When to get a bitch neutered?

Devi

Have a 5 month old golden lab bitch and was just wondering in your own opinions and experiences when do you think should I get her neutered? Forgot to ask my vet the last time I seen him.

tootyflutty

We were reccommended about 6 months.

Devi

tootyflutty wrote: »

We were reccommended about 6 months.

Really? What age is your dog now? Has there been any long term effects of it?

kazza90210

Six months is the ideal time to have her spayed, especially before her first heat. It reduces the risk of mammary cancer in later life and the arrival of any unwanted pups as once in heat they can be determined to get out and mate! ring your vet and im sure they will be happy to explain everything to you!

FACEPALM

We got our westie bitch spayed when she was 6 months . Shes nearly 2 now and still acts like an excited puppy

Devi

I just thought 6 months sounded really early but obviously not. Thanks for your help. Just another question completely unrelated, she still kind of nips at your hand when she’s excited, just wondering if this was normal at her age. As I said she’s just gone 5 months but I only have her a week so I really dont know a lot of her past although I don’t think she was walked very much and I’m thinking that that might have something to do with it.

Fuzzy Clam

Devi wrote: »

I just thought 6 months sounded really early but obviously not. Thanks for your help. Just another question completely unrelated, she still kind of nips at your hand when she’s excited, just wondering if this was normal at her age. As I said she’s just gone 5 months but I only have her a week so I really dont know a lot of her past although I don’t think she was walked very much and I’m thinking that that might have something to do with it.

My Lab still nips at me a bit when she wants something and she's 5 years old.

You've it all ahead of you.....

Like when your sitting there at your laptop with the dog nice and quiet under the table. Then you realise why the dog is so well behaved.......It's been chewing away on the power cord:(

star-pants

Aye got my pup spayed at just over 5months, before she went into heat. She's fine, she's 8months old now and mad
You pup will probably be teething so might want to chew on you (although some dogs as said nip throughout their lives) getting her some rope toys or kong toys will help, ice cubes are good for teething too.

ghost_ie

Eldest dog (lab/collie cross) was spayed at 6 months. She's 10 years now and never had any problems except rheumatism and eczema in the last couple of years. She was jumping up at people in welcome till she was 6 and still greets people with enthusiasm so you have a few years of boisterous lab behaviour ahead of you

The other two dogs (Jack Russells) came to us when they were older (2 years old and 1 year old respectively) and being spayed at those ages didn't do them any harm. Unfortunately the youngest went into heat a week after we got her and I never want to go through the misery of walking a dog in heat again. To this day she's afraid of a Red Setter who had evil designs on her

tootyflutty

Devi wrote: »

Really? What age is your dog now? Has there been any long term effects of it?

No long term effects what so ever! Well it may have calmed them down a bit, but they are dalmatians and any bit of calming down is welcomed :P.
One of our dogs is now 17, he's terrier cross and the dalmatian 4/5.
It is meant to stop your dog wandering, but our terrier still brings himself for the odd walk.
Don't worry about neutering, it shouldn't cause any effects really, to be honest they are hardly noticeable if there are any!

bubbles747

had my lab spayed at 6 mths, the only sie effect i would say is that she can easily gain weight if i dont watch what she eats! but otherwise its the best thing to do, lifes easier like that!

TigerTim

Any idea on the cost of getting a bitch spayed?.

star-pants

My pup was neutered there couple of months ago, cost 185 to get her done
Got our bitch done last year, can't recall might have been a little cheaper

tootyflutty

Probably different for males and females, but all of our kittens, small and big dogs have always been €50, but they have always been male. :rolleyes:

andrewie

We enquired with the vet today about getting our pup neutered. They said it costs €120 but if you are on social welfare is only €20

lorebringer

6 months is a good age to get both males and females castrated/spayed. For the bitches, it protects them against cancers and diseases by getting them done before their first season, so getting them done early is especially improtant. Plus, you don't run the risk of having accidental puppies.

Cost wise, Dogs Trust does a subsdized neutering scheme where you only pay €20. This is only for people on social welfare payments. Otherwise, it usually costs between €120 and €180 to get a bitch spayed. Different vets have different prices so some may be more. Males are cheaper because it's not such a big opperation.

Top Dog

I'm going to go against everyone else now and say that the BEST time to get a bitch spayed is 100 days AFTER its first heat. A dog won't go into heat until it is mentally mature enough and it needs the period after to allow the hormones to subside in its body.

Just have a look at the amount of people saying that they got it done at or around the 6 month period, before a first heat, the vast majority of the dogs are still puppyish in their behaviour because they never had the time and the hormones to mature properly. Thats fine if its what you want, personally I'd rather let my dog mature first.

The traditional spay/neuter age of six months as well as the modern practice of pediatric spay/neuter appear to predispose dogs to health risks that could otherwise be avoided by waiting until the dog is physically mature.

On the positive side, spaying female dogs
• if done before 2.5 years of age, greatly reduces the risk of mammary tumors, the most common malignant tumors in female dogs
• nearly eliminates the risk of pyometra, which otherwise would affect about 23% of intact female dogs; pyometra kills about 1% of intact female dogs
• reduces the risk of perianal fistulas
• removes the very small risk (0.5%) from uterine, cervical, and ovarian tumors

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

Sigma Force

I know there differenced in opinion on this.

To be honest we always had pups and kittens spayed at the six months of age and never encountered any health issues because of it.

I think with dogs health it's pot luck wether a dog becomes ill and it can be blamed on spaying/neutering but I'm not sure how true it is.

Ok if people want to spay later fine, but Ireland is crawling with unwanted litters do we really want to be encouraging people to spay/neuter later and risk the dog becoming preg etc. It happens all the time when people don't spay and dogs are always getting caught out in their first heat.

Some breeds are prone to heart and bone problems so not sure I believe all that. Many larger breeds suffer from bone and joint probs because of their size not because they were spayed.

Top Dog

I can see your point for the most part, and I'm only posting to show that there is a flip side - and to be honest I don't think any of us are vets so none of us are really qualified to give a definitive answer.