Lola isn't ready to be spayed

clayderwoman

Is she having a false pregnancy? We wouldn't spay a !!!!! if she was having a false pregnancy as you need to wait until the hormones have settled and shes no longer producing milk. This would be the main reason of not spaying if shes 12 months old and 3 months after the start of her season.

lisajane8482

moggymutt wrote: »

It can be true that if neutered before 6 months of age, then male cats may not turn into great big looking bruisers with large jowls. But with those hormones, comes greatly increased tendencies to spray, fight, wander, and get knocked over.

No one told my cat Salem that, he was neutered at around 4 months and is huge (so I'm told, he's still a little kitty to me ). Salem was neutered because he started marking items that had been around other cats (my coat and handbag, daughters sleep over bag and a gift bag). I'm hoping though that Gizmo doesn't start and can wait until he's 6 months as he's small compared to when Salem was his age and is all legs, tail and ears at the moment.

con1888

What size dog is she ? Larger breeds usually are done a bit older than smaller breeds, something to do with letting the growth plates close and it can cause incontinence if done too early.

I have a GSD and no plans to neuter him but if I do he will be around 2 if I make the decision to do it. Not any earlier than 2 for sure.

samuela66

con1888 wrote: »

What size dog is she ? Larger breeds usually are done a bit older than smaller breeds, something to do with letting the growth plates close and it can cause incontinence if done too early.

I have a GSD and no plans to neuter him but if I do he will be around 2 if I make the decision to do it. Not any earlier than 2 for sure.

She is a Shih Tzu, and al along I have been told to get her spayed after her first season! Thats why I have been to the vets with her

krlyr

There doesn't seem to be a set answer that everyone agrees on. Before the first season reduces the risk of mammary cancers etc. in the future, but spaying before the dog is fully grown can cause development issues. There seem to be pros and cons of either method - even very early neutering (i.e. as a pup, like many US rescues do) has some benefits to counteract the negatives, so it's very much personal decision and weighing up each side of the argument (for example, a rescue might choose to neuter early knowing that a young puppy stands a better chance of being homed than an 8-12 month old dog (and by neutering it, can guarantee it won't be bred from), whereas an owner who has all the time in the world to have the deed done might wait until after the first season if they feel confident that they can avoid unwanted pregnancy and knows how to monitor for signs of issues after a season (a dog can be more susceptible to pyometra, infection of the womb, after a season) and so on. No right or wrong answer IMO, very much individual circumstances, not just with each person but with each dog too.