When To Spay?

[Burpdog]

I have not read all the replies. I would not spay as young as most say too. I'd wait till around a year.

 

edited to add: thinking back to when I did do my limited breeding, I would have never spayed or neutered before 2 years old.

Edited August 6, 2011 by Burpdog

[Guest Lovey_Hounds]

We spayed Chili just after she turned 2 and she only had 1 full heat cycle, she has filled in well and her muscles look just like a racer her sister was spayed at 9 months and did not have a heat cycle she did not fill out nearly as well and still looks a akward.

 

Honestly i would suggest waiting until over a year old to have her spay done, like some have said Greyhounds rarely go into heat before 18 months old and its a good idea to wait until her bones have had time to develop and she has had time to grow and fill in.

[Guest CampWhippet]

Bonus Molly pic - kitty was sitting there first, and Molly shoe-horned her way in.

 

Hi Molly! So nice to see you growing up.

 

And just so everyone can see what you looked like last summer.......

 

Here you are they day I picked you up....

 

And you were such a good traveller....

 

Almost there.....

 

FINALLY!!!!

 

Glad to see you are doing well.

 

We spayed Sammie when she was a year old and she had not come into her first cycle yet.

Edited January 31, 2012 by CampWhippet

[Jerilyn]

Slightly off topic question, but only slightly….

 

Do female racers ever have a heat cycle? Or are they started on hormones before they would have their first cycle?

They obviously fall into the "spayed later" category, but I don't hear about them getting mammary tumors. Could there be some correlation with the hormones helping to prevent them?

 

Molly is adorable!

[GeorgeofNE]

Our greyhound puppy was neutered at 8 weeks. The adoption group would not release him without a neuter. He had a very tall and lanky build...all leg, not much muscle even when he was running every day as a young dog. He was a healthy dog for the most part but at 9 developed spinal issues that were likely related to his build and at 10 developed osteo. Can't prove that the osteo was related to the early neuter but there is a lot of research starting to look into this connection in dogs.

 

Our standard poodle was neutered at 5 mos. He's 18 mos now. I regret neutering him so early - he had some dental issues we needed to take care of and agreed to go ahead and do the neuter then. He also has a lanky build (for his breed). He's had some development issues that the vet thinks might be related to early neuter. I'm nervous about his old age after what we went through with the greyhound.

 

If I were to ever have another puppy I wouldn't even begin to consider a spay/neuter before 12 mos but would probably wait until 18 mos. My experience is purely anectdotal but based on these two puppies I wouldn't do an early S/N again.

 

 

Neutering and spaying are very different, obviously.

 

Given that racing males are NOT neutered until they retire, and NGA hounds have such a high rate of osteo, it's hard for me to see how early neutering of a puppy could possibly be considered a factor.

[Guest SueG201]

I've been told by my vet (a Greyhound expert) and by NGA breeders that you should at least wait until the growth plates have fused - minimum of 9 months old, 12 months preferred.

 

~Lisa~

I raised a greyhound puppy and I waited until her growth plates closed up and then spayed her.Often times if you spay a large breed dog early, they are very gangly. Scout was 16 mos when I spayed her, so I am with the " wait until they mature "

[kudzu]

Given that racing males are NOT neutered until they retire, and NGA hounds have such a high rate of osteo, it's hard for me to see how early neutering of a puppy could possibly be considered a factor.

There may be many different causes of osteosarcoma just as there are different causes of other cancers.

[Burpdog]

Haven't read all the replies. I would not spay before 12-18 months.

[TwiggysMom]

I have a question about the connection between mammary cancer and late spay. Since our female greys are usually spayed quite late, wouldn't you expect a high rate of mammary cancer in greys?

 

I can't remember a case of mammary cancer in a greyhound in the last couple years (either on GT or among the groups I'm active with). Plenty of leukemia, mast cell tumors, lymphoma, and of course way too much osteo, but no mammary cancer.

 

Now, I don't totally discount the idea - I had a cat who was spayed very late, and she had mammary cancer (survived the first round with it, but couldn't defeat it the second time), so I do have personal experience with it, just not with a dog.

 

Any thoughts on this? Is it just that as one person, I have too limited exposure to see a trend?

 

(apologies for the partial hijack!)

[Guest june]

I've always heard before first heat and my vet says before 1st birthday.

[KF_in_Georgia]

I have a question about the connection between mammary cancer and late spay. Since our female greys are usually spayed quite late, wouldn't you expect a high rate of mammary cancer in greys?

 

I don't think it's the late spay, per se. I think it's a matter getting the spay done before the first heat cycle that helps cut the rate of mammary cancer. That would explain the low incidence of mammary cancer in greys...most of ours get spayed when they stop racing, before they experience a heat cycle.

 

I've got a girl that didn't get spayed. She's nearly seven, and she went into heat in December. She was a stray picked up by animal control this summer. No one could find a spay scar on her, but they didn't want to open her up to find out. Now we know she hasn't been spayed, and she'll be spayed in March. Her last race was in January 2009, so her recent heat might have been her sixth.

 

It's certainly going to be her last.

[LakeshoreGreys]

Jonathan,

 

Thanks for posting the pics of Molly's trip with you! We are so very grateful that you were willing to help us bring her home, and you will always be a special part of her life when we tell her story! She tried friending you on Facebook when she joined, but not sure what happened... Anyhoo, she sends you kisses (and no more wet car seats!!!)

 

-----

 

Molly is scheduled for her spay just after she turns a year old. Thanks to everyone who took the time to reply - I appreciate the input! We are now with a new vet, and she is of the opinion that we should wait util then - as opposed to our former vet who chastised us for not having her done at 6 months.

 

Please keep fingers crossed for us - it's schedule for Friday the 13th (we didn't realize till later). We're hoping that means good luck and not bad!

[Guest trevdog]

We had Dallas spayed at 6 months, I too wish we had waited. She is tall and gangly still at 6 years old. I also think she wouldn't have all the broken toes and a few other joint issues had we waited. Her sis Reiley, was done at around 8-10 months and she looks likea normal greyhound(we adopted her later in life). And she's perfectly fine.

[GreytHoundPoet]

I spayed my girls at 17 months and 19 months. I wanted to be sure that the growth plates had closed and the girls had a chance to grow fully. Neither ever had a heat cycle.