Spaying

[JabbaJawz]

Is it 100% necessary to wait until a dog is 6 mos. old to spay? I'd like to get my pooch in early, and she'd be 5 1/2 mos. The vet receptionist said they'd rather me wait, but she didn't have any explanation as to why. So...do any of you know why waiting until 6 mos. is best? Would the 2 weeks make a big difference?

 

[Jameo]

6 months? Precious was fixed when she was like 6 or 8 wks.

 

[cattitude]

I believe it has to do with maturity, but vets like to spay before the first heat. Not sure what difference two weeks would be. They spay the dogs very young at the shelters these days.

 

[JabbaJawz]

Originally posted by cattitude
I believe it has to do with maturity, but vets like to spay before the first heat. Not sure what difference two weeks would be. They spay the dogs very young at the shelters these days.

I dunno what route I should take, then. Maybe I can call and leave a message for the vet to call me back and actually talk to one of them about it. I'd really rather get her done in a couple of weeks so I can take good care of her and giver her lots of TLC afterwards. If I wait until she's 6 mos. old I'll have a small infant and that'll be a lot to fool with at once. :shrug:

 

[Jameo]

Originally posted by PFgal
I dunno what route I should take, then. Maybe I can call and leave a message for the vet to call me back and actually talk to one of them about it. I'd really rather get her done in a couple of weeks so I can take good care of her and giver her lots of TLC afterwards. If I wait until she's 6 mos. old I'll have a small infant and that'll be a lot to fool with at once. :shrug:

Have you thought about calling a different vet either to get some more info or having a different vet do the procedure?

 

[crabcake]

I had mine done before 6 months (males) ... I think it's 'old-fashioned vet medicine' to wait till they're 6 months old more than anything. I do believe, though, that there is a weight minimum the dog will have to meet for anesthesia purposes.

good luck!

 

[JabbaJawz]

Originally posted by Jameo
Have you thought about calling a different vet either to get some more info or having a different vet do the procedure?

I have, but I'd prefer for her vet to do it just b/c that's where she's been going, etc... I'll call a bit later and ask to have a doctor give me a call.

 

[Hello6]

Puppies that we'd rescued had to wait for 12 weeks before they they could be fixed.

 

[JabbaJawz]

Well dag!! It sounds like 6 mos. isn't a general consensus, then. Hopefully when I speak to the vet they'll go ahead and hook my pup up a couple weeks early.

 

[crabcake]

Originally posted by PFgal
Well dag!! It sounds like 6 mos. isn't a general consensus, then. Hopefully when I speak to the vet they'll go ahead and hook my pup up a couple weeks early.

They should ... explain your circumstances too ... that you'll have a newborn in a short while, and would rather focus your attentions/tlc on the pup while you still can in addition to NOT take the chance introducing any possible communicable infection or bacteria (or whatever you call it -- GERMS) to the newborn's environment.

 

[JabbaJawz]

Originally posted by tatercake
They should ... explain your circumstances too ... that you'll have a newborn in a short while, and would rather focus your attentions/tlc on the pup while you still can

Exactly. The dog will spend 1 night at the vet, and then come home. I was definitely planning to do it on a weekend so we'll be at home with her, but with a brand new baby we'll have a lot to deal with. I'd just prefer them to go ahead and spay her in a couple of weeks instead of next month. Plus, I don't want to risk her going into heat by waiting until she's 7 mos. or so.

 

[cattitude]

Originally posted by PFgal
Well dag!! It sounds like 6 mos. isn't a general consensus, then. Hopefully when I speak to the vet they'll go ahead and hook my pup up a couple weeks early.

It's not. It's just an age where they've developed somewhat and usually before their first heat. There's all kinds of opinions about the best age to spay/neuter. Some like to wait until the hormones allow the animals to develop their gender characteristics...that's why I'll wait until Biscuit is closer to a year. I've done that with all my males and never had a problem. I do get them neutered because the testicular cancer rate is high for the unneutered males, especially as they age. For the females, the longer you wait, the more prone they are to mammary cancer and uterine infections, like pyometra.

Talk with your vet, explain your situation, I'm sure he'll work with you. She'll be fine and she will recover quickly...probably way too quickly!

 

[JabbaJawz]

Originally posted by cattitude
She'll be fine and she will recover quickly...probably way too quickly!

So no chance that she'll sleep for a straight week or 2?

 

[cattitude]

Originally posted by PFgal
So no chance that she'll sleep for a straight week or 2?

Nah, she'll be bouncing around the next day after the anesthesia is out of her system. They'll tell you to keep her calm, no running up and down steps, etc. Apparently, they've never actually been home with a pup after these procedures. Oh yeah, don't let her chew on her stitches...so YOU will be the one w/o sleep. The puppy will be just fine.

 

[JabbaJawz]

Originally posted by cattitude
Oh yeah, don't let her chew on her stitches...so YOU will be the one w/o sleep. The puppy will be just fine.

Well hell, maybe I should wait until the baby is born...I'll be up a lot more then than I am now!

What about those conehead things, I'm sure she'd just love to wear one of those.

 

[JabbaJawz]

Originally posted by kwillia
My schauzer was back to ole self in less than 48 hours.

 

[cattitude]

Originally posted by PFgal
Well hell, maybe I should wait until the baby is born...I'll be up a lot more then than I am now!

What about those conehead things, I'm sure she'd just love to wear one of those.

The Elizabethan collar? More trouble than they're worth. Poor things end up banging into everything and can't get comfortable at all. Much more fun to yell at them to stop picking at themselves. Really, it won't be bad at all.

 

[JabbaJawz]

Originally posted by cattitude
Really, it won't be bad at all.

Good!!

 

[jazz lady]

I was always told to wait until your puppy or kitten is 6 months old before spaying, but I found out with my female kitten they CAN get pregnant earlier than that. She gave birth at 5.5 months, so she got pregnant at around 3 months.

I believe 'The Lucky Ones' does spay/neuter at 8 weeks. You definitely want to check with your vet to see how old they have to be before they'll do the spay because at 6 months it may be too late.

 

[JabbaJawz]

Originally posted by jazz lady
You definitely want to check with your vet to see how old they have to be before they'll do the spay because at 6 months it may be too late.

I called in to the vet's office and left a message w/the receptionist for an actual vet to return my call. I'm anxiously awaiting!