Spaying/Chipping

[stussy]

Hiya

I want to get Bella chipped asap, but ive just been chatting to the vet and they said i may be better to wait until she is spayed then they can do it when she is out (as shes only tiny and a bit of a wimp!)

The only thing that confused me was they said they can spay from 6 months, i allways thought they had to have a first season before having it done, admittedly its been 10+ years since my others were done, so i cant really remember how old they were

Is it best to wait for her first season or just get it done asap ?

Ta ;D

[dominique]

Two different schools of thought on that really. My young vet highly recommended it saying that there was much less chance of her developing mammary tumors if done before her first season, but an older vet said that spaying before the first season can leave the dog with an under developed vulva? She didn't explain why this was a problem and I chose to have Ruby spayed at six months and chipped at the same time. No problems so far.

Don't know whether that helps

[vickyb]

I think the fear with early spay before first season is that it may make her more prone to incontinence later in life, which may be what the older vet was meaning.
However my little one was due in for spay before first season, but it started 2 days before, so was done about 6 weeks later but she still has developed slight problems with leaking wee although it is well managed with medication and regular toileting. It started when she was about 6 so it can affect younger bitches.

We had our lurcher chipped when he was being chopped as it seemed kinder but Gracie was done when we adopted her and she never made a murmur although I didn't like seeing it done
It's another of those dilemmas dog owners face, best wishes,
Vicky

[Jane and Sara]

My three were fine being chipped and they are all wimps!