Spay/Neuter... Later??

[KYS]

I have never had a female
dog with behavior issues for spaying before the 1st heat and
neither has anybody else I know that can tie it in
to spaying. (the old protocol use to be wait till after the 1st heat)

So I will stick with the opinions of the most current protocol on vet studies on spaying until I hear different.

[dragondawg]

If you have a large breed dog, and all you care about is how well it's going to perform as a canine athletic then maybe the point made about the bone structure would cause one to never spay the dog. I say maybe because the article is full of inaccuracies and should not be used by the common dog owner as a guide to spaying. Maybe because they left out an article originally published in 1975 that indicated low estrogen level was associated with hip dysplasia, and measurements could be made as early as 8 weeks as a predictor as to which pups where most likely to develop joint problems. Long before the issue of spaying occurs.

A female dog spayed before her first heat has close to a 0.5% change of mammary cancer. It's almost unheard of in spayed females. A female dog allowed to go into its first heat has a 7-8% of developing mammary cancer later in life. After the 2nd and subsequent heats, and/or pregnancy then the odds are 25%, and do not increase further. In fact mammary cancer accounts for 25-50% of the cancers found for intact dogs.

Although the statement that 50% are benign is true, the statement:

those that are malignant don't metastasize very often, particularly in these days when there is early identification and removal of lumps found on our dogs

is irresponsible! Approximately 50% to 75% of malignant mammary tumors will kill the dog by recurrence through metastasis within one to two years.

Neither does the statement:

bone cancer...a cancer that is much more life-threatening than mammary cancer, and which affects both genders

make much sense. Osteosarcoma has a lower incidence than mammary cancer. And once a cancer has undergone metastasis it matters not whether it's mammary or osteosarcoma- in either case it will be life threatening. Also note a dog owner is more likely to note a limping dog and get medical attention for it (i.e. amputation before metastasis is usually a cure for Osteosarcoma), than to by chance alone find a small cancerous lump, and wonder how long it has been there.

It really does come down to whether or not you wish to minimize the chances your female dog will get mammary cancer?

In general for small breed dogs they are going to have their first heat sooner than the larger breed dogs. Thus 5 months is usually the target age. For larger breeds 6 months and certainly no later than 9 months which is pushing it. Per incontinence that could be a problem if you had your dog spayed very early (e.g. 3 months- which my Vet suggested and I ignored because of this reason). But once it nears the time of its first heat the surrounding tissue and structure is developed enough to maintain good muscle control on the urethra.

Both of my female dogs 80 lbs spayed at 9 months, and 74 lbs spayed at 6 months was/is active, without bone, or incontinence problems. In fact the one I have now runs like a deer. Needless to say the incidence of mammary cancer has been zero percent. Does spaying cause snoring?

Hint: A dog does not have to experience a heat in order to enjoy its life. My first female dog had a joy for life I had not seen before or since in dogs or people. Neither did she had any bad habits. That's right- the perfect dog. Something my second female has evened the score on.