age to spay - Page 1

My vet wants to do them young,
I'd say it depends on circumstances, I'd prefer to wait until later but each case is different.

My girl is 14 months old, when I got her at 8 weeks she had/and has an umbilical hernia.  The vet said sometimes it will close on their own and there is no intestine or anything in it.  So I thought I'd wait until I spayed her to get it repaired.  Then after reading a lot of post everyone seems to recommend waiting until at least 18 months to 2 years to spay.  Well as my girl has gotten bigger so has that hernia.  Now I'm trying to decide should I spay her and get it fixed at the same time or get the hernia fixed and wait another year or so to spay her.  I'm not a breeder so I'm not planning on puppies, but  I just wanted to wait until she is fully matured and see what her hips are like before I make the permanent decision to spay.  She has already had 2 heat cycles and is due again in January if she comes in every 4 months like she did the second time.

Normally I would say between the 1st and 2nd season...if she has 4 monthly's I'd wait til after her next season and aim for midway between the end of that one and the start of the next.

I would not do it before 3 years. Minimum 2.

 I always say a minimum of 2 season or after 14 months if the seasons are far apart.  I am fed up with vets trying to neuter at 6 months, before some bitches have had 1 season, it affects growth and behavioural maturity.   They should watch dogs grow up and change before dictating to people.

I will never have a bitch spayed again.  I lost my first GSD, Barli to a botched spay.  It was agonizing.

http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k112/luvpoms/Barli.jpg

Around 18 months to 2 years is typically the recommended age for altering females, but if it were my dog, I'd wait until after her next heat. and have both the hernia and spay done at the same time.  There are always risks with anesthesia, so I would not do the procedures separately unless absolutely necessary.
Char

age to spay
wasnt that a song by motorhead