[Tiny]

Im having a delimma of penny being spay before her first heat. I really really want to spay her before her first heat but the place that will be spaying her, their next appointment is on may the 1st. Penny is 25 weeks old. On april 29 she will be approximatley 6 months old. Do you guys think her body will hold and not go into heat before her spay? Cuz i really dnt want her to go into heat at all.

Ps. Just letting yall kno, penny has lost her four front baby teeth already, does that matter or indicate anything? Like perhaps she's going to become a women soon? Idk, sounds silly but i was just wondering.

 

[jesuschick]

I, personally, would not spay any girl of ours before 6 months. Mine were 6 months, 7 months and 9 months. I chose to spay before first heat.
I did a lot of reading and research and that is how I chose for us.

Mine had lost nearly all baby teeth by spay. My two oldest did not have the remaining baby teeth extracted at spay because our doctor felt that they were all loose and wanted them there for best alignment of their adult teeth coming in.

My youngest at 9 months still had 4 or 6 baby teeth that were firmly there. Hers were extracted at spay because if by then they were not loose, they might still be there now at 15 months.

 

[Tiny]

I, personally, would not spay any girl of ours before 6 months. Mine were 6 months, 7 months and 9 months. I chose to spay before first heat.
I did a lot of reading and research and that is how I chose for us.

Mine had lost nearly all baby teeth by spay. My two oldest did not have the remaining baby teeth extracted at spay because our doctor felt that they were all loose and wanted them there for best alignment of their adult teeth coming in.

My youngest at 9 months still had 4 or 6 baby teeth that were firmly there. Hers were extracted at spay because if by then they were not loose, they might still be there now at 15 months.

When penny gets spayed on the 1st of May, she will be 6 months and 2 days old.

 

[DKT113]

We had our spay Tuesday. She had zero baby teeth left. She will be 7 months old on the 25th of this month. Our vet wanted minimum 6 months / and preferred 6 pounds. I also was on the waiting bandwagon ~ but she really took time to explain they need at least that time to come into their own and be at their for the procedure. Now obviously when I scheduled at the beginning of the year we had no idea what she would weigh ~ but I felt confident allowing her system to develop. So our day was the 17th and tonight honestly I had to put her in her x-pen to encourage her to take it easy she ate her dinner and decide to zip around like nothing happened & that's just a wee bit early. She came through with flying colors. My Dad couldn't believe how she was tonight "Like nothing happened" I am glad I had it done, but glad I waited. Honestly if she wasn't in the onesie no one would have any idea Tuesday she could have given Ozzy a run ~ flying high, again

 

[jesuschick]

If I had to wait for 6 pounds I'd still be waiting...haha!

All 3 of mine were 3 pounds on spay day.

Glad your baby did so well!!

 

[teetee]

Im having a delimma of penny being spay before her first heat. I really really want to spay her before her first heat but the place that will be spaying her, their next appointment is on may the 1st. Penny is 25 weeks old. On april 29 she will be approximatley 6 months old. Do you guys think her body will hold and not go into heat before her spay? Cuz i really dnt want her to go into heat at all.

Ps. Just letting yall kno, penny has lost her four front baby teeth already, does that matter or indicate anything? Like perhaps she's going to become a women soon? Idk, sounds silly but i was just wondering.

I'm not a doc..repeat..not a doctor. Different dogs go into spay at different times from what I was told by my vet. Miya is 7 months old and is getting spayed on May 1. I was worried she would go into heat before then, but my vet helped ease my concerns about that. All her baby teeth are gone, except one. They have been gone since February. I would wait another month if you could but then again, who knows when she'll go into heat. I'm with you tho, I didn't want Miya going in to heat at all.

 

[flippedstars]

I would NEVER spay before 6-7 months of age. Ideally, you let them have one season. It is better for their overall health, and can help them not become incontinent later on in life. It does absolutely suck to deal with a heat and you have to be totally vigilant to not allow any male near them, but if you can do that, overall, it is best to let them have a heat. Spay about 2 months after the heat.

