Hello...Seeking Advice for our New Puppy

FutureFurBabyMom

New Member
Hi, everyone.
I'm glad to have found this forum. A bit of history. Our first cocker spaniel was an older male who literally walked into our house the day we were moving to another state. He was already neutered and spent 7 years with us before crossing the Rainbow Bridge. 2 years later we got a brother and sister. The male we had neutered, but the female was left intact. We weren't sure about spaying and had a hard time finding a good vet. She was somewhat unusual, I think, because she never showed any visible signs of being in heat. Her behavior didn't change in any noticeable way either. Sometimes she would groom the top of her brother's head (aka every day) and she fostered a duckling and a gosling on separate occasions, but those events didn't occur around the same time or as part of any pattern. I heard dogs in heat sometimes go all mothering. But she never went out and collected toys or stuffed animals or anything like that. A little while ago she died at age 5 when a hit and run driver struck her in front of our house.

Anyway, in a week, we are getting a new girl puppy. And we are again conflicted over whether or not to spay her, since our previous unspayed female was in perfect health...but I can't help but think our first girl was highly unusual. We want to do what's best for our puppy of course. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
 
Hi and welcome, I'm sure others will have some info for you. I have only had females I adopted from our local shelters all were spayed.
 
Mammary gland tumors are virtually nonexistent in dogs spayed prior to their first heat. I had an intact girl I was showing in multiple venues. I kept her intact while I decided whether to breed her until age 5.

For me, it wasnt really the behavior issues that were a deal breaker but the extreme vigilance and difficulty in exercising her that made it a total PIA. Keeping her isolated for 3w 2x year was awful. And I'm lucky that I live in an area where there are no loose dogs. The mess inside the house wasnt much fun either. You can get panties for them but Ny hated them and consistently ripped them off.

I was always so paranoid of an 'oops' litter. not worth it imo.
 
Hi and welcome, I'm sure others will have some info for you. I have only had females I adopted from our local shelters all were spayed.
Thank you! What beautiful babies you have. I want to be able to adopt cats and/or dogs someday when I have a place of my own.
 
Mammary gland tumors are virtually nonexistent in dogs spayed prior to their first heat. I had an intact girl I was showing in multiple venues. I kept her intact while I decided whether to breed her until age 5.

For me, it wasnt really the behavior issues that were a deal breaker but the extreme vigilance and difficulty in exercising her that made it a total PIA. Keeping her isolated for 3w 2x year was awful. And I'm lucky that I live in an area where there are no loose dogs. The mess inside the house wasnt much fun either. You can get panties for them but Ny hated them and consistently ripped them off.

I was always so paranoid of an 'oops' litter. not worth it imo.
Thanks for that information. I can't imagine a pet staying in those diapers. And we have quite a bit of carpet in our house so YIKES!
 
The only reason I haven't had Callie spayed yet is because the breeder recommended waiting until she was 10 months old. In fact, I had to sign a paper saying I wouldn't. I am not sure if she's come into heat yet or not. Right now, she is driving me nuts, but I haven't noticed any discharge.

I lost my last dog, a springer spaniel to mammary gland tumors. But then again, she was 12 at the time. If I hadn't had to wait, she would have been done already.
 
The only reason I haven't had Callie spayed yet is because the breeder recommended waiting until she was 10 months old. In fact, I had to sign a paper saying I wouldn't. I am not sure if she's come into heat yet or not. Right now, she is driving me nuts, but I haven't noticed any discharge.

I lost my last dog, a springer spaniel to mammary gland tumors. But then again, she was 12 at the time. If I hadn't had to wait, she would have been done already.
Yeah I've heard conflicting reports about what age is better to do it. Some say you need to wait until they have their adult body and other times to make sure it's done before their first cycle.
 
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