What age did you spay your female?

[gracielove]

If your pup is very tiny you might want to wait until she is at a decent size before spaying. Gracie was on the small side when she was a pup and we waited until she was 4lbs before spaying. She was a bit over a year then.

It is not absolutely necessary to spay before the first heat cycle though it would be easier for you if you did. Making sure she is strong enough and healthy enough first is more important though.

I had always had my other females spayed at around 6 months before the first heat until Gracie. She was just too tiny and I was just too concerned to have it done when she looked more like a mouse than a puppy.

[Yoshismom1969]

I am a firm believer that you should wait until they are 1 yr or older and they are finished growing before spaying, this is IF you KNOW for a fact you can keep them from male dogs.

[BabyGirl Rosie]

Originally Posted by gracielove

If your pup is very tiny you might want to wait until she is at a decent size before spaying. Gracie was on the small side when she was a pup and we waited until she was 4lbs before spaying. She was a bit over a year then.

It is not absolutely necessary to spay before the first heat cycle though it would be easier for you if you did. Making sure she is strong enough and healthy enough first is more important though.

I had always had my other females spayed at around 6 months before the first heat until Gracie. She was just too tiny and I was just too concerned to have it done when she looked more like a mouse than a puppy.

She is about 3 lb. To me, she is tiny!

Originally Posted by Yoshismom1969

I am a firm believer that you should wait until they are 1 yr or older and they are finished growing before spaying, this is IF you KNOW for a fact you can keep them from male dogs.

No males around here. We don't have that issue to worry about. She don't even go to potty outside.

[Faboosh]

Originally Posted by BabyGirl Rosie

How old are they when growth plates close?

I was told around 9 months is the average. There's nothing really wrong with doing it after, I've just heard there were benefits of waiting a lil longer. We were close anyway!

[Lovetodream88]

Originally Posted by Yoshismom1969

I am a firm believer that you should wait until they are 1 yr or older and they are finished growing before spaying, this is IF you KNOW for a fact you can keep them from male dogs.

There chance of mammary cancer increases after there first heat.....

[Faboosh]

Originally Posted by Lovetodream88

There chance of mammary cancer increases after there first heat.....

There's that too... It's tricky having a "tiny," trying to navigate the timing of their spay, taking their weight and heats and teeth and everything into account. I believe OP said she has a little one... In that case, it is good to wait until they have some weight and strength to them, but they reach a good healthy size after 7-8 months usually.

Just my opinion tho. Gotta throw that out there

[windwalker]

Certain cancer risks are reduced by spaying before heat, something to consider and also if baby teeth need to be pulled because they are interfering with adult teeth. The teeth to mainly watch are the upper and lower canines, if lower babies are not pushed out/dissolved, it could cause permanent teeth to not grow in properly, this can cause serious problems. Upper is not as serious but could still cause problems. Talk to your Vet, spaying has come a long way from the dark ages.


Ginger had hers the 3rd of this month, first time I've seen the internal sutures method done, just a smooth line, like a raised pencil lead , slightly red for two days. No bandages or collar. You could hardly find the line a week later. But remember the abdominal cut will take longer to heal the external cut. The swelling on that just went away a few days ago, so even though the pup acts like all is great two days after surgery, try to keep strenuous play down somewhat till you can feel the internal cut is almost smooth

[Lovetodream88]

Originally Posted by Faboosh

There's that too... It's tricky having a "tiny," trying to navigate the timing of their spay, taking their weight and heats and teeth and everything into account. I believe OP said she has a little one... In that case, it is good to wait until they have some weight and strength to them, but they reach a good healthy size after 7-8 months usually.

Just my opinion tho. Gotta throw that out there

Normally all is fine if they weigh 3 pounds or over I think the issues is the ones smaller then that.

[BabyGirl Rosie]

Originally Posted by Faboosh

There's that too... It's tricky having a "tiny," trying to navigate the timing of their spay, taking their weight and heats and teeth and everything into account. I believe OP said she has a little one... In that case, it is good to wait until they have some weight and strength to them, but they reach a good healthy size after 7-8 months usually.

Just my opinion tho. Gotta throw that out there

She weighs about 3 lb. The vet expects her to be around 4 lb or so (give or take) for her adult weight.

