When to spay a Giant Breed Dog?

[shawsdanes]

I have a female Great Dane that is currently a few weeks over 6 months old. I have an appointment to get her spayed for next week. My vet recommended spaying her because she could go into heat at anytime. And he says after they go through their first heat cycle there is 80% more of a chance they could get breast cancer.

But I was talking to another lady that has great danes and she says that a great dane does not come into heat till they are 12 months and that I shouldn't spay her so soon because she isn't developed yet. Any suggestions??? Please help!!!

[buttercup132]

With larger breeds I'm pretty sure your supposed to wait till they are a year I'm not sure about that though another PT should be able to help you.

[animal_rescue]

Hmm I heard it wasn't so much a risk for females as it is for males. An early spay isn't so bad on the growth, but I could be wrong. Normally for giant breeds the age to spay/neuter is 2-3 years old. If you want to go through a couple of heat cycles and are prepared to make sure she doesn't get pregnant, then go ahead and wait until she's full grown.

[shawsdanes]

I have the fear of the increase chance of cancer if she goes through a few heat cycles though is my only thought.

[sammy101]

I think with giant breeds you should wait until they are atleast 1.
I'm not sure though,their are members with more experience with Great Danes and Giant breeds.

[zoomer]

With Giant breeds, I would suggest waiting until they are one years old, at the least.

[Shelteez2]

I am one of the few people on here that are against early spay and neuters. In my opinion it is best to wait until the dog is fully mature before spaying or neutering, regardless of breed. Of course that is just my opinion.

What does your breeder suggest? Talk to them, talk to your vet and then do what you are comfortable with. :)

[lute]

it's really up to you. if you want the lower risk of breast cancer i would spay her now. a lot of dane owners wait until after a year because they aren't fully developed yet. i personally would spay her now, but that is just me.

[Lori Jordan]

My Newf was done at 9 months old!

[Crazy-Cat-Lover]

Bailey won't be neutered until he is at least 12 months old. Your breeder knows best, so I would ask him/her what the best age to spay her is.

[Pam]

My daughter has a Greater Swiss Mountain Dog. The vet wanted to spay her at six months but the breeder insisted that she wait until she was a year old. My daughter went with the breeder's suggestion because he has been raising Swissies (large breed dog) for many years.

My co-worker has a lab. Her breeder also said to wait until her puppy was a year old. Once again, the vet disagreed but she followed the breeder's advice.

[wolfsoul]

My vet prefers to do large/giant breeds at 1-2 years old. Spaying and neutering affects the growth of the dog. The earlier you do it, the longer the growth plates stay open. This doesn't let the dog grow properly. In a study done on large breed dogs, there was a higher risk of bone cancer developing on dogs spayed at six months than the chance of uterine/testicular etc cancer developing after two years. I would wait until atleast a year. Being around dogs that aren't spayed/neutered everyday, I have to say that these dogs have a much better body structure because they were allowed to grow properly. A great dane, being a giant breed with alot of bone/joint issues in general, should have that extra time to grow properly, in my opinion.

[lv4dogs]

I am one of the few people on here that are against early spay and neuters. In my opinion it is best to wait until the dog is fully mature before spaying or neutering, regardless of breed. Of course that is just my opinion.

What does your breeder suggest? Talk to them, talk to your vet and then do what you are comfortable with. :)


I'm also one of those few, especially when it comes to larger dogs.

It's not set in stone, but giant breeds usually tend to come into season later than smaller breeds. She "most likely" won't come into heat until she's about 9 months or so. But again not always, there's always an early bloomer, but remember there are late bloomers too.
I also suggest you talk to your breeder, and to the vet & also google up some info on it for yourself. Do what you are comfortable with.


If I had more time right now I'd go look up some past discussions & somw facts from other sites for you. Today is a busy & mind boggeling day for me though. Anyways I do remember seeing somewhere (a few places to be exact) that for Giant breeds the advanatges of spaying at at a least a year of age outweights the benefits of spaying/neutering under a year of age.

[4 Dog Mother]

My daughter Christy had her Great Dane spayed at 8 months. She is now 4 - mabye it is too early to tell but she seems to have grown up fine. Her vet had recommended after 6 months.

[shawsdanes]

Thanks everyone for your opinions and advice. I am currently trying to get ahold of the breeder. My vet suggest to do it as early as 6 months. So I will see what the breeder has to say. I just want what is best for my little girl. I googled to look for info, but didn't find any concrete info, just a bunch of opinions. So if anyone knows a good source to go to I am all ears. Thanks everyone for your time.