Should Molly have a season before being spayed?

My vet tells me that the current thinking is to spay bitches before the first season. My last bitch had a season first, on the advice of the vet, some 15 years ago. My initial worry is that we have a large Staffy living next door. The operation isn't something I look forward to but has to be done. I just want the best for little Molly. Please could I have your opinions?
Thank you
Pam

Hello Pam that's a yes from me.
Depending on the breed and when it will be mature I would always have at least one season before spaying unless there is medical condition that influences this decision.

Your vet obviously isn't Hungarian because vets over here won't spay until a bitch is over a year old - something I'm fully in agreement with. The reason they give is that under one year dogs are still growing and maturing, and spaying removes hormones which are essential to their physical and emotional development There's a lot of controversy though about the best age to spay, which you can read about online. According to some the best time to spay is after one year and before five years of age.

My own girl is only 18 weeks old and after discussing it with my vet its been agreed because she will most likely need Entropion (eye)surgery in a year/eighteen months time he'll do both operations at the same time.

In the past I've successfully preserved my dog's virginity despite having no enclosed garden and living in an area with several intact male dogs.

Thank you, yes, I agree. It does seem very young to interfere with their development. As I said my last bitch had a season and our fully functional dog made it the longest 3 weeks of my life, but we got through it. Funny side to it was that he was afraid of spiders and I kept telling him there was a spider on her back!!
Dog people really are the.....well.
Pam

It is easier for a vet to spay when the dog hasn't had a season but I always let my bitches have a season first, some bitches are very hit and miss with their seasons, they can go several years before having one.

Have a look at these links:

http://www.caninesports.com/uploads/...iderations.pdf


http://www.sheltieranch.com/articles...uterInDogs.pdf


http://www.associationofanimalbehavi...neutering.html


http://niceorg.wordpress.com/2009/02...causes-cancer/

I couldn't risk Amber getting pregnant so under the vets advice I had her spayed at six months. Having had 3 Labrador bitches in all now my conclusions are that I am glad I had her done when I did. Honey my first lab got nobbled by one of our two lurchers we had at the time just about after the three weeks when we thought we had got away with it. She was only 15months old and had 8 lovely pups. My second bitch Chloe never had her spayed at all and had lots of problems with phantom pregnancies so you can see why I am glad I had my 3rd bitch Amber spayed at 6 months in accordance with my vets recommendations.