My friend was looking for a local vet that would do an ovary sparing spay on her Leonberger…no one was doing them or directed her to someone that did. Hopefully it will become more mainstream. She did wait about 18 months and had her spayed. The dog is a therapy dog and her service dog.
Susan
You just described my rez dog rescue. He was neutered at about 9 weeks and he grew and grew and grew and half the time he doesn’t know what to do with his legs. I just told DH this weekend it’s like he’s a small dog that doesn’t know what to do with his long legs. I’m a little concerned about his future soundness… Ideally we wait with our dogs but I wanted this hard luck pup so here we are.
I waited until after her first heat to spay & ended up losing her to mammary cancer at 6. I will never wait to spay one again.
Well. N=1 is a bad way to make decisions. In comparison, the only bitch I ever owned had two litters and was spayed at 6. And she lived until 13 and never had mammary cancer. We did have a mass removed when she was about 9 or 10 but it was benign.
So just saying…nothing is that simple.
Simple or not, I’ll never wait again. I’ll take my chances with OCD’s anyday.
Poodles rank number 4 in breeds with high incidence of cancer.
I am so sorry for your loss. I also lost one to mammary cancer, but she was 14 and hadn’t been spayed until long after she finished her show and breeding career.
Just curious - did that tumor get that large really quickly? My bitch’s tumors were slow-growing and I had them removed when they were still fairly small but one apparently metastasized before we got to it.
Started out as pea sized. After the small biopsy on November 19th it went crazy. We had the surgery & her tumors were sent off.
It was so aggressive, she was PTS before her staples were even removed. 
And “managing intact dogs” is not always simply a matter of training and being careful, especially in a multi-dog household. I am a long time dog owner, a long time intact dog own since I show conformation (I don’t breed), and the stress on the other animals when a bitch is in season in the household should not be under played.
It bothers EVERYONE, not just the males, not just the bitch in question. The males often stop eating, everyone’s tempers are on edge, my older spayed female gets stomach issues and starts puking up her meals … most pet owners don’t have the network to send a pup to visit grandma for two weeks every six months or more.
I ended up spaying my latest female not because I was worried about her health but because she becomes a raging bitch when in season, starting fights with everyone if she could get to them. Once I finished her grand championship, the stress and WORK of keeping her and everyone else safe was not worth being able to continue showing her.
To downplay spay and neutering as a mere “convenience” is doing everyone, including the animals, a disservice.
I know of a few guys who have intact males and intact females in the same household. What a nightmare for all parties. The males are about ready to have a heart attack, the female doesn’t know what’s going on re: all the house rules being changed.
So very sorry. Hugs to you. 
They are beautiful. I love Standard Poodles! So smart, so trainable, with such fun, bouncy, and happy dispositions. And very easy on the eyes, too!
Ouch! Poor dear!
Ah, the Spicy Sky Raisin lesson - one of mine NEVER learns it…
This showed up on my FB feed today. What an excellent illustration of the problem we have 🤦🤦
(I think that should be public)
I had a corgi that would snap at bees/wasps/hornets and got stung so many times INSIDE her mouth it was a wonder she never had a bad reaction. She lived to age 16 and never learned…
Agreed.
I knew a family that had fabulously talented multi-titled GWP, and then they acquired a fantastic male for breeding to her…their intent was never to have two intact breeding animals in the same household but the male was going to be rehomed and they drove across the country to get him because of his pedigree. Anyway, they actually struggled to breed them and ended up doing AI because the male was not cooperative. And had 13 puppies which sounds like a blessing but it was really hard to find good homes for them all.
Fast forward to her next heat - they meticulously counted the days and kept them separate (at significant inconvenience to everyone!) and then when they were certain it was safe, allowed them to come back together. The male instantly mounted the bitch and she had 12 more puppies.
They couldn’t believe how quickly it happened and they had been so sure it was safe based on all calculations and signs. Pretty sure one or both of them were altered after that. It was so hard, and these were experienced dog owners.
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Ms. Swollen face…
