Getting Spayed

DaveyCroketJr · Post by **DaveyCroketJr** » Mon Nov 20, 2006 12:34 pm

Hey guys got a question for everone. My GSP will be 6 months old this week and in Dec. and since i do not plan to breed her i want to have her spayed. The problem is someone told me the other day this will take alot of the hunt out of her. I have never heard that before but i wnat to make sure not to do anything that will keep her from being as good. I am new at the bird dog thing so please help me out.

Brittguy · Post by **Brittguy** » Mon Nov 20, 2006 2:37 pm

Will not make a bit of difference concerning hunting desire.I feel there will be a tendency to gain weight but you can control that.

I had a field champion that had to be spayed due to pyrometra. She won many trials afterward.

mtlee · Post by **mtlee** » Mon Nov 20, 2006 4:45 pm

I spayed my GSP at that age and it made no difference in her at all...she is now 20 months. Take advantage of the day or two after the surgery when she's still drugged up...they sleep like babies!

markerdown · Post by **markerdown** » Mon Nov 20, 2006 4:50 pm

There are 2 schools of thought here. One is the animal control folks who advocate to spay and neuter early to avoid any unwanted pups. Second is the breed folks who will tell you to wait until your dog is mature to allow it to develope physically to it's full growth potential. Personally, I do not breed my GSPs. However, after spay and neutering my male and female @6 months. I won't do it again. I'll wait until my present male pup is around 2yrs so he can develop fully. Lots of folks will give you a ton of reasons as to spay/neuter early or not. My female did gain a bit of weight and I feel that 6 months did not allow enough estrogen for her to fully develope muscle mass. There are plenty of vets that will aregue the point, but I'm speaking from experience as a GSP owner and hunter. Spay and neuter, but wait till they grow up. That's my .02.........................markerdown

birddog · Post by **birddog** » Mon Nov 20, 2006 5:42 pm

markerdown wrote: Spay and neuter, but wait till they grow up. That's my .02.........................markerdown

To wait is not the answer. Once a male pup knows he is a boy is when the trouble starts. To avoid this to happen is why they neuter them at 6 months. As for the female. You want to spay them before their first heat. Both male and female, especially the males become more focused on the task of hunting

Thats how I see it and believe me , that comes first hand.

Janet

mtlee · Post by **mtlee** » Mon Nov 20, 2006 5:51 pm

I really don't know much about spaying/neutering and the consequences of each but from personal experience I'll make some comments on 2 issues above...

1) Growth Potential -- I spayed my GSP at 5 months and she is now 60 lbs and taller than any male I've come into contact with to date...still a little "leggy" but she is still young (20 months)

2) Weight Gain -- Putting weight on her is nearly impossible

Just my personal experience w/ ONE dog...take it for what you will

Post by **ezzy333** » Mon Nov 20, 2006 5:54 pm

You run a very high risk of the male growing beyond where he normally would and this has been documented. I have brittanys abd we have a max hiegth in our standard and there are many pups nuetered young that grow over the standard and don't muscle as well. And it has been discovered that they are just as prone to cancer and other problems and maybe even more so. I can not comment on the female however.

Ezzy

DaveyCroketJr · Post by **DaveyCroketJr** » Mon Nov 20, 2006 7:36 pm

Thanks for all the input, i think i will go ahead and get it done.

Razor · Post by **Razor** » Mon Nov 20, 2006 8:21 pm

Rick Smith has the vast majority of his dogs cut. He runs around a 100 dogs on the Mariposa Ranch, where people pay $1850 a day to hunt quail. I highly doubt he would do this if there was an adverse affect. I have heard him say that cut dogs are much more focused on hunting. I agree.

Dude · Post by **Dude** » Tue Nov 21, 2006 7:09 am

Razor wrote:Rick Smith has the vast majority of his dogs cut. He runs around a 100 dogs on the Mariposa Ranch, where people pay $1850 a day to hunt quail. I highly doubt he would do this if there was an adverse affect. I have heard him say that cut dogs are much more focused on hunting. I agree.

