Quote Originally Posted by dragondawg
In general the larger the breed, the later the first heat. Small breeds for example can easily be in their first heat at 5-6 months. That's not to say a larger breed can't go into heat at 6 months, but usually it's delayed.

Some breeders claim early spaying can lead to hip problems. But I'm not convinced of it. The loose connection is that the estrogen production helps seal the long bones. Ironically male dogs will actually grow taller if they are neutered at an early age. Another consideration is that if spaying on a large dog is performed under 6 months a female can have puppy wee wee control problems later on in life.

Probably you could wait till 8 months. But you might want to research it on the Internet to make absolutely sure. My previous female 1/2 Golden, 1/2 Yellow Lab, was getting to be quite the girl at 9 months. If I had waited maybe just a couple of more weeks, she might have gone into heat. For most of her life she was in the 74-80 lb range. My current female GP+Lab+something was spayed at 6 months. Her weight is around 72-75.

Per the chances of mammary cancer:

A spayed female never having undergone their first heat = <1%
After the first heat: 8% chance.
After the second or subsequent heat, or pregnancy: 25% chance.

So it's not quite 80%, but none the less why go over 1%?

P.S. When the dog is spayed, I'd ask the Vet for one dose of Torbutrol (probably 5 mg). This is for the first night. After they get past the first night the usual NAISD pain medication does the trick. After 48 hrs the main problem is keeping them calm, and not wanting to run. They recover very quickly.

Thank you for all of your wonderful advice. No I just have to make the decision on what I want to do and what I think is best. It all seems for the most part a matter of an opinion. Thanks for your time.