# Best Age to spay--takeoff of other thread



## cory (Aug 23, 2010)

This is a takeoff of the other thread about neutering. Dakota is a female so we will need to spay her and I am wondering what the best age to do that is at. I would really prefer her to not go through her first heat cycle but if it is healthier for her then that is differnet. Also, when do they go through their first heat cycle. We don't have anything in our contract about spaying timeframe just that we need to spay her.


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## inge (Sep 20, 2009)

We spayed Tess when she was 6 months, on the recommendation of both vet and breeder.


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## IowaGold (Nov 3, 2009)

Different lines go into heat at different times. I've seen some go in at 7 months and others are well over a year. Ask your breeder what age the bitches in her line tend to go into heat the first time.

I spayed my girls at 12 months and 11 months. Neither had gone into heat, nor did it look like they were likely to go in any time soon (I'm a vet, so I got a good look at the inside parts!).

In bitches, it really doesn't make a huge difference if you spay before the first heat or after. For most pet people, I'd recommend doing it before the first heat because of the mess and hassle of a heat cycle. I'd try to plan it for at least a month before the average first age of heat in your girl's line.


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## Sophie_Mom (Jan 21, 2009)

We spayed Sophie at about 8 and a half months. She had not gone into season yet. We wanted to wait as long as we could while avoiding that.


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## Charliethree (Jul 18, 2010)

I was told by my vet that spaying before the first heat - hugely reduces the chances of my dog getting cancer both mammary and uterine. whether that is fact or not I have to assume so - so I got her spayed at five months.


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## solinvictus (Oct 23, 2008)

According to the paper written by Rhonda Hovan specifically on golden retrievers.

Deciding Whether and When to Neuter a Golden Retreiver
Author: Rhonda Hovan

"Females neutered prior to their first heat cycle have less than ½ of 1% chance of
developing mammary cancer (breast cancer). In females neutered after the first
cycle but before the second, this risk increases to 4%. And if a female is not
neutered until after her second heat cycle, this risk increases to about 13%"

Looking at the above it is best to spay before the first heat. 

But there are other considerations on cancer again from Rhonda's paper.

"There is some evidence that the incidence of cardiac hemangiosarcoma is greatly
increased (2-5 times) in neutered dogs, and that the risk of splenic
hemangiosarcoma may also be increased in neutered dogs. Hemangiosarcoma is
the most common cancer in the breed, causing the death of approximately 1 in 5
Goldens. Most of these tumors occur in the spleen, with fewer but still a
substantial number in the heart. This is a rapidly progressing and incurable cancer.
• Several studies indicate that the incidence of osteosarcoma (bone cancer) is
significantly higher in neutered dogs than in intact dogs, but there is some
evidence that this increase is not as great when neutering occurs after sexual
maturity. This cancer affects about 5% of Goldens, and is not curable."

So, in the case of osteosarcoma and hemangiosarcoma it would be better to delay the spay until after the first heat.

Again from Rhonda Hovan's paper.

It is better to wait until at least after the first heat with females to lower the incidence of torn cruciate ligaments and hip dysplasia.

Again from Rhonda Hovan's paper.
Taller goldens have a shorter life span. Early spay and neuter can cause the bones to grow longer. 
Shorter females live 1.1 year longer than the taller females.

According to Rhonda Hovan's paper.

Urinary incontinence is higher in spayed females but by waiting until after sexual maturity it lowers the risk.

Again according to Rhonda's paper.
"female Goldens neutered prior to one year of age have a 60%
increased risk of hypothyroidism"

"• Females that remain intact are exposed to a significant risk for pyometra (a life
threatening uterine infection) that rises with every heat cycle, particularly after the
age of five years. Pyometra is a common and rapidly progressing disease in
Goldens that must be diagnosed promptly to be successfully treated."

In her paper Rhonda does suggest holding off until the female is at least 1 year old before spaying a female golden.

http://www.articlebark.com/woof.php?track_id=456&page=articles&content=htt
p%3A%2F%2Fwww.articlebark.com%2Fwoof%2F%3Fp%3D456

There are risks for spaying early, there are risks for spaying later and each of us with the breeder contract/rescue contract/shelter contract in mind must make up our own minds on when it is best to spay the female golden.

Another consideration which isn't on health itself is what is it like in your area. Are most people responsible dog owners, or are there many dogs let out to roam. Is spaying and neutering fairly common in your area. If you keep her intact through her first heat you will have to be extra cautious not letting her out in yard on her own, not walking her through the neighborhood while in heat etc and if your area has a lot of irresponsible dog owners you may have to contend with males hanging around your home. 
You have to weigh all of the above and decide what you consider important.


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## IowaGold (Nov 3, 2009)

I do have to comment on the hemangio part of the above post. Those studies did NOT take into account the age at which a bitch was spayed (and there was not a clear link of age at spay with osteosarcoma either). So there is no evidence that delaying spaying decreases the risk. They simply say that a spayed bitch is more likely to get those cancers, unlike the mammary cancer study which looked at cancer risk relative to the number of heat cycles. 

Another factor not mentioned in the above post was the risk of pyometra (uterine infection). I believe the incidence of pyometra is at least 10-20% of unspayed females. The more heat cycles/older a bitch is, the more likely she will develop this very much life-threatening infection. So, if one was thinking that they would keep the bitch intact to lower the risk of osteosarcoma or hemangio, they would be risking this even more likely problem.

