Best Time to Spay Your Doodle?

[Shari Becker]

Hello all, I am totally baffled by differing pieces of advice that I received about when to spay Lexi.

We have two vets. One who is far away and we consult with on more holistic issues, and one who is local and urban. Our first vet (holistic, country) is fierce that it is healthiest for a dog to cycle once before being spayed. When we visited our local vet, she was horrified that at 7 months, Lexi isn't spayed. She told me that I need to spay her immediately or else she'll have a higher chance of getting Mammary cancer. However, she doesn't do any surgical work.

I called back first vet who basically said she didn't want to spay Lexi - that ideas about spaying are changing, and it's best to wait.

My husband re-read his Monks of Skeet book, and apparently they recommend waiting until one cycle, too, so we decided to wait. We know the holistic vet is an excellent surgeon, and we would trust her to do the procedure...

HOWEVER, just this morning, my husband was at our small, neighborhood dog park and an un-neutered male Lhasa began chasing Lexi and tried to mount her three times. My husband had to ask the owner to keep her dog away from our puppy.

Still, it was stressful. We did a little more research online tonight. It's clear that there is a wide window for spaying ... until 15 months is considered legitimate. But what we didn't know is that Lexi would have to be kept in our city condo unit away from other dogs for three weeks, with dog pads, and then we'd have to wait until all the swelling goes down before she could be neutered. We don't have a yard. We rely on that dog park for all her fun, running, socializing.... We want to do what's best for the dog. But we are totally baffled, and we'd love any insight folks have....

Thanks!

[Marie and Hoka]

For what it's worth, I think there are good rationales on each side, but you have to decide which set of ill effects you personally can live with easiest. The vet should help you sort out issues, but leave the final decision to you. There is no free lunch, and there are different risks and benefits whatever you choose.

Our vet really wanted to wait until Hoka (male dog) was a year, due to what I understand as a small increase in hip dysplasia risk. For us, I believe he is at a lower general risk with parents of good. screened stock.  I believe there are bigger issues with behavior associated with waiting, and for me personally, temperament trumps everything.

I had him neutered at 5 months, but am very careful not to overfeed, am not taking him running until 18 months, have pet insurance that will cover if an issue arises, and doing all other measures to decrease dysplasia risk.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

From a health standpoint, in terms of risk/benefit, there's a big difference between males and females with the issue of best age for desexing, though. With males, the risks of early neuter do seem to outweigh the benefits, in some respects. With females, the benefits of spaying before the first heat are pretty clear, and pretty significant. For that reason, the AVM recommendations are different for each sex, and much more definite for females. 

And of course, the expected adult size of the dog also plays a big role, because small dogs complete their skeletal growth earlier than large dogs. Toy breeds can actual complete bone growth by 6 months of age; giant breeds may take as long as 18 months. With these mixes, it's harder to know when they've finished growing. 

But I totally agree with you on the behavioral issues. I have never lived with an intact adult dog, and I really wouldn't want to, lol.