Vet pushing to spay soon

[baileyf14]

I've got a 4 month old female golden retriever. At our last vet appointment, the vet said we should schedule the spay surgery soon (ie at about 5 1/2 months), as they want to make sure to spay before the first heat. We were going to wait, if spay at all (she's got the full AKC registration so technically her offspring could be AKC registered too).

One study noted that the prevelance of hip dysplasia is much higher in dogs spayed/neutered before one year (and even higher in spays before 6 months). But another study noted that the occurance of hemangiosarcoma was much higher in late-spayed females. (link to article)

How do I decide what to do? This is my first dog and I want to reduce the chances that she'll get hip dysplasia or some cancers. I want what's best for my dog, even if it is inconvenient (i.e. keeping her separated from the neighborhood while in heat), but it's so hard to figure out what that is.

Any help/thoughts would be appreciated!

Edit: Thanks for all the great comments. There's a lot to think about - when or if to spay, what type of spay to do, etc, and I haven't made my decision just yet. But I'm a lot more informed now on why people chose different options, and I have more research to do, so thank you all!

 

[cursedbeast]

@baileyf14 I choose to wait (it's actually in my breeder's contract to wait until a year). If you're willing to do the work of keeping an intact dog and you feel like waiting is the best bet, explain that to your vet. My vet remarked that my dog was intact (at 7 months) and politely asked if I was planning to neuter. I explained I was waiting until at least a year because I wanted his joints to fully develop and I didn't feel any pressure from my vet. Honestly I'd find a new vet if I was feeling pressured into doing an early spay.

I feel strongly about letting my dog's body develop before neutering, but there are pros and cons in either side. You're the only one who can make the decision.

 

[baileyf14]

@cursedbeast Thanks for your story. I think the vet we have has been excellent so far, even though it is a bit 'commercial' (we go through the Banfield Pet Hospital at PetSmart). Penny loves going there, even after getting shots and whatnot.

I think they are probably used to getting people who don't really do their research, so I can see why they'd be a bit pushy to prevent unintended litters. But when it comes down to it, I'll do what I think is best for my pup even if the vet wants to rush things along. My biggest concern is also letting her body develop - spaying when she is only half grown seems odd to me.

 

[bavo92]

@baileyf14 I choose to wait also. Our Weim was spayed around 2 years and I think she went through 2-3 heat cycles. She ended up developing a food allergy to her normal kibble after being spayed. We didn't figure it out for awhile, poor girl.

My Vizsla is almost 2 now and I don't plan on spaying her, however she is likely only to have a heat once a year.

 

[imagebeastmarkbeast]

@baileyf14 I waited until my female was around 2. She had 1 heat cycle.

What does the breeder recommend?

 

[momof2labs]

@baileyf14 We did our golden/great pyr mix at 3 months because the rescue group would not release her to us without spaying her. I did some research about the pros/cons pediatric ovariohysterectomy to make sure we weren't causing health complications. There are mixed studies regarding hip dysplasia but spaying before the dog first goes into heat will reduce chances of cancer of the reproductive systems.

The interesting thing I discovered is that nobody seems to understand why 6 months is considered the appropriate age for spaying/neutering. As long as the dog is of sufficient weight for anasthetic, before 6 months is just fine.

So 3 months old, no health complications and 90 pounds, so I don't think it stunted her growth.

 

[cursedbeast]

@momof2labs Neutering doesn't stunt growth, but it does effect it. Neutered dogs tend to get taller and slimmer.

 

[momof2labs]

@cursedbeast You're correct. I was initially concerned about my dogs development due to spaying at 3 months. After reading some material, including the link above, it has little to no bearing on the dog's size and weight development. My one data point of a dog matches this.

 

[dreamer123]

@baileyf14 I'm in the same position. My pup is 7 months and I still have no decided what I'm going to do. If you do decide to spay her or when you do, i recommend doing research on the type of spay to get done as well. So many options and no help to find!

 

[imagebeastmarkbeast]

@dreamer123 Ahg, I'm with you. Our girl (7 mos) was to be spayed this morning but we backed out at the last minute. I'd love to do an ovary sparing spay but it doesn't sound like our vet does them. :/ Would love to know what you decide down the line!

