Same here - no changes what so ever with Teagan.
She has a very fine 'line' where the scar is. Only noticeable if you know where it is!
No coat changes, doesn't put on weight more easily (which I think is a 'wives tale' anyway), and she's certainly not become agressive! She gets on with both male & female dogs.

I currently have only the 1 dog and he's male...not been done and no intentions of getting him done either

However, I had my CKCS (who now lives with my mum) spayed when she was just over a year old. Personal reasons really. She is a very very insecure dog and this was worse when she was in season. I also couldn't handle the blood, she did bleed a LOT when in season.

Since she's been spayed, she has put on weight, but that's not unusual in CKCSs anyway. Her coat did change a lot. It has gone a lot smoother but also a lot more fluffier.

Do what you think is best Lottie. Only you can decide. I find that the vets pressure you into having your dog castrated or spayed. Although my new vet hasn't insisted I get Georgie done Unless there is a medical reason for getting her spayed, I don't see why you should

Coated breeds do tend to alter, but short coated breeds dont.
Dawn,

Thanks for that reassurance at the end Dawn and thanks everyone for your help. I'm so glad I've got you lot to turn to.

I was concerned about coat and actually missed it off the list by accident. She has a beautiful coat but dallies do tend to get dally rash when in/after their season so it might actually help more than harm her coat.

She does have an issue with male dogs being too close to her and warns them off in no uncertain terms - would spaying make any difference to this?

Sorry for all the questions, but I'm sure from your responses you understand why I'm asking them. It seems Joe public spay dogs just as a matter of course so it feels weird making such a big deal of it but I'd hate myself if I got it wrong.

i don't think 'Joe public' does it as a matter of course !
people are more informed these days with access to the internet and dog forums such as these and so are able to make a decision based on what advice others give rather than just having to take the vets word for reasons of spaying/neutering etc...

i don't show any of my dogs and some are pedigree but i have had all my dogs spayed/neutered - no problems with how the op went.

re the coat changes with my cockers - one dog went fluffy, one stayed the same and one had a better coat after

my others are short haired x breeds and no changes at all in their coats

temperaments have stayed the same with them all

one of my cockers kept having phantom pregnancies long after her seasons ( she also had seasons very much apart ) and her temperament changed because of this - she was a lovely little thing before and has changed dramatically through having to wait to be spayed
phantoms can happen to any female at any time and its awful to have them go through it
i wish at that time i had been more informed and got her spayed before her seasons started

i have had foster dogs here too that have been done and again they have all been fine and no noticeable difference with anything

none of the dogs have put on weight either

oh and barely able to find the scars from it

Yes its a `big` op however vets do it so often that they probably have far more experience and expertise in it than anything else so for them its `routine` in that regard.


All my girls past and present have been spayed [ and any future ones will be ]. In each case, they have been more relaxed in themselves, if already playful have continued to be, and in the one who was`nt playful before spay she became playful after, [ because she became more relaxed ]

Only if overfed and under exercised, same as with an entire bitch

Absolutely yes, [ has already been answered so I don`t need to duplicate on that ]

My girls scars are not visible even though I know where they are if you see what I mean. The reason so many bitches in rescues are opened up for spay but found to have already been done is because good surgeons do such incredibly neat work, often with tiny incisions so they are hard to impossible to find quite often.

I don`t know your lass so I can only answer regarding mine. Gremlin was dog aggressive and very intollerant of other dogs generally, certainly never playful with them.
After spay, the dog aggression stopped except for still being mildly intollerant, [ wary more like to be accurate of how she is now ], of specific breeds which she has reason to dislike.
Her dislikes are because of being attacked which is not hormone related anyway but an experience thing.
Her general intollerance was because of them being pushy while she was entire so she felt intruded upon. After spay that stopped, they were no longer trying it on as it were, [ from her pov ], and now she will actually play with some other dogs so for that alone, her not feeling `harrassed`, would have been a good enough reason alone to spay her. She can now go to Companion shows and got a 3rd in waggiest tail her first time out - something I could not have envisaged pre-spay because it would have been far too stressful for her to be surrounded by other dogs like that let alone to wag her tail and thoroughly enjoy herself


Those are absolutely valid reasons - in just a couple of recent threads its frightening how many bitches here alone have had pyo, my Gremlin included, though hers was not found until she was on the table for routine spay. If I were not one to have all my crew done as standard, [ because I am pro-spay for medical benefit anyway as well as for other reasons ], my girl would be dead now. Hers was Closed pyo with no outward symptoms and the vet who operated said she could have ruptured at any moment beforehand including if I`d hit a bump in the road on the way there. If her spay had even been booked for a day later she could easily have ruptured at home or on a walk and that would have been it, she would not have survived...

Thanks so much everyone!

As my only last concern remains with her coat (I do know a couple of spayed dallies with coats that aren't as good, but they're older too), it's not really a concern as any oil supplements will do for that so I think I will get her booked in for some time soon (as she's in the middle of seasons now!)

Well I've booked her in for April 12th (she finished her season just after Christmas - some time in the beginning of January - lost my diary) but am just waiting to hear from ringcraft trainer about whether I should just give her one more season to fill out (she's 19 months old). She's a judge so can tell me if she thinks she's alright as she is and whether she's likely to fill out anymore.

It's a bit of a plunge but I feel it is in her best interest, especially as she's very unsettled a lot of the time with male dogs 'interfering' and I think she'd probably be far happier...

weight gain isn;t an old wives tale it depends on the breed ...some breeds metabolism can slow down after spaying

as for the coat cavaliers do become very wolly after a spay i haven't seen one yet with a good coat after being done

I would have any bitch that I didn't intend to breed from spayed after their 1st season, if there isn't a dog puppy in my friends next BC litter I would consider having a bitch, but she would be spayed as I no longer breed(eeping my fingers tightly crossed for at least one boy)

I've had bitches have pyrometras that have had litters & also one that hadn't so I would now have any bitch I own spayed. It obviously prevents pyrometra & reduces the incidence of breast cancer(which is linked to hormones), as well as preventing unplanned litters

Never had any post operation problems except with one bitch, but she did have a pre-existing immune system problem which caused the post op problem