[boopster]

Thanks to many of you who have had conversations about spaying here and a couple who have taken extra time to pm me with links, I've decided I agree with my vet -- who prefers to wait until Tallulah is a little more grown up to do the spay. He keeps current on research and has never led me wrong before.

The question was never about whether to spay, it was always about when. From all I've been reading, it sounds as though the current trend to spay while babies is more about controlling population growth than the individual dog's health. And for most people who get puppies, early spaying is probably wise - since it does take a lot of vigilance to protect your girl from contact with a male.

I've had several dogs go through one heat cycle in the past and I know what a hassle it can be... from the mess to the ugly mood swings, to the manic attempts to escape from supervision. So I have a pretty good idea what i will be getting myself into and I'm committed to doing it for Tallulah's health.

The risks of mammary tumors may increase 8-16% if she has one heat, but set off against the risk of cruciate ligament problems, permanent puppy behavior such as lack of attention span, etc., plus the reduced risk of anesthesia if she's a little bigger, makes it seem to me that I should give her a little more time to grow up.

Of course, this means that I will have to keep her out of her beloved Yorkie Camp if she goes into heat before she's spayed, and be extremely diligent about making sure she doesn't bolt out the back door... But safely in the house she's at no risk of getting near any other dogs.

So just a few minutes ago Tallulah decided to hump her favorite toy. Gross! Does this mean anything in terms of her heat cycle? Time to get her those little panties?

And once again, thanks! I knew I could count on this group to share their honest opinions.