No season?

[padfoot]

Millie hasn't had a season for 7 months now. When we rehomed her we took her to the vet to ask about getting her spayed but the vet insisted that we wait for a season and then take her a couple of months later. When should we expect a season? She was a brood bitch before and has definitely not been spayed. I spoke to her previous owner who said her seasons were always 6 months apart. What could be delaying it?

She has not been around entire dogs (all male fosters have been neutered before they come here and are seperated from our dogs when we're not here) but no sign whatsoever of a season.                    

[LindaW]

They do vary a lot - none of mine come in regularly every 6 months!  A lot of factors come into play and they don't often come into season in very hot weather I find.  If she was a brood bitch living with other brood bitches then they often synchronize their oestrus cycles.  The fact that she is now living away from the others could be a reason for the tardiness.                    

[PennyB]

Kelly if she's a mature dog then I can't see why your vet can't spay her especially if she's had pups before. Its not as if she's never had a season. Mine was going to spay Ruby once she hit 11 months even though his rule is none before their 1st season as he said she was mature enough.

I'd insist if I were you as I can't understand his thinking.                    

[Michele]

Like us females, all bitches are different. Neneh had her first season at aged 8 months, and goes approx 7 months between, whereas Meg was 14 months old when she had her first season and went 9 months between.

I'm sure the vets line of thinking is that it is suggested the optimum time to spay is midway between seasons, ie: if a bitch has a 6 month cycle then spay 3 months after the season.
This is all to do with the hormone levels as the oestrogen & progesterone rise & fall like peaks and troughs, with the level being its highest when the bitch is in season and at its lowest midway between seasons, after which it then starts to rise again.
It has also been suggested that to spay midway can sometimes help preserve the coat a little, but I can't personally vouch for that.                    

[Jane S]

The safest time to spay a bitch is around 3 months after a season - I would guess Kelly's vet was reluctant to spay beforehand as this could mean he would be inadvertently operating in the run-up to to a season which is the most risky time due to increased blood supply to the uterus. It sounds like this vet is just being cautious which is no bad thing. We will be spaying one of our older girls later this year but not until after her next season to enable us to work out the safest time. Seasons are not always regular & as Linda says, the reason Millie is "late" for her season could well be down to the fact she's not living with other entire bitches any more.

Jane                    

[PennyB]

The thing is though that rescues regularly spay bitches that come into them regardless, as they often don't know the history, and don't have problems.

My vet spays 5 weeks after a season which is when Ruby was done.                    

[Jane S]

Maybe they do but our vet would not spay 5 weeks after a season - we've had several COL members whose bitches were spayed soon after their seasons resulting in extreme & prolonged phantom pregnancies. It's easy to assume that spaying is always routine & risk-free & in most cases it is but that's no comfort for the owners of bitches who have suffered complications after surgery. Last year we sold a Cocker to a family who had lost their bitch after spaying & they were understandably devastated not just at losing her but because they felt they had caused her death by agreeing to the spaying (she was not spayed mid-cycle) A rare case of course but I have certainly come across others too. When it comes to our girls, we don't intend to take any chances which is why we're following our vet's advice of spaying mid-way between her cycle. There's a lot of conflicting information out there which can make decision making difficult but in the end we have to make our own minds up & hope we are doing the right thing

Jane                    

[Silver Surfer (indiesnan)]

We were told by our vet, that he would spay Nell three months after her first season. She came in season, and then came back in season two months later.  :shock:

I'm just glad we took his advice and waited.