What is REALLY the best time to spay our St. Bernard pup?
Posted by: Alan in bone cancer in dogs treatment, tags: Bernard, best, really, spay, time
Hi!
It’s soooo hard to know what to do sometimes, isn’t it? We just want to be good puppy parents! Ever since we started thinking about getting a dog, we agonized over the breed, the sex; etc. And ever since we picked her up we agonized over what food to feed, how to transport her in the van, when and whether to take her to the dog park, etc. Argh!
Well, now we’re struggling with when to have our baby spayed. She’ll be 6 months old in mid-October. We’ve heard that it’s best to do it before the first heat in order to reduce the risk of certain cancers. But then we’ve heard that it’s best to wait longer (not sure how long) in order to reduce the risk of bone/joint issues. We’re not worried about just “stunting” her growth, but we do want to make sure we do what’s absolutely best for her overall health.
If you have expertise, experience with giant breed pups, or if you know where I can find good research on the web, I sure would like to hear from you.
Thanks!
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May 14th, 2010 at 8:25 pm
My vet highly recommends spaying in the sixth month for any breed.
May 14th, 2010 at 8:33 pm
I have the same question 5month pup
May 14th, 2010 at 9:00 pm
my vet always told me 7-10 months old, unless there is a chance the animal might get pregnant, then do it before the 1st heat.
May 14th, 2010 at 9:41 pm
Spay between 5 and 6 months. It is best not to let them go into their first heat.
May 14th, 2010 at 9:54 pm
I have three dogs, 2 male a female, got her spayed 6-7 months old.
Please ask the vet for advice ,not us
Thx
May 14th, 2010 at 10:46 pm
My vet says 5 months. I just had my baby spayed on the 11th and she is 5 months. She is doing great.
May 14th, 2010 at 10:57 pm
Early age sterilization has been advocated for quite some time by a lot of animal rescue organizations simply because their clientele are not always reliable enough to have the procedure done at six months of age. However, its been recently published in the AVMA journal that there is a high incidence of urinary incontinence in female dogs that had been spayed prior to 4 months. Aside from this side effect, I am not aware of any other medical issues (except for the retardation of growth/musculation in males neutered prior to 4 months of age) that arise from sterilizing prior to six months. This six months is a general age at which the majority of female dogs will begin their first heat cycle. Any reputable breeder will point out however, that a female’s heat cycle is dependent on so many things. A lot of small breed dogs will have 3-4 heat cycles in a year and will come into their first estrus at 4 months of age, while large breed dogs usually only have one heat cycle a year and sexually mature much later. This is because the bulk of their nutritional intake is going to growing, not maturing. If your vet feels that 6 months is an appropriate age, I would stick with that. If you are still unsure, call your breeder and discuss this with them. They may let you know when your dog’s mom started her heat cycles and you could use that as a guide as to when you should spay your female by. If it were me, I wouldn’t wait much past 8 months.
May 14th, 2010 at 11:44 pm
I just took one of my dogs today to the vet, and asked what is the earliest to spay one of my dogs puppies that we are keeping. He said six months is the earliest to spay or neuter any breed of dog. The vet will tell you that she will have to have the kennel cough shot before she can be spaded first though as well as being up to date on all her other shots too.
May 15th, 2010 at 12:21 am
Right now is the best time! I have the SAME concerns as you, my little gal is 4 months now, and we have our appt set up next month.
I read that it actually does NOT stunt their growth, but some studies show that spaying early will actually make them grow bigger!
I have 2 AmStaffs, Med size, and a shih tzu. For the 11 lb shih tzu my vet said wait for 6 months because she is smaller, but for bigger breeds 4-5 months is best.
Here’s something else I found, from No More Homeless Pets. *while pediatric spay/neuter on animals between 8 and 16 weeks of age is widely accepted as safe, your pet is best protected from communicable disease transmission when it is at least 18 weeks old and has received its full vaccine series from a veterinarian a week or more prior to surgery.
Also, one of my dogs was bred during her first heat (before we got her.) She now has an infection in one of her mammary glands….
I really think if she was spayed early and not bred, she wouldn’t have such a huge lump in her!
May 15th, 2010 at 12:28 am
vets shmets.
if there is ANY CHANCE she could be gotten to by a male do it asap. With rottweilers(my fav breed) I know this has been discussed extensively. There are pros and cons with spaying times. For rotts osteosarcoma(bone cancer) is linked to early spaying, so if St’s are susceptible to that its something you might want to look into. There are benefits to early spaying as well as waiting until she has her first heat, as well as waiting until she is about 15 months and more mature. Do your research and weigh your options. My best suggestion is find a St bernard forum and ask the people who the breed best.
This is really a question your breeder should answer, and if you got them from a reputable breeder they will require she be fixed by a certain age.
Good question though!
May 15th, 2010 at 12:51 am
I have 2 male Saints. They are both fixed. My older one, is 2.5 and we had him done at 18 months. My younger one is 1.5 and we had him done at 4 months. There are 2 different schools of thought on the fixing of giant breed dogs. One is that you should do it asap, and one is after sexual maturity (about 2.5 years old) Personally, with my dogs…I don t see much of a difference. My younger male is actually larger than my older one, so don’t worry about stunting the growth. It is very hard to keep an un neutered 170 pound dog in the yard when there is a female in season…so after going through that with my older dog, we decided to neuter them both.
Do as much research as you can. Do not let anyone tell you one way is better than any other. It has to be a personal decision for you. I am happy that I fixed my younger one…to get a full grown Saint fixed is very expensive and it does take longer for them to heal. Also, the poor vet staff that has to lift a knocked out Saint
Good luck in whatever you choose, and welcome to the wonderful world of Saints..you wont find a more love able, wonderful dog. Just be careful tho…once you have one you will want more, trust me
May 15th, 2010 at 1:28 am
5 months is what i was told by my vet so your pup is ready now. Call your vet and ask him.
May 15th, 2010 at 1:37 am
If you can absolutely keep her from getting pregnant,and want to deal with the mess of the heat ( and it IS messy),then you can wait until she about a year old if you want her to be heavier – boned. I have never noticed a difference in my dogs to tell the truth,and I think that it’s more common to do this with male dogs so that they develop more muscle,but it’s up to you.I will star this for some of my contacts who have giant breeds. I am glad that you’re getting her spayed,though.