 

[dreamer123]

@imagebeastmarkbeast I am leaning towards just removing the ovaries. The reason they take the uterus out is to avoid a cancer than is caused by hormones produced by the ovaries. Take out the ovaries and the chance of the cancer is dramatically reduced. It is a less invasive procedure, less prone to complications, and generally all around less painful. Removing the uterus includes removing part of the cervex, so they have to cut a lot of muscle and tissue and there is just a lot more room for error. Just taking the ovaries is a little cut through the abdomen, then they pull the two tiny egg sacs out and sinch the tiny tubes connected to them and then they are done. Leaving the uturus also leaves some female hormones in there, however. It would mean a more natural life for your dog, but may come with a few personality traits that you wouldn't see if they took everything, which is could be good traits or not so good traits.

On top of all that, since fixing a female is more complicated then fixing a male, it can lead to days of agonizing pain for the dog, having a bunch of her insides all cut up and stitches poking her all over from inside.

(All this information is just what I have gathered over reading online, I am not a vet so I can't be 100% on what I read online)

 

[baileyf14]

@dreamer123 Thanks - this is one thing I hadn't though of yet. I didn't realize there were different types of spays. I'm not even sure what type the vet actually offers.

 

[christian_testimonies]

@baileyf14 Are you ever going to show your Golden Retriever? Do any of her parents have championship titles? Do you plan on actively doing a ton of genetic testing on her to make sure her offspring will be healthy?

Do you have the funds to support a litter of 8 or more puppies if you do breed her? Do you have room in your home for potentially 8 puppies if no one wants them?

Did the person you bought her from write out specifically in your purchase contract that you are allowed to breed her? Are you willing to accept a higher risk of pyometra if she is not spayed?

This is all of the stuff people who actively breed and show dogs consider before they spay or neuter their dogs. If the dog is not going to actively be showing, spay her.

My dog was neutered at 3 months, and he's healthy. My female, who we did show, was spayed at 3 years after she was done showing. We decided to not breed her because she did not fit the breed standard well enough to breed her. She's a purebred dog, but we made the choice with her breeder to not have her produce offspring.

 

[christianwife1]

@christian_testimonies There are now quite a few within the dog world, my breeder included, who like to wait until the female has had 1 or 2 heat cycles so she can be fully developed prior to spaying. He breeds working GSD and show GSDs.

 

[baileyf14]

@christianwife1 This was one of my main concerns - I've read that joints and bones grow differently after spaying, and that can lead to problems down the road. If the vet pushes to spay at 5 1/2 months, and she's only half the size she'll eventually be, it seems logical that things will grow differently after the surgery.

 

[christianwife1]

@baileyf14 My first female, not from my breeder, was spayed early. She is only 60lbs and will not be as large as she could've been and I have had multiple people comment on her "feminine" features. Give her a cycle or two. It'll suck for you for a week or so, BUT she'll be fully developed when the time comes.

My male (4 months now) is already more than half the size of my female and will be a stud dog for the breeder he is from. He'll never be neutered. Good luck!!

 

[tiffy420]

@baileyf14 I spayed my Ridgeback right at 6 months. She's 85 pounds. It won't dramatically reduce her size. Definitely not by half

 

[christian_testimonies]

@christianwife1 Oh absolutely. I was just hoping to offer OP a thought of what goes into the breeding of dogs. I didn't spay my female until she was 3- she hadn't fully developed until then, and we were sure she wasn't going to be bred at that point anyways.

 

[baileyf14]

@christian_testimonies Thanks for the food for thought. This is what I was hoping to get by asking this question now.

Our contract does not explicitly state that we are allowed to breed her, but it does not state that we can't, either. Typically she discourages it because it's a ton of work, but she was willing to give us the full AKC registration after we discussed it with her - that we didn't want to close the door if we ever decided differently.

Her parents do not have championship titles themselves (I know for a fact the breeder doesn't show the mother), though there are quite a few a couple generations back.

I don't know at this point if she'll conform to the standard well enough to show in conformation. But I do plan to do obedience and/or rally. She only just graduated puppy kindergarden so I haven't really looked into the rules for competitions yet.

 

[christian_testimonies]

@baileyf14 Absolutely. I'm just happy I was able to express my thoughts in coherent sentences.

That's great that your breeder gave you the full AKC registration. Have you registered her yet?

You don't have to have an intact dog for Obedience or Rally in the AKC, and you are able to fully title them. My spayed female didn't get her first title in the AKC until she was 4. Sadie competes in Rally (She has her Rally Novice title and a leg towards Rally Advanced) and we compete in Obedience. She also does work in Agility and Hunt Tests, plus has her Therapy Dog Novice title and the Canine Companion/Canine Good Citizen Advanced title. There is so much you can do regardless of having your female intact.

Additionally, by spaying her you never lose money on entry fees! If she were to go into heat on the day of a show, you'd lose all your money. With a spayed dog, you're guaranteed to not lose money!