Spaying

[Glenda & Lizzy Lu]

Lizzy just turned 7 mos. Our vet recommends waiting until closer to a year before she is spayed so she reaches her full growth potential. Lizzy ' s mom weighed 45 lbs and dad 55 lbs. Daycare will not allow her there now that she is 6 mos and not spayed. Anyone have thoughts on this spaying issue and experience with Lizzy 's potential size?

[Amy and Annabelle]

I have a miniature doodle and my vet wouldn't spay her until she was 6 months old. Larger dogs were even older and for the same reason. It was hard enough to wait until she was 6 months. I live in the country and I kept thinking some morning we will go out there and be attacked by male dogs, because she is in heat. Luckily it all worked out, but it was a worry that last month.  It was in my breeder contract that she had to be spayed by 6 months. If my vet had wanted me to wait longer, I might have taken her somewhere else. But being a mini, she had pretty much reached her adult size anyway. She hasn't grown any since then. I have no experience with standard doodles.

[Laurie, Wally & Charlotte]

We were advised to wait until just before Charlotte's first heat, so we scheduled her spay surgery for about a week prior to her six-month birthday.  She weighed a couple of pounds less than she weighs now.  Her current weight is 23 pounds.  Both the breeder and vet suggested the same timing.  I'm not sure what the guidelines are for larger doodles.  

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

Tara is a mini and we waited until she was about 13 months old and had experienced one heat cycle before we had her spayed. We wanted her to have all of her normal hormones during her growth period. This was recommend by our vet too.  Her breeder required spaying by 6 months but was willing to work with us.  Did your vet explain to you why he/she wants to wait until Lucy Lu is closer to a year? It may have to do with joint health as hormones apparently regulate bone growth  which can effect joint health later in life.

[Glenda & Lizzy Lu]

Yes....for full growth potential. I guess my question is at 45 lbs today and with mom (poodle) weighing 45 lbs and dad 55 (Golden) I thought she may have reached full growth but I did not consider the other elements pertaining to full growth. I do want her to have every health advantage and this appears to be the reasoning as you said.
Thanks so much. We will wait it out.

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

I would be surprised if she had reached full growth at 7 months. Genetics can be a tricky thing and the size of the parents, especially in a first cross,  don't necessarily dictate the size of their offspring.  I met a doodle that was 110 pounds. All of his siblings were in the 45-50 pound range and his owner bought him expecting him to be that size too. I'm not saying you have a potential 110 pounder, just demonstrating the randomness of genetics.  I think you're making the right choice to wait.

[Glenda & Lizzy Lu]

Good to know. We would really be pleased if she grew a little bigger. We will wait. Thanks for the input.

[Jessica, Loki and Moose]

We waited until just before Loki turned one year based on our breeder recomendation because their growth plates fuse around then and they have completed their skeletale growth. It worked out for us! He too couldn't go to day care for a few months so we went with a dog walker in place of day care until his surgery and will be resuming day care next week!

[Glenda & Lizzy Lu]

Thanks so much. I feel better about waiting to have Lizzy spayed. It appears to be the best thing to do.

[Jessica, Loki and Moose]

I think so, I was confuse when the vet had told me that because all growing up we had our family pets fixed very early so this was brand new to me.

[Stella]

They need their 'sex' hormones for their growth plates to close. Dogs that are neutered early take longer for the growth plates to close, which makes their long bones longer and means their limbs can be disproportionately 'long' for their body. There is developing evidence that this can negatively affect joint health down the road and may be contributing to the increasing numbers of CCL tears that are being seen. Many good breeders and vets are recommending you wait until they are done growing to be neutered. In a large dog this could mean waiting until they are 18 months old. The only way to be sure if you want to know is by x-ray to see if the growth plates are closed. The negative about waiting, especially in female dogs who have come into season before they are spayed is that the surgery becomes more complex and so more expensive. It is a trade off, and you need to do what is right for you and your dog. Before I knew better my two LDs (both male) were neutered at 5 months old, on the recommendation of the vet back then. In the future, I would definitely wait as long as possible to get it done.