But, anyway, lol...no, she won't come into heat prior to 6 months. That is very unlikely. Most of my bitches have had their first heat around 10 months of age. The earliest was 8 months.

 

[OzChi]

Chloe was spayed a week before she turned 6 months and she had not gone into heat yet. She was 1.7kg and the vet wanted 2kg but I'm not sure she will get there at all at this rate so I decided to go ahead at this time. Mine and my husband's schedules also came into the decision as I wanted to make sure we would be home to look after her so she was done on a Friday that he had off and then I stayed home with her all day Saturday to keep an eye on her.

 

[Jennmay]

I am worried about Holly getting spayed. She is still very small but she is 6 months so yeah I just wish she would not come in heat ever. But it will have to be done most likely after her first heat I will get her done.

 

[theshanman97]

we spay AFTER their first heat as thats what for years we have been told is the safest option but tbh i dont really listen to some vets! they are NEVER 100% right! i guess its just a personal choice x

 

[nabi]

I have my girls done at around the 6th month....I never have had a problem....I know the SPCA does early spays..at around 8 weeks of age ... I am not comfortable with them being done that early...I was talking to a DVM and she said that the early spays did not show any problems in dogs studied for long periods of time...but...that is not for me...

 

[flippedstars]

It actually is a proven fact that bitches spayed before their 1st heat are 3x as likely to develop joint problems such as patellar luxation. They also are at a much higher risk for developing urinary incontinence around ages 5-6. Finally, the dogs tend to grow taller and have more bone issues overall. They don't have the 'instruction' manual from their hormones that their bodies need. Yes, allowing them to go through a heat sucks, but if you can tolerate it and be 100% responsible, it is absolutely best for them to have one.

 

[KayC]

I wanted Zoey to go through a heat cycle before I had her spayed ( due to the reasons Kristi mentioned above) and I almost lost her to pyometra and endometritis. So if you let her go through a cycle first just be aware of the signs of pyometra. If not caught right away it could be fatal. Zoey had to have a emergency spay while in her first heat and lost a lot of blood. I am very lucky to still have her.

 

[flippedstars]

I wanted Zoey to go through a heat cycle before I had her spayed ( due to the reasons Kristi mentioned above) and I almost lost her to pyometra and endometritis. So if you let her go through a cycle first just be aware of the signs of pyometra. If not caught right away it could be fatal. Zoey had to have a emergency spay while in her first heat and lost a lot of blood. I am very lucky to still have her.

Very good point Kay. One thing I will say is it is fairly uncommon in young bitches. BUT still very important to be aware of! That is scary!

 

[Brodysmom]

Also people should be aware if they let their girls have a heat that they may have a false pregnancy. Very very common. And very distressing. They will bloat and have massive hormonal changes. Our frenchie even produced milk. This went on for about 2 months post season. She was absolutely miserable and so were we. Most pet owners don't want to deal with this which is why many vets recommend spaying at 6 months.

Just know the pros and cons of having a season before spaying vs not and educate yourself and then make up your mind on what is best.

 

[nabi]

It actually is a proven fact that bitches spayed before their 1st heat are 3x as likely to develop joint problems such as patellar luxation. They also are at a much higher risk for developing urinary incontinence around ages 5-6. Finally, the dogs tend to grow taller and have more bone issues overall. They don't have the 'instruction' manual from their hormones that their bodies need. Yes, allowing them to go through a heat sucks, but if you can tolerate it and be 100% responsible, it is absolutely best for them to have one.

I was just wondering if you could direct me to the data you are speaking about...I would like to read those reports myself...not being confrontational just interested ....

 

[flippedstars]

Here is an article for you; http://www.naiaonline.org/pdfs/LongTermHealthEffectsOfSpayNeuterInDogs.pdf it is a scientific article so it is a bit long. Page 9 has the reference to patellar luxation mentioned.

 

[nabi]

Here is an article for you; http://www.naiaonline.org/pdfs/LongTermHealthEffectsOfSpayNeuterInDogs.pdf it is a scientific article so it is a bit long. Page 9 has the reference to patellar luxation mentioned.

an interesting read...thanks