# Spaying my German Shepherd puppy – What age? Everything I hear is so conflicting!



## BrunosMom (Mar 19, 2010)

I need to plan a one month trip this summer that I will be taking my puppy with. The dates are very flexible and being that she is 3 months now, I may need to plan this trip around her spay. 

Throughout my entire life I have always gotten my dogs spayed/neutered at around 6 months of age. However, my Vet recommended I do it at four months of age because they go into heat faster the other breeds.

Being that I research the death out of everything I started google’ing and omg… there are so many different answers with not even one answer being more dominate then the others. I hear don’t spay her until 2 years (which I can’t do anyway, I have a contract). I hear don’t ever spay before 1 year, you have to spay after 6 months… and many, many more answers… what the heck!

My original plan was to just do it at 6 months, but if GSD’s go into heat earlier (can anyone confirm this?) then I’ll need to do it earlier? I’m just confused now and want the best for her.


----------



## Xeph (May 7, 2007)

> However, my Vet recommended I do it at four months of age because they go into heat faster than the other breeds


Well then tell that to my bitch, who is almost 6 months old and clearly has no intentions of going into season yet (her breeder tells me I should expect 8-9 months). Your vet is wrong (sorry). In working lines it is not uncommon for bitches to come into their first season "late" (12 months or older). They regulate quickly, but do not come in as fast as the show lines.

With large breed puppies, I prefer that they not be altered (if they have to be at all) until 24-36- months for the dogs, 18-24 months for the bitches.

Do it at 6 months. The more time you can give her, the better.


----------



## BrunosMom (Mar 19, 2010)

Xeph said:


> Your vet is wrong (sorry).


Lol. No problem at all. That why I ask, when I comes to my dogs I don’t believe anything until I feel it’s the right information and after researching it to death. Vets can be wrong as well, and I thought that was weird since I have owned GSD's and never heard of that before. Being that they were all rescues and this is my first properly bred dog I wasn’t sure if I missed something.


Spaying at 6 months + will make my life easier anyway. I also thought that was awfully young.

Thanks for the info =)


----------



## BrunosMom (Mar 19, 2010)

I did write my breeder on this and what she said to me totally makes sense. 

_Regarding spaying, most of the recent literature and research shows that it is better to wait until close to a year of age, or over a year of age to spay a female. It helps the dogs' joints develop better and gives them a nicer physical appearance. For a while, many vets supported early spaying and neutering (four months), but now we know that it is better to wait. It does mean she'll go through a heat cycle, which normally lasts for about three weeks. However, it is better for her._

If I think about humans, what would happen if you spayed a young child as opposed to a young adult. She wouldn’t be fully developed on the inside and out. However, if you wait then she would turn into a woman, get her curves, her bones would be stronger, etc.

I just thought id post this in case anyone else was looking for this information. I never even thought about this. I think we will wait as long as possible (I think the contract is one year, I will have to double check). Ill just have to watch her around males lol.


----------



## Elana55 (Jan 7, 2008)

I won't get into the structural issue but I will tell you my experience. I too ALWAYS spayed b4 first heat. NEVER again. 

My dog ended up with a juvenile vulva and borderline urinary incontinance due to spay b4 first heat. As a result of those things I had to have episoplasty surgery done on her to eliminate vulvar skin fold dermatitis. She still has some irritation "back there" due to the border line incontinance issues. Before the episoplasty I was washing her "back there" with antibacterial soap DAILY and applying betadine to the area. This prevented bacterial and fungal over growth but it had to be done every day. Every. 

BTW my dog is a German Shepherd.. and a well bred one at that. 

Yes.. a dog being in heat is a PIA. No question. The episoplasty and urinary incontinance are also a PIA and the surgery was jsut under $700. I would rather deal with ONE heat than the expenses of the surgery and a lifteime borderline incontinance.


----------



## lovemygreys (Jan 20, 2007)

If you are weighing out 3-4 months vs 6 months, I don't think it makes a bit of difference. With a large breed dog, I would prefer to wait until they are well over a year old. We had our greyhound pup spayed at 10 months *only* because she had a birth defect with her urinary tract that required surgery to correct and we made the decision to go ahead and do it all at once. (long story)

A heat cycle can be a pain, but it's something I would just deal with if given the choice between early spay or spaying when they are physically more mature.


----------



## BrunosMom (Mar 19, 2010)

I’m not really weighing out any age. Whatever age is best for her will be the age she is spayed. I just read my contract, and I will need to spay her before 1 year of age. As of now, we will most likely play it by ear and whenever she goes into heat, we will spay her after that. 

I have been through one heat before. We had fostered a two year old Pitt Bull a decade ago and she went into heat shortly after. It wasn’t too bad, I remember people looking at her strangely since I bought her the cutest little jean diaper with sequins (yes, I know… I am abusive LOL). But I really don’t remember it being a horrible experience. I just want what’s best for my little Navah.

Thanks all! I really appreciate your input.


----------