Does that apply as well to females?

Post by **kninebirddog** » Tue Nov 21, 2006 7:42 am

the thing with females is if your going to have them spayed it is better to have them done before the first heat cycle lesson their chances of cancer

I know if I ahve a dog that I do not want in a breeding program they will be fixed young..They seem to have less problems of being over weight then those that are done later in life.

Just what I have personally observed from dogs I have altered and the many clients we have come on the preserve

mountaindogs · Post by **mountaindogs** » Tue Nov 21, 2006 11:20 am

My lab was spayed during her first cyle (sorta snuck up on us

) and she is now a 4 year old very focused, non aggressive easy keeper. We can take her anywhere, never have to worry about the cyle, I could kennel her with just about any dog if I had to double up for space. Even now she is kenneled with another girl in the "big kennel." She never gained weight, if anything got more intense, though I am sure that was purely due to age and maturing.

If I had no intentions of breeding I would DEFINATELY spay. As to when.... my jury is still a little out. Benefits and downfalls for both waiting and spaying early. Its a descision you have to make based on a little research and a little gut feeling perhaps, since research is still a little slim in some areas.

We spayed our GSP girl later in life and she did gain some weight. But we manage it with more hunting

which helps keep the weight off us peoples too. Absolutely nothing could take drive away from this dog, and it certainaly hasn't made any difference there.

Razor · Post by **Razor** » Tue Nov 21, 2006 3:35 pm

Rick cuts both sexes. I know his favorite hunting dog is a cut male.

Mntngoat · Post by **Mntngoat** » Tue Nov 21, 2006 4:53 pm

I took a foundation class from Ronnie Smith this last spring, and he mentioned there aren't too many dogs out there that need to be bred. In other words there is enough good stock to get another dog in lieu of breeding your own. I [personally will have Rex neurtered but not until he gets to be about 2 years old.

Michael

GsPJustin · Post by **GsPJustin** » Tue Nov 21, 2006 5:46 pm

mtlee wrote:I really don't know much about spaying/neutering and the consequences of each but from personal experience I'll make some comments on 2 issues above...

1) Growth Potential -- I spayed my GSP at 5 months and she is now 60 lbs and taller than any male I've come into contact with to date...still a little "leggy" but she is still young (20 months)

2) Weight Gain -- Putting weight on her is nearly impossible

Just my personal experience w/ ONE dog...take it for what you will

Its not the size, its the muscle mass, and maturity of the bone structure, and maturity of emotions.

Razor · Post by **Razor** » Tue Nov 21, 2006 11:52 pm

If i remember correctly. Rick cuts the dogs young. I think that it is because he dosn't want the dog to learn bad habits in the first place. I will have to ask him next time I talk to him. All I know is that if he cuts his dogs it is good enough for me.

dog dr · Post by **dog dr** » Fri Nov 24, 2006 4:12 pm

Spay and neuter, but wait till they grow up. That's my .02.........................markerdown

I'm a vet, and I agree with markerdown. My Britt is 2 and a half and is still intact. believe me, he is VERY focused on hunting. I just think they develop better both physically and emotionally if you wait to alter them.

Northern_Hunting_Mom · Post by **Northern_Hunting_Mom** » Fri Nov 24, 2006 4:54 pm

I can understand why Rick Smith would have an easier time with cut dogs. He must have a 100 on his property so a female will always be in heat. That will send any uncut male into a tizzy. Its logical for him to have cut dogs. It may not be as necessary for the average dog owner.

I know of a few females that were spayed early and had to have multiple ACL surgeries. The muscle and bone structure is off if you spay/neuter too soon. Its true that intact females can have a higher incidence of breast cancers but that is easily caught if you know and usually easy to surgically remove once found. Breast cancers are usually quite later in life as well.

A big deciding factor is how well you can confine your female while she is in heat if you do keep her intact. If that's a problem, then early spaying would be better.