F golden retriever & M German shepherd. Who do I spay/neuter first?

[keithann]

I have two puppies of the opposite gender.
Female golden retriever and male German shepherd.
They are reaching 4 months shortly.
Female is 10 days older then the Male.

I see so much mixed advice on the internet regarding the breeds and spaying/neutering and the vet just tells me they can do both at same time whenever we want to really.

I cannot see myself constantly monitoring them or separating them at all times until who knows when. They also love playing together regularly, at night they do spend a time apart in their crates.

Any advice would be good. Lol

 

[siamus2k14]

@keithann Female.

 

[keithann]

@siamus2k14 Any specific reason?

 

[imagebeastmarkbeast]

@keithann That's the one at risk of getting pregnant and pyo which is a life threatening emergency.

 

[smilemore]

@keithann If it were me, I'd spay the female ASAP.

This study was done in 2020 and recommends spaying goldens at a year, if at all, and castrating shepherds after 2. Spaying a female golden showed an increased risk of cancer and joint disorders, but the lowest associated risk of cancer belonged to the subjects spayed before 6 months.

 

[karven25]

@smilemore My vets told me not to neuter/spay before the dog is fully grown, new studies show they need the hormones to develop fully

 

[karven25]

@smilemore My vets told me not to neuter/spay before the dog is fully grown, new studies show they need the hormones to develop fully

 

[fatalfantasy]

@keithann Well, you are going to have to separate them, regardless of who gets fixed first. So, you may as well get them both done together since you will have to keep them separate after the surgery.

 

[keithann]

@fatalfantasy I'll try to get the least invasive surgery for her and definitely give space for her to recover if I were to spay her before heat. I feel there are not good enough health benefits with neutering the German shepherd now. It seems to benefit him a lot more to wait.

 

[fatalfantasy]

@keithann @keithann...You want to keep in mind that I come from the time where it was pushed to get a dog fixed asap when they were still puppies (under 6 months old). I lucked out that my girl was 18 months old when we got her and she was already spayed. But even if she wasn't, I would have done it as soon as I got her.

I haven't read enough about the dog being "fully grown" before getting him/her fixed. I'm sure that's valid, but I just don't agree with it. There are too many homeless dogs (and cats) out there that are breeding unwanted litters and I think that needs to stop. But as I said....this is just my opinion and I don't want to get downvoted for that.

 

[notw530]

@keithann There’s a lot of questions here. Are you fostering/hosting the puppies before they can find a home? Are you taking measures to prevent a possibility of littermate syndrome?

It is ideal to wait until they are both properly grown. The younger you spay/neuter, the more likely UI is to develop. Spaying/neutering too early (especially in large breeds) can also cause joint and bone plate issues. This is why vets recommend to fix large breeds when they reach 18-24 months. Pyometra is also a problem which is why I would wait until about 3 weeks after her heat. Each heat the dog has can increase the chance of developing pyometra, yet again spaying too early can cause problems too.

However- all in all, speak to your vet. They can point you in the right direction based on the dog’s history, breed, genetics, and other factors they may want to consider.

 

[keithann]

@notw530 Thank you for your answer.

The golden retriever is mine, the German shepherd is my partners we didn't plan on getting two dogs, we were planning on one, then when we got her she was so connected with me and he decided he wanted his own dog instead of sharing, hence we got a second one.

we are definitely taking great measures to prevent littermate syndrome. They go out on walks separately and sleep separately, they are very different in personality and don't get upset when being without each other but they definitely have more fun when together.

My vet tells me no information, just tells me I can spay whenever I want to. So I'm not really taking their advice on this one. In all other regards they have been great and are the most well liked vet in my area.

I found a very interesting article that is definitely helping me decide.

https://www.instituteofcaninebiology.org/spay--neuter-effects.html

 

[oncemore]

@keithann Maybe look if there are vets in your area that do vasectomies for the male to prevent pregnancy but keep hormones.

 

[keithann]

@oncemore I might consider this. I feel like I need to speak to an expert vet about all this. Lol