Spay Or Not ?

[Sheila]

We had Goldie spayed when she was a year old mainly because she had hip dysplasia and so I wouldnt think of breeding from her.
She will be 11 this year and has never had any adverse affects....no incontinence or excessive weight gain, in fact people usually think she is a lot younger than she is.
However, she is a lab and spaying didn't affect her coat.

We now have to decide whether to have Lottie spayed when she is older and the change in coat is making me a bit undecided about spaying. Lottie has a lovely shiny, silky coat and I wouldnt want to spoil it. It'll be dificult to decide.

With regards to the mess during the season.....we barely noticed Goldies, she kept herself clean and we only noticed a couple of small spots. I imagine that a cockers season would be even less noticeable as they are considerably smaller dogs, although I may be wrong in that assumption  

[bluegirl]

We kept a dog and a bitch and they both remained intact for their whole lives and neither were ever mated. This was not  my decision as I lived at home with my parents at the time.
You need to keep a diary of when your bitch has her seasons and you will need to be aware of any amorous advances made on the dogs behalf, as he may smell her scent even before you see the show.
During her season we had to keep the separated at all times and we did this for 3 weeks. Benjy was locked in one room and Cindy was in another. Walks, mealtimes , bedtimes and toilet times in the garden were all kept separate.
The whole family had to be aware and we worked as a team, and only once in all the years did we think something could have happened. On this occasion we sent Cindy to the vets for the "morning after pill" for dogs, but be aware as this resulted in the lengthening of her season for a further 3 weeks.
It was hard and it worked for us but one slip and theirs a possible litter to deal with!

[Luvly]

 

[ellicott]

Thanks for all the replies think I will let Rosie stay as she is  and from what people say Robbie  7 who is done should be OK with her !
 

[Penel]

Saffy and Tilly were both speyed at 6 months old before their first season - something I wouldn't do again, but at the time I was taking the advice of my vet.  
Neither of them gained weight - Tilly is 6 now and is still shapely, most people think she is far younger.  Their coats did change a bit, and were harder work, but still not too bad to keep looking nice.
I would far far rather have a bitch with a difficult coat than risk pyometra - which can come on so fast.  Lola and Hattie haven't been speyed yet - but they will be at the appropriate time after one or two seasons.  I do think male dogs are at less risk from diseases if they are left entire and if I had a male dog who was no trouble I would probably not have him done.
I would worry so much with an older bitch - I'd far rather deal with urinary incontinence than pyo.

[Sue H]

We had Barley, who, at 7 years old, we introduced to Bramble.  Initially she was horrified, and as an unspayed bitch, we were conscious of the risk unless we had him 'done'.

Her first season, when he was about 6 months old, we had him sleeping in our bedroom, and they were kept apart when not supervised.  He was always quite sweet however, and whilst she would encourage him to mount her, he would go at it from the side and ride around on her, saying 'This is how ya do it!!' much to her frustration and disgust!!

We had him castrated at about 11-12 months, and his behaviour hasn't changed at all .. he is still cheeky and lovable, still rides round on the side of her if she lets him and is a total little innocent!!!  He had a white seal toy when we first brought him home which was the same size as he was, and he used to shag that, but thankfully he hasn't felt the urge since those baby-hormones left him ...!!!

In retrospect, I wish I had had Barley spayed, since she has had a couple of op's related to mammary cysts, the last one revealing cancerous invasion, so her time is finite ....  at the time, I was either too stubborn to put her through a GA with no good reason or I didn't pay proper attention to the information I got (or maybe didn't get - I can't remember anyone saying about the percentile probability then like they do now ...)

If you get your little boy castrated he will be absolutely fine with your entire bitch - Barley washes Bramble's face all the time and cleans him all over if he will let her!  You still need to keep a watching eye on her when in season of course, because of other dogs, and also her mammary glands (check regularly for lumps or bumps) and also pyometra which presents as a smelly discharge associated with fever and general discomfort - this is a uterine infection which can be fatal if not immediately treated, and (as I found with my old Lab) can sometimes masquerade as the onset of a season, to the extent that dogs are drawn to the bitch simply because of the discharge, which, if it happens at the expected time, can also fool you ...)