsut keep coming across more and more info on delaying that to me makes sense.

[Carolyn]

That is correct.........Pyo can happen to any bitch left in tack, after her 1st cycle or into her senior years. Bitches who have never been bred or bitches bred every cycle can all pyo.

Leaving her go thru a heat cycle:
1) Increases her risk of later developing mamory gland cancer
2) Increases the likelyhood of tempermantal changes due to the surge of hormones. Dog to dog aggression.
3) Risk of unwanted pregnancy.
4) Risk of going thru a false pregnancy (and those are a BIG bummer).

IMO, there is not any reasons to let a bitch go thru a heat cycle that beats the risks of why its best to spay prior to going into heat.

[zoocrew]

Honestly, I believe both size and cancer risks have more to do with genetics than whether they are spayed/neutered early. By all accounts, Gunther should be a leggy giant as he was neutered at 6 mo. He's not, he's average. He's also almost 8, so any cancer appearing at this point I would contribute to age.

Granted he is just one dog but I have heard many people who have been in danes for years and have had early and late altered dogs (and some not at all) and it has made no difference in size or health as to whether or when they were altered. You just have to go with what you feel comfortable with.

[ChaoticLiving]

1. That if you spay before growth plaits are closed your dane will not achieved its max weight/height.

Actually, from what I understand, the hormones involved in reaching sexual maturity (having a heat) play a role in closing the growth plates. So if you spay before that happens, the growth plates stay open longer than if you let her go through a heat, resulting in a slightly taller dog. That's the theory anyway.

Whether it actually ends up with a taller dog spayed before her first heat or not, I don't know, but I think it's safe to say that spaying before growth plates are closed (before the first heat) will not cause your girl to be shorter than she would have been if you had waited.

As far as the cancer part is concerned, here is what appears to be a good source of information:

http://www.modianolab.org/cancer/can...osarcoma.shtml

The take-home message I get from this article is that genetics, rapid growth, gender (males are more likely to get osteosarcoma than females), and metallic implants to fix fractures are the most important risk factors for osteosarcoma. Early spaying is also a factor, but it's hard to know how early, and the risk of getting mammary cancer is much, much greater if you let your dog go through a heat before you spay her.

Also, I haven't seen it mentioned on this thread yet, but the surgery itself is somewhat less risky before a first heat, just because the blood vessels supplying an immature uterus are much smaller than those supplying a mature one.

But it's a difficult decision, and of course we all just want what's best for our babies. I think there isn't an obviously right answer to the timing question (if there were, there wouldn't be so much discussion about it!). FWIW, I plan to spay and pexi Bubbles around 8 months.

Good luck!