Neutering Female Dogs

Westie_Owner

My westie will be 6 months old exactly on the 1st of august and we want to get her neutered as we dont intend to breed her and the vet recommended we get her done to stop any unwanted litters as there are a hell of alot of male dogs in our area. Im away on holidays next week for two weeks but my mother and sister will be looking after her and she loves them to bits but they want me to wait until i come back to get her done. Im just worried she will go into heat. They know not to leave her out when she is in heat anyway but im just wondering is it ok to get her neutered after her 1st heat???

boomerang

You can wait until after her first heat but you'll have to wait at least a few weeks, so her uterus returns to normal first - check with your vet.

If she does come into heat while you are away, your family will have to be incredibly vigilent!

morganafay

Will your family know if she's in heat?

Westie_Owner

morganafay wrote: »

Will your family know if she's in heat?

My mam had dogs all her childhood so she knows what to expect and not to leave her outside at all until it passes.

morganafay

It'd be fine to wait after her first heat. Some people think it's better to wait, some don't. Or even if you got her done now, she'd probably be fine after a day or two, and just need the stitches taken out if there are any external stitches, so it wouldn't be much bother to your family.

Knine

If I'm not using my bitches for breeding, I prefer to wait until after they have had their first heat. I find they have less problems than if I got them done before the first heat.

Even the bitches that are bred from are spayed once they have their last litter.

CarrickMcJoe

I'd wait till I came back to get the job done. You will spend your holiday worrying about her. Again , a quick phone call to the vet may help settle your mind.
Some people say that you should let her have 1 litter, then neuter her.

Personally I think you are doing the right thing as there are too many strays out there.
Now I have to go and walk my Westie!

Millymac

Heat normally lasts between 2-3 weeks and then you can't get your westie neutered till after she has has her first "heat".

Also they will know that she is in heat as she bleeds slightly from the back - totally normal but not pleasant!

Best thing, talk to your vet but would suggest that you leave it for a couple of weeks after her "heat".

I got my Westie done a while back and it's a big op for them and she will be very sore after so you may need couple of days off to be with her.

Westie_Owner

Millymac wrote: »

Heat normally lasts between 2-3 weeks and then you can't get your westie neutered till after she has has her first "heat".

Also they will know that she is in heat as she bleeds slightly from the back - totally normal but not pleasant!

Best thing, talk to your vet but would suggest that you leave it for a couple of weeks after her "heat".

I got my Westie done a while back and it's a big op for them and she will be very sore after so you may need couple of days off to be with her.

Im going to wait until she is over her 1st heat and ill get her done then. There will be no problem with time off so ill be right with her.

Cherry Blossom

Westie_Owner wrote: »

Im going to wait until she is over her 1st heat and ill get her done then. There will be no problem with time off so ill be right with her.

In my own opinion the longer you wait after her first heat the better, she shouldn't come into heat again for at least 4 months so I'd wait 3 months after her first heat to get her done. Just gives her that extra little bit of time to mature a bit more before cutting off her hormone supply I really can't think of any reason not to wait that bit longer especially if your going to wait till after her first heat anyway. She won't necessarily have her first heat at 6 months old anyway, could be anytime up to a year old.