To spay or not to spay?

Question

When a dog is spayed it calms them down, is this true also of female dogs? As soon as our girl Boxer has had her first season we plan on getting her spayed but don't want her to lose any of her bonkers character. Will it calm her down or will she be the same?

Thanks for the great advice guys. I have been advised by our vet to wait for the first season to have her spayed - it was the same for the cat too (her first season was a nightmare! she became very amorous towards my fiancee and it provided great entertainment for me :oP)
I have had 3 Boxers but this is my first Girl and the others were castrated and it calmed them a little. I also heard females will put on a little more weight - is this true also?

Answer 1

Personaly I'd wait until she was at least 12 - 18 mons. Now you are going to have to be a very dilligent pet owner here especially if you have male dogs in the house because the last thing you want is for her to end up pregnant! Spaying / neutering is actually NOT benifical earlier than that for many reasons.

Your dog needs the hormones produced by the sex organs to mature in to a healthy adult and you cannot be sure this has happened untill at least 12 - 18 mons. Puppies spayed / neutered before this time have been documented as having such health concerns / problems as: higher rated of CCL rupture, incorrect growth plate development, poor bone density, higher rate of bone cancer, higher rate of reaction to vaccines, the list goes on and on and on. There are behavioral concederations to be has as well, the most commen in females is a more fearful demeaner.

This is really something you need to do a lot of research on and make an informed decision that you feel good about for both you and your dog. For myself I run agility dogs and I would never sexualy alter my dog before puperty. In fact I don't sexualy alter them at all, my males get a vasectomy and females a tubal. Much lower risks all around, local as opposed to general anisthetic, retain hormones for the duration of their lives, still controlling the pet population etc. That's what I have chosen for my dogs, there is a lot of research out there the best is too really look in to it and talk to many vets, people, breeders READ a LOT!!!

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

I was advised by 2 vets to spay before the first heat to better the chances of preventing cancer and other problems common to female dogs. Based upon this last week I had my 5 1/2 month old Bichonpoo spade. At the suggestion of the vet she spent the night in the hospital. When I picked her up the next morning she was just as frisky and happy go lucky as always. Her personality has not changed one bit. It has not slowed her down. Her appetite has not changed nor has her ability to exercise so I don't worry about her gaining weight. Get your dog spade before her first heat and don't worry so much about the after effects.

Answer 3

Sometimes cats have extra ovarian tissue that the vet may not have noticed when she was spayed. Spaying is very routine and vets sometimes remove just what they are looking for and leave any excess tissue behind. If ovarian tissue is left behind, she can still go into heat, but she cannot get pregnant because she does not have a uterus anymore. I would take her to the vet, but some cats are just overly affectionate and act like they are in heat, sticking their back end up in the air and rolling around. See what your vet says.

Answer 4

It should calm her down a little bit. She'll only get overweight if you feed her more and don't exercise her the same. Weight has nothing to do with fixing an animal.

What you'll notice most is that she'll probably become more affectionate to you. When an animal is fixed, they don't concentrate as much on finding a mate and tend to spend more time focusing on their bond with the owner.

A lot of her energy now has to do more with her age and breed than not being fixed. She is still a young dog and boxers tend to be energetic in general. I think you will notice that she'll be more focused on you however after getting fixed and you'll be able to train her a lot easier.

Please get her fixed. We have so many animals getting put to sleep in this country (about 10,000 every day) and a good portion of these are "accidental" pregnancies. Spaying will also reduce her risk of a lot of cancers and make her healthier and happier overall.

Answer 5

There are many health benefits to having her spayed and she will not lose her "bonkers." Here is one of many sites telling the benefits of spaying. http://warrentonkc.tripod.com/spayneut.htm
She does not have to put on weight. As always, weight has to do with caloric intake and exercise. Feed her a good quality food and exercise her regularly. Our pets need quality pet food. Read the ingredients list and learn what the stuff on there is and what it does (or does not do) to/for our pets. A quick pet food 101. If the pet food contains corn/corn products or by products it is a poor quality food. Do not pay attention to advertising, they all say there food is great. Corn is a filler that can trigger skin problems. (allergies, skin problems, itching and excessive shedding) By products is anything from an animal not fit for human consumption, including cancerous tissue. Quality foods have meat as the first ingredient. California Natural, Solid Gold, Innova and Merrick are a few of the best brands available. If you want to learn more check out: http://www.sagekeep.com/petfood.htm www.api4animals.org/facts?p=359& more=1 http://animalark.eapps.com/animal/PetFoods.nsf/$$PetFoodsByRating?OpenForm

Answer 6

SPAY SPAY SPAY! :) This is the only hope we have of ever putting a dent in the ever rising homeless animal population. Sterilizing has so many benefits. I've seen cats lose some of their spunk after sterilization but my experience with dogs after have been the same. Usually when they are puppies they don't even notice the difference. Good luck!

Answer 7

Your vet is not giving you good advice in my opinion. I have looked at many websites on this subject and talked with my own vet after we got a puppy. It won't "calm them down" but it will keep you from having to deal with unwanted puppies. Do it before their first heat cycle at approx. six months. You know it only takes a short time for accidents to happen and there you have a pregnant female to deal with and puppies to find homes for.

Answer 8

She will be the same. Boxers are high strung dogs anyways. But dont wait untill her first heat, because if she is spayed berfor her first heat cycle, her chances of "Female" cancer are GREATLY reduced.

Answer 9

The calm down thing is generally for males. Females with not lose their fun temperament after spayin

Answer 10

Spay. You'll be glad you did. No messy doggy-periods, no males sniffing around, no mammary cancer, calmer doggy. Boxers (we have 1 too) will never lose their character...they're the Peter pan of the dog world...always silly.