My little pup has come into her 1st season...

Pete*G_4

9 months is normal for first season - our staffy b.itch was 9 1/2 months old.

Kimberley wrote: »

It's ok to have a b.i.t.c.h. spayed even before a first season preferably at 6 months of age and yes the reason your male dog has no interest is because he has no balls

no no no no no! common sense (the backbone of pet ownership!) says let her have a season first, that way you know whether the spaying has worked or not. remember some dogs can be so efficient at cleaning themselves when in season that you don't notice the bleeding until it becomes heavier. if you spay a dog before their first season then how can you tell? you also increase the risk of tumours as she gets older if you let them have too many seasons before being "done".


also, just because they don't have balls, does not necessarily make the male dog lose interest. our dog was done before we got him, yet he's still quite keen to have a go on the b'itch we have (and haven't spayed as we are considering breeding).

getcarter

Just as a warning re neutered dogs, my !!!!!came into season, my dog was not that interested in the beginning but as the season wore on it changed and in the end he kept trying to hump her - the urge was there but not the mechanics! (I don't think he was actually making contact so to speak but he knew what he was supposed to do!)

Carter

Pete*G_4

getcarter wrote: »

Just as a warning re neutered dogs, my !!!!!came into season, my dog was not that interested in the beginning but as the season wore on it changed and in the end he kept trying to hump her - the urge was there but not the mechanics! (I don't think he was actually making contact so to speak but he knew what he was supposed to do!)

Carter

Mine too, see above. He penetrates at times too, as they've got stuck together when he gets a "knot" on!! quite funny if it weren't so irritating tryint to keep them apart!!

still, we're contemplating breeding her so can't be helped.

foxymum1977_2

our vet recommended us having our pup (6 mths) spayed before she has her 1st season, looking into it in the next few weeks.

cyberbob

Pete*G wrote: »

still, we're contemplating breeding her so can't be helped.

Why breed more Staffies? There the common dogs in shelters. The last thing that is needed is more

Pete*G wrote:

no no no no no! common sense (the backbone of pet ownership!) says let her have a season first, that way you know whether the spaying has worked or not

What a silly idea as you are removing the uterus and overies its not the sort of op that fails.

You will do so much more for the health of your pet by spaying before the first heat. It has been reported that by doing so, you will reduce the chance of mammary (breast) cancer in your pet by as much as 97% over their lifetime

http://vetmedicine.about.com/cs/dogdiseasess/a/spaying.htm

Rather than relying on dodgy information from a forum your better off speaking to a vet

foreign_correspondent

Pete*G wrote: »

Mine too, see above. He penetrates at times too, as they've got stuck together when he gets a "knot" on!! quite funny if it weren't so irritating tryint to keep them apart!!

still, we're contemplating breeding her so can't be helped.

I know quite a few people locally who have bred their staffs, then have found that they couldn't sell the pups - the market is flooded (always half a dozen litters of staffs advertised in our local rag)- so, after reducing the price, advertising more widely and the pups getting older, bigger and less saleable, have ended up either giving them away, or handing most of the litter into rescue.

Good breeders say there is practically no money in breeding anyway, after you have done all the relevant health checks on the parents, vaccinations, wormers etc for the pups, and covered the potential medical costs for the mum and pups (could be a lot if there are complications)... if you find that the pups do not sell, you could well make a massive loss...

.. and of course, you have to wonder what happens to all those pups that don't sell, as well as those that do - from the numbers of staffies in rescue it is pretty clear that a lot of people who desperately want a cute staffie pup have had enough by the time the dog is 6 months or a year old...
http://www.savethestaffies.co.uk/

If you are not going to breed them, then I would advise getting her speyed asap, both to reduce the risk of mammary tumours, and pyometra (a fast progressing and potentially fatal womb infection) - as well as for reasons of hygiene around the house (I see you have a baby daughter) and safety - your lad may just get aggressive when you are trying to seperate them - if they are tying you need to be keeping them in seperate rooms, not acting to seperate them after the event.

foxy-roxy

we considered breeding our blue staff when we got her, they sell for well over what normal staffies are, but in the end i have decided against due to a number of things, especially that i do not want to be responsible for our town being flooded with them and over bred, that would just upset me.

And i know it sounds so silly but i couldn't bear to put her through the whole thing, she really is the most timid and loveable dog

foreign_correspondent

foxy-roxy wrote: »

we considered our blue staff when we got her, they sell for well over what normal staffies are, but in the end i have decided against due to a number of things, especially that i do not want to be responsible for our town being flooded with them and over bred, that would just upset me.

And i know it sounds so silly but i couldn't bear to put her through the whole thing, she really is the most timid and loveable dog

I think that is a good decision, especially in the current climate, where finances are tight and more and more unwanted staff pups are being bred - and due to genetics you may not end up with blue pups anyway, even if both parents are blue.

foreign_correspondent

Pete*G wrote: »

no no no no no! common sense (the backbone of pet ownership!) says let her have a season first, that way you know whether the spaying has worked or not. remember some dogs can be so efficient at cleaning themselves when in season that you don't notice the bleeding until it becomes heavier. if you spay a dog before their first season then how can you tell? you also increase the risk of tumours as she gets older if you let them have too many seasons before being "done".

Common sense says that if a b1tch has been speyed (ie. had an ovario-hysterectomy) - which means she has had both her ovaries and womb removed - there is no risk of speying not working (it is all removed, rather than tubes being tied like in a human sterilisation).

The risk of oestrogen-fed tumours in b1tches (eg. mammary tumours) is reduced greatly if she is speyed before her first season, it is still reduced, but not as much if you spey her after her first season, then the more seasons you let her have, the greater the risk, as KVet explained above...

Entire b1tches run the risk of these tumours, as well as pymometra, speying reduces the risk significantly.

Kimberley

Pete G. I foster dogs and lots of !!!!!es have been spayed before their first season. It is quite safe. each to their own. I prefer it done before.