Spaying

[IvySteele]

Hello,

My great dane puppy (possible mix) was spayed before I adopted her and there is no way that she was old enough. I'm not sure about her age but she is younger than 6 months (for sure.) I have had her for almost 2 months and her incision had healed completely when I got her. They also used this wicked pen to draw a line on her belly and I still haven't gotten rid of it completely....any ideas on what would remove that? I figured it would just go away...but it was some kind of tattoo ink. What are some of the negative effects of spaying at such a young age? I know that with large breed dogs you should always wait a while until they have grown some but she still had her puppy teeth!!!
Thanks!

[briggsdvm]

..They also used this wicked pen to draw a line on her belly and I still haven't gotten rid of it completely....any ideas on what would remove that? I figured it would just go away...but it was some kind of tattoo ink. What are some of the negative effects of spaying at such a young age? I know that with large breed dogs you should always wait a while until they have grown some but she still had her puppy teeth!!!
Thanks!

There is a vocal minority that does support juvenile (prior to all the adult teeth coming in!) spay/neuter and I've seen many rescue groups use permanent tattoo ink to document those that have been altered so to answer your Q's you're not likely to get the ink out if it's actually a tattoo....early spay not likely to cause your pup any problems.
Congrats on your new addition!
WB

[IvySteele]

I was afraid that the ink wouldn't come off...thanks for the info.

[DaneFolly]

I don't personally work in rescue, but I believe many shelters, etc. prefer to spay/neuter any dog before adopting out, regardless of age, rather than risk the dog reproducing additional unwanted puppies. I can't say I totally disagree with the policy, especially when you look at what happens to some "rescue" danes who go home with people and end up part of a BYB or, worse, a puppy mill. The tattoo makes it instantly visually obvious that the dog has been spayed if she should ever end up in another shelter/recuse situation. I know that this is unlikely to happen in your situation, but it is, sadly, often the case.

Later altering is preferable for giant breeds for optimal growth and health, but it is unlikely that she'll experience any serious consequences from her early spay other than being a bit on the leggy side, and if she's a mix then who knows? It's worth the risk from the shelter's perspective rather than having to re-home her offspring too someday.

[MillyVanilly]

I am not sold on the theory that early spueter causes problems with pets. What I do know, is that your pup is at a serious advantage when it comes to cancers/diseases of the reproductive tract. Research studies have also shown that spaying before the first heat reduces the chance of mammary cancer to less then 1%.

Our rescue will alter them as early as 12 weeks, unless there is a medical contradiction that says we should wait. I just had my foster pup spayed at 13 weeks and she was fine. The younger they are, the easier it is on them to re-coup as well.

I would not worry about your girl. Enjoy her!

[IvySteele]

Thanks!!!

[IvySteele]

Something else strange...when a dog's belly heals up after the surgery it is smooth to the touch but with her belly it is like they left the wire sutures in or something...it feels coiled and weird. I've never felt anything like this and we've gotten all of our dogs fixed.
I'm taking her to the vet Wed.