Correct age to spay?

I have booked my standard smooth Dachshund in to be spayed next week. She was 7 months yesterday. The reason I'm doing this now and not waiting is because I have two entire boys, and don't want for her to get caught, or worse still to upset the apple cart between the boys.

I have since booking the appointment had a number of people say that she is too young. I haven't had my boys done as I'm aware of the negative effects of early neutering, but hadn't really considered these for bitches.

She does also have a number of issues which I wouldn't want made worse, fear aggression and separation anxiety.

Obviously I want to do the right thing for her, but am very concerned about the effect her being in season would have on the boys.


Any advice will be welcome

thanks

Pre pubescent neutering of males or females has the same effect on the closure of the growth plates in the long bones(i.e. the legs)

The sex hormones trigger the timeous closure of the growth plates, take them away too soon & the bones don't stop growing at the correct time. In bitches it does cause spay incontinency & in males it can make the attractive to other males, as the body continues to produce female hormones(both sexes produce Testosterone & Progesterone albeit in different quantities )

No dog(or bitch)should be neutered if it has fear behaviour problems as it can exacerbate the behaviour.

There also seems to be a link between spaying sexually immature puppies and urinary problems in later life, though some vets will disagree with this. When I was breeding I used to advise new owners to let their puppy have at least one season, and spay 8 - 9 weeks afterwards.

There is no "correct" age as such, however as already mentioned, spaying before physical/mental maturity can have side effects. Mostly those associated health effects are concerning larger breeds, but it is wise to clue yourself up fully on the pros/cons.

I personally would want to wait longer, however considering your dog is a small breed and mostly done growing, it likely wouldn't be detrimental to spay her now.

Personally I would come at this from the other direction and have the boys done so the girl can have her first season in safety then get her done a couple of months after that.

It's difficult, isn't it? I've had two bitches in the past and had them spayed at 6-8 months with no problems with continence. The same with my boys with no after effects.

However, my youngster (now 2.5) is still entire because of his slight fear aggression issues and the fact that he is very immature. I will be getting another bitch in a few weeks and am considering having Jack castrated (either physically or chemically) in the autumn when the bitch will most likely come into season. I will then take it from there............

This is exactly what my own breeder told me to do. She told me to wait for at least one season, and then of course, you have to get the spey done in the middle of seasons, so I think we got it done at 11 months? Her reasons to me, were that if you don't let them have that first season, then they will always remain puppyish....hmmmm, shoulda waited a lot longer I think, because my dog is now 5 and still thinks she's a puppy!

You are right in considering the two males, but it would be wise to take all of the advice given before booking her in, and good luck.

It is a difficult one indeed.

The only immature bitch I have had done is Ima (present dog) both her and her sister (belongs to my friend) where done before their first season, both of them have urinary incontinence, now I don't know for a fact it's because of the op but it's one heck of a coincidence.

All my other girlies have been mature

I think that is way too young personally.

As above..... young dogs need their hormones to complete growth, along with the behavioural problems neutering / spay can make those problems a whole lot worse.

Why not look at getting your boys chemically castrated if you are worried about unwanted pregnancies .