Another question about spaying

[Liz & Emma]

Emma is about 4 1/2 months and our vet has told us he wants to wait until she is 7-8 mos old before we got her spayed. I know 6 mos is standard but i figured okay whats another month or two.

But then today I called about a vacation rental at the lake, told him about our dog etc. He was fine with it and then said "will she be spayed by the time she gets here" and i said "no our vet wants to wait til she is about 7-8 mos old." He then replied "you need to get a new vet, i was a veterinarian for 42 years so you're hearing it straight from the horses mouth sweetheart. (but with an ATTITUDDEE) she should NOT be going into heat before she is spayed. get a new vet and if she is spayed by labor day you can call me back"

so now of course i'm freaking out. i love our vet and he seems VERY knowledgeable about what he's talking about but now this crazy/rude real estate/42 years as a veterinarian has got me all stressed about it.

thoughts?

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

We waited--but this is not another discussion about early/late spay and neuter. It's about would you travel with a doodle to a strange place with the possibility of going into heat?

I'm all for waiting but I would be reluctant ( and I was this spring ) about traveling responsibly with a female in heat for her safety.

Ask Mr. Real Estate to make up his mind. Is he going to give Veterinary Advice or rent Real Estate because you can not pay for, nor did you ask for advice for both.

[Liz & Emma]

yeah- i guess we really didn't think about her going into heat while we were there-we were so concerned about having her come with us it didn't cross our minds-im sure when time got closer we would have starting freaking out (or atleast i wouldve) I guess now our decision moreso is do we just skip a three day weekend and get her spayed when the vet recommended or go ahead and get her spayed about 5 1/2 mos.

and you're right about Mr. Real Estate- he actually didn't tell me ANYTHING about the property just started giving me tude about my vet!

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Starlit breezed through her post-op and was released for normal activity and swimming 8 days later. You can have her surgery closer to your weekend get away and she should be fine.

[Dan Morelli]

I have done a little research on this, it seems that it is better to get her spayed before her first heat. You dont need to get a new vet, but a second and third opinion would be the right way to go.
Good luck

[Jaime and Barley Barker]

I really respect our vet, so I tend to follow his advice. He's never steered us wrong with our many animals. Is there a reason why your vet would like to wait? We have a St. Bernard/Great Pyrenees mix. Our vet, who is a wonderful vet, cautioned us to wait until she was about a year old. The giant breeds tend to take longer to mature, and he thinks it's better to wait. She never went into heat. I can't remember all of his reasoning, but he was looking out for our dog. She's fine.

On the other hand, we have a four-year-old goldendoodle (in addition to my puppy Barley). The breeder insisted on having the puppy spayed between seven and eight weeks old. It's her policy, though my mother wanted to wait until the traditional six months of age and our personal vet was against it. We didn't have a choice, so she was spayed as a teeny, tiny pup. I don't think this affected her health, though I must say she is the most skittish dog we've ever owned. I wonder if the early spaying affected her emotionally or mentally.

In my beginner's dog obedience class, there was a yellow lab female. She was fixed at 7 months of age and was fine. I suggest you talk to your vet again and follow your instincts.

[Liz & Emma]

yeah i followed up today with just some questions. They said that a lot of times they spay at 6 months but when a dog is large breed (50lbs+) they like to wait until 7 to 8 months just so they can mature more.

[Jaime and Barley Barker]

That's great that you were able to follow-up with your vet. Hopefully, your vet has given you peace of mind and you can find a vacation spot where you won't be lectured.

Our doodle who was fixed at such a young age is now 72 pounds. I wish our breeder had let us wait. However, it was either let the breeder have the puppy spayed at seven weeks old or we didn't get the dog.

[Minga & Malu & Costa]

The early spaying shouldn't have any effect on their emotional/mental stability.

[Minga & Malu & Costa]

It is fine for them to be spayed at 7-8 weeks. They recover extra speedy. Older vets were taught that spay/neuters should be done around 6 months. Newer vets usually learn the younger the better. It is fine both ways, but in terms of mammary cancer it is better to do the females as young as possible, i.e., before their first heat. Basically the longer the females have their estrogen the higher their risk for mammary cancer.

The larger breeds are recommended to do later because the hormones are what fuses the ends of the bones as they mature. So if you spay/neuter them at a younger age before those growth plates have fused they can be taller/bigger than they would be if the surgery were later.

Basically it is up to you. All the ages from 7 weeks to 6 months are just as safe for the surgery as any other age, meaning that there are risks with every surgery, no matter the age of the dog.

[Jaime and Barley Barker]

That makes sense, particularly regarding our St. Bernard mix. She had HOD as a puppy and it took a while to get it under control.

Well, I was hoping to come up with a reason for Daisy being so skittish, but I guess we'll never know!

[Minga & Malu & Costa]

Some dogs just are.....