I think she has settled in well too and so happy to be past the potty training stage!
Was there a reason that she got spayed early?
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My vet said she she was ready ? They also charge by the weight of the dog and she is growing so fast.
We always get our girls done asap to avoid that first heat ( and the males it brings). We have never had any health issue because of it.
Ah, gotcha. Was just curious.
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Most dogs/bitches wonât have significant issues by being altered early but in general, early desexing does have health consequences. Hormones are necessary for proper growth, and early neutering is correlated with a number of injuries so they are likely due to improper growth/strength.
Vets still recommend early neutering because they would rather see your dog have a cruciate tear than a litter of ditch puppies. And who can blame them.
But, the reality is - just because you havenât had an issue in the past doesnât mean juvenile desexing is entirely safe.
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Had to bring a newborn goat kid into the house last night. It had just been born and the first time mom was busy with the other 2 she had and ignored this baby completely. She was unresponsive when we found her and it was in the low teens.
Brought her inside, put her in a clothes basket with towels and a heating pad and about 90 minutes later here is what we had.
Nellie held vigil , checking the laundry basket often and when we graduated to a baby gate , here is where she stayed for hours.
Once the baby had gotten 3 meals and finally went to sleep ( on the heater ventâshe is not stupid). Nellie left the bathroom and came to her bed. We didnât get much sleep.
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There is no guarantee no matter what you do ( for any of us). We have healthy, very active farm dogs and nothing that you describes ever happened, so I will just have to hope it continues. They grew just fine. When you live in a land of no fences the chance of that unwanted breeding is a big reality. One I donât want to happen.
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I beg to disagree.
The differences either way are about a trade-off.
Some may be from spaying before first heath, some may be from waiting.
Let each dogâs vet counsel what is best for each dog.
Every vet we ever had and those that came to give talks to our performance dog club were very clear that there were limits to what consequences may be for a very small number of individuals, either way.
It was not as clear cut for most dogs, as so many doing just fine have shown over decades now, when it comes to multi-factor situations like injuries in performing dogs or incontinence in females.
They all would also say, they would be happy if they never, ever had to handle another pyometra in those not spayed.
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Well, sure. Only you know the real risks associated with keeping your dog. The chance of my dog accidentally impregnating an unspayed bitch is nearly non-existent. So thatâs not an issue for me.
I am only pointing out that just because vets still recommend early spay/neuter, it is known to have consequences. Whether your particular dog/bitch will have any specific negative issues as a result is unknown.
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Itâs not an issue of opinion. It is known that early spay/neuter has a detrimental effect.
That doesnât mean that itâs the only thing to be concerned with.
Most vets do not want owners to spay/neuter before a dog is mature, but they understand why it is the better choice for some.
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I can see your concern and while I was surprised at her not being 4 months yet, my vet has not been one to push unwanted/ needed treatments and I trust his judgment and experience and felt ok with it.
It was significantly cheaper than it would have been 3 months later!!
How can you be so positive of this?
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âMost vetsâ?
I just posted, we donât know of any one vet in performance dogs that insist like you do they want owners to wait?
Vets will do what is best for each dog and that is not always insist to wait?
There are consequences to spaying later also, increased breast cancer later and and pyometra as hormones change during puberty.
There were a few dogs with agility related injuries some insist is from spaying early and guess what, those were dogs that had been spayed later.
Is not as clear cut, that some studies did show an increase is just one more fact to consider.
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Well, first of all, finding an unspayed bitch in my area would take effort. The spay/neuter rates in the northeast are pretty high. So the chances of my dogs actually running into a loose unspayed bitch is very low. And that would also require them to get loose, which is rare. I wonât say it has never happened, but I have a fenced yard and a kennel, and live in a rural area. So the odds of them getting loose and finding a loose unspayed bitchâŠpretty low. The only people I know with unspayed bitches are people who are involved in performance events and breeding, and they tend to keep their bitches in season under very strict supervision.
My dogs would be be more likely to impregnate a bitch at a dog show than at home; so thatâs a possibility. If they got loose at a show and someoneâs bitch also got loose, and no one caught them in time. SureâŠit could happen.
I am not worried that it ever will happen.
Again - if I were a vet, Iâd probably push for early spay/neuter from anyone that wasnât actively breeding or involved in performance sports. Because the worst case scenarios would be less bad than the unwanted litter of dogs that are not breeding material.
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Sounds like they are well contained, but if the impossible DID happen, you wouldnât be the one that has to worry 
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True. Owning an unspayed bitch is a heavy responsibility. I personally only own dogs, and have had one spayed bitch in the past. Some of my friends will only own bitches, and I am glad to let them.
Every single vet I know, even the âpet only vetsâ would prefer to wait until after physical maturity to alter a dog.
Unfortunately society as a whole still thinks itâs best to fix by 6 months (or even earlier).
The US is one of the only places in which itâs commonplace to automatically spay/neuter dogs, rather then keep them entire & be a responsible owner 
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While this subject is being discussed heavily already , can we just keep it there in that thread , please? My thread was about the search to find my puppy and updating as she grows.
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Got some pictures this morning after chores. She has graduated to going out at will and no longer being closed into the goat pasture. Other than digging 
like a fiend she is almost the perfect dog ( love her anywaysâŠ) 
She finally has a whole tail as well!!
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She is cute! And getting big!
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So cute. I love her fluffy ears - and her real tail! lol
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