[Lovetodream88]

Originally Posted by BabyGirl Rosie

She weighs about 3 lb. The vet expects her to be around 4 lb or so (give or take) for her adult weight.

Such a tiny little one. There have been many people on the board who have had there 3 pounders spayed, I think even a few had 2.5 pounders spayed. Make sure you get the pre surgery blood work. Sometimes it is cheaper to get that done a few days or a week in advance you may want to ask your vet.

[CouversMom]

I waited until Khloe was 8 months old because she was so little.

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by windwalker

Spaying if teeth need pulled is a good combo, Ginger was 5 1/2 months, needed upper canines pulled. That way you save money and risk, only on knock out for two procedures.

Yes, I think this is a good point, and I'd ask my vet about it. Most Yorkies have to get at least a couple of baby teeth pulled, might as well do it at the same time.

[Yoshismom1969]

I have a Chihuahua that is tiny and waited until she had her first heat which was 11 months and she was just 2 lbs. We opt for the gas anesthesia as it is much safer and my vet is really good with small animals surgeries so I trust him. She even had a false pregnancy at that tiny size and I hated to see her go through that but a lot of the research I am seeing now talks about how it messes their little systems up spaying too early. Throwing their hormones off kilter, becoming afraid of thunder storms, etc...I know in Giant breeds like Danes which I am familiar with grow off kilter if spayed/neutered too early. It is really hard to know what is best for them. I have been on a lot of holistic groups lately that do not believe in spay/neutering at all and that spay/neutering them is actually what is causing the cancers. I am not sure what the answer is. There are dangers with both early and later spay/neuters so you really just have to research and find what is best for you and yours.

[Lovetodream88]

Originally Posted by Yoshismom1969

I have a Chihuahua that is tiny and waited until she had her first heat which was 11 months and she was just 2 lbs. We opt for the gas anesthesia as it is much safer and my vet is really good with small animals surgeries so I trust him. She even had a false pregnancy at that tiny size and I hated to see her go through that but a lot of the research I am seeing now talks about how it messes their little systems up spaying too early. Throwing their hormones off kilter, becoming afraid of thunder storms, etc...I know in Giant breeds like Danes which I am familiar with grow off kilter if spayed/neutered too early. It is really hard to know what is best for them. I have been on a lot of holistic groups lately that do not believe in spay/neutering at all and that spay/neutering them is actually what is causing the cancers. I am not sure what the answer is. There are dangers with both early and later spay/neuters so you really just have to research and find what is best for you and yours.

To early with small breeds normally means before 5 or 6 months. Spaying early does not cause them to be afraid of thunderstorms. The thing is with females it is so much more risky to not spay they can get pyometra and that can kill the dog VERY fast. Lately I have been hearing a lot of cases where even if they get the dog to the vet and did the emergency spay for the Pyometra the dog still ended up dying a few months later. This just happened with my Aunts dog. There is so much false info out there anymore it just makes me sick because so many people will believe it. The issues with males besides cancer is they will run away and have been known to get even very injured or even killed by trying to get to a female they smell in heat. There is also the risk that since Yorkies are one of the top stolen dogs it makes your dog worth more money and a high risk of being stolen if they are not fixed and then they could be sold to a puppy mill or byb with a life time of breeding. I can tell you Callie who has been spayed before her first heat has a flat chest with what looks like little flat black spots because the mammary tissues did not develop and its very hard to get cancer in something that's not there or there is very little of it. My Aunts dog who waited until after her heat actually has nipples that stick out and actual tissue there so she has a higher ricks of developing cancer. A lot of the opsies I have heard here are well I wasn't ready to spay my dog and I had to leave them with a friend because of an emergency, I left my female outside and some lose dog got in the fence, my dog got lose and ran away and I finally got her back and shes pregnant, or the male got passed me and I couldn't get to them in time, male dog chewed through the door and so on. An emergency spay is often times not the safest way to go but neither is letting them have the puppies so your stuck in a hard place. It is very different for big dogs.

[Faboosh]

Originally Posted by Lovetodream88

Normally all is fine if they weigh 3 pounds or over I think the issues is the ones smaller then that.

Mine was at 2 pounds at the time, so I had some decision making to do...