When should I get my Schnauzer fixed? I don't want her going into heat and roaming around the neighborhood.

Question

I'm afraid of getting it done too soon, but then I'm afraid of getting it done too late also. She is 6 months old and between 12-15 lbs. Any suggestions?

Answer 1

ASAP!
at 6 months, she can come into heat at any time; U preferably want to get her desexed before she has her 1st heat, as this avoids any potential behavior problems in the dog, the chance of infection (pyometra), and the hazard of M dogs getting into a fight, or molesting Ur pup and badly frightening her, or a fight between Ur pup and a dog intent on mounting her.

Schnauzers are not very tolerant of other dogs hassling them; if she's not in standing-heat, it's entirely possible that she'll defend herself very nastily from the M dog who wants to mount her. this can cause all kinds of trouble, as in dog-dog aggro, etc!!

besides the above medical reasons and behavioral reasons, getting her spayed before her 1st heat means that she would have virtually NO chance of breast-cancer... and cancer is now among the top 4 causes of death in dogs over 2 yrs age.

there's no way this is 'too soon'; pups can be desexed as soon as they weigh 2#.
get a full blood-panel done, to ensure that she has norm kidney and liver function, and that all her blood values are in normal range; that makes general anaesthesia MUCH, Much safer.

then keep her quiet for at least 7 days post-surgery: on-leash only, crated when not supervised, and watch her stitches for any sign of reddening, swelling, leaking, etc.
they should stay Dry, Pink, and Clean.

put a White T-shirt on Ur pup, if she'll wear one; fasten the 'waist' with an Ace bandage, to keep her from messing with the incision. Keep an Elizabethan collar on her, to keep her mouth away from her stitches. Check the stitches morning and evening; if it looks wet, or any bleeding shows up on the T-shirt (that's what it's for: to show COLOR), call the vet and go back for a check-up or skin-glue.

AND NO JUMPING till her stitches are all out, and ask the vet for an Okay at that appt.
she should be just fine...

Answer 2

You actually want to do it now. Check with your vet first though. The reason I say this is you do not want to do a spay while the dog is in heat - it makes the surgery more complicated. Usually a dog will go into its first heat between the ages of 6-8 months. You might be cutting it close, but I would say go ahead and make that appointment.

Furthermore, it has been stated that not only spaying before your dog goes into her first cycle helos with cancers, recent studies also are coming about saying that it aids in growth plaelets closing properly (causing your dog to stop growing at the appropriate time). You do have a schnauzer - a smaller breed - and usually this is more important to larger dogs, but it is a just an FYI for ya.

Best of luck. Make sure you pamper that little girl after surgery!

Answer 3

6 months old is the perfect age. Go ahead and make the appointment now.
You also do not want her roaming the neighborhood. Make sure you have a good leash, an exercise lead (12-15' lead) and a fenced yard. If you do not have a fenced yard, look into getting a "skyline" so that they do not get tangled and have more room. If you use the skyline, make sure you are home and supervising her because it will not protect her from anything that comes up in your yard. Use it just when you are out doing yard work or such.

Answer 4

Get her fixed soon. Don't let her play too much or anything when she is fixed. She will get her stiches off in a week or so. If you are not suree when to get her fixed, ask your vet, Im sure your vet will say "the sooner the better." You should get your dog fixed soon or there is a likely chance that your dog will get many diseases. I just got my puppy fixed when he was 5 months he is 6 months right now. I got him fixed maybe 4 or 5 weeks ago. It is simple all i had to do was wait 1 or 2 weeks and my vet said they'll take the stitches off.

Answer 5

Get her spayed right now! We usually recommend neutering between 4 and 6 months of age. Studies have shown that neutering at very young ages (like 8 weeks) is safe and has no long term adverse effects but we like to wait until they are little older to make sure they have all of their vaccines and are big enough and developed enough to handle the anesthesia. If you wait much longer she will go into heat and you will have missed your first chance! Spaying reduces the chance of developing breast cancer. The chance of getting breast cancer is less than 1% if spayed before her first heat (usually around 6 months of age), but increases to 8% if she is allowed to go through even one cycle. If she goes through a 2nd heat, her chances increase to at least 25%. That's right, 1 in 4 dogs that have not been spayed will develop breast cancer! That's a lot! Get her spayed now.

Answer 6

Now is a perfect time--if you get her fixed before she goes into her first heat, you greatly reduce the risk of cancer. Once she's gone into heat, you can still reduce it a little bit if it's only been once, and then after that, there is no reduction in cancer rates (although it's obviously still important to get her fixed for other reasons).

Answer 7

Most vets prefer to do it at 6 months..It reduces the risk of several cancers if done before she comes into her first heat..

Answer 8

Since you're one of those people who have no respect for others by letting your mutt run loose all over the neighborhood, I hope your dog gets caught by the pound and you get fined a few thousand dollars. I really have a problem with people who have no respect for others.

Answer 9

NOW!!!! if she is 6 months then she could be coming into heat anytime between now and the next 2 months!!!

Answer 10

Yes, you should get her fixed. There are too many unwanted dogs now, please don't add to the problem. Call your vet and see what age they will spay a female. I believe 6 months is old enough.