OK, one last thing-the risk of urinary incontinence is increased in pediatric spay (pediatric spay is defined as 12 weeks or less). Once the bitch is over about 4 months of age, there is no difference in the occurance of spay incontinence. 

Please don't take this post to mean that I am against an educated, responsible owner waiting to spay their bitch. But I want the owner to have all the information. It's popular in internet boards to pretty much only present one side of an argument. In this case, we don't have enough information to say for certain that one viewpoint is exactly right (and I strongly suspect that neither is *exactly* right). Each owner needs to make this personal decision for themselves, based on what they feel is right.


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## solinvictus (Oct 23, 2008)

Another factor not mentioned in the above post was the risk of pyometra (uterine infection).

If you were speaking of my post it was mentioned.

From Rhonda's paper.

"• Females that remain intact are exposed to a significant risk for pyometra (a life
threatening uterine infection) that rises with every heat cycle, particularly after the
age of five years. Pyometra is a common and rapidly progressing disease in
Goldens that must be diagnosed promptly to be successfully treated."

I think Rhonda's paper is pretty much in line with what you have stated in your post IowaGold. I did link to it. 
_
IMO, _Until there are better studies on osteo and hemangio cancers the studies out there need to be considered even if they are not as well done as the ones on mammary cancer. With hemangiosarcoma taking out 18% of all goldens if the possibility of delaying a spay to the age of 1 year or until after the first heat *may* lower that risk it needs to be put out there for owners to know when making their choices on when to spay.


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## IowaGold (Nov 3, 2009)

solinvictus said:


> Another factor not mentioned in the above post was the risk of pyometra (uterine infection).
> 
> If you were speaking of my post it was mentioned.
> 
> ...


Sorry, I've read this same post over and over (in other threads) and missed it this time.


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## Selli-Belle (Jan 28, 2009)

I would also have to add about Hemangio, that the differential risk is much greater in females than it is in males, i.e. for males the risk goes up by a factor of like one point something, but for females it is like two for spleenic and five for cardiac. Yes, that study does not differentiate when the dog is spayed and so the value of the information is limited.

However, I do think that waiting until sexual maturity is valuable for structural purposes and I think also for the other considerations such as hypothyroidism and spay incontinence.


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## cory (Aug 23, 2010)

Wow, thank you so much for all of this information. I will definitely be taking both the pros and cons of waiting for 1 cycle vs getting it done earlier. We live in an area where everyone neuters/spays the animals so that shouldn't be a problem but I'm concerned about the mess. I will definitely ask our breeder when her line goes into heat.
Fortunately, Dakota is only 2 months old so I have at least 4-5 months before I need to make a decision.


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## joysgirls (Oct 16, 2010)

What are the ramifications of spaying at another time than specified in the breeders contract??


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## diana_D (Jan 27, 2008)

Another thing you might like to know about spaying early (before the bitch can reach maturity and develop) is that their conformation will look different. Early spayed bitches are standing on tall feet, lack substance, etc. 

But in the end it is all up to you.


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## tessalover (Nov 29, 2009)

Please spay your female as soon as possible! When ever your vet and breeder suggest please do it. Please don't wait!!!!


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## jweisman54 (May 22, 2010)

Izzy was spayed 3 weeks ago at 6 months. I did not want to risk any type of future illness.


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## KCN (Oct 14, 2009)

I'm not a vet or a breeder, just a person who lost her first Golden to cancer at 2 1/2 years of age and spent alot of time after that researching what is best for the health of my two new Goldens. Waiting at least a year allows their immune systems to fully develop. Allowing your girl to have her first heat cycle, means she is fully matured. Recommending to spay/neuter a pup at 6 months isn't in the best interest of the pup's health. This is what the vets and sometimes the breeders don't tell you. Having just gone through the first heat cycle with my girl, I can say the mess was minimal and I have a boy pup too, and if you're vigilant and keep them separated, it's not a problem. Of course, everyone will say you can't do it, leave it to professionals, etc., but if you educate yourself and take care of your pup, it's not a problem. I don't plan on breeding her, but knew that this was best for her and her health, so we delayed having her spayed.


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## Maya's_Mom (Sep 20, 2010)

Maya was spayed 4 weeks ago at 5 months. As with Joyce above, I didn't want to risk any health complications, sooner or later on, or deal with the mess of heat for that matter.


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## ~Maya's Mom~ (Oct 18, 2010)

I did as much research as possible when it came to spaying Maya .. in the end thought it was better to wait for her first heat. Our vet fills quickly considering they only do spays on Tuesdays .... We were VERY lucky we had our appointment when we did because they indeed found pyometra in her insides. We were very careful when she was in heat making very sure she was clean ect but did not prevent her from infection. What was supposed to be a normal spay (45min) turned into a sort of emergency surgery (3 1/2 hours long) where she lost a lot of blood due to Pyometra. If I had known then what I know now I wouldn't have waited to have her spayed. I'm not a breeder , Maya is my first dog and hind sight is always 20/20. There is no way to tell what will happen either way but if all the arrows point to better health if spaying before first heat I would suggest doing so. Dealing with the idea that I almost lost my best friend killed me. -- Just my experience --


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