# First heat for your female?



## ceecee

Sunny is 6 months. She will be 7 months on the 16th. When do females first come in heat? Our vet wants us to have her spayed right before the first one. He says he reduces the risk of breast cancer. The breeder prefers if you want a year. He says the dogs will become"leggy" if not. As I am not going to be showing I think the risk is greater to wait. Any different thoughts?


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## Mischa

We spayed Mischa at 8 months and she didn't have her first heat yet. I've read somewhere these dogs are slow to mature. I thought it meant mentally to which I thought, "Duh!" lol but I think they meant physically.


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## Ro-Ro

We are in the exact same boat. Ziva is 8 1/2 months. Vet said one thing, breeder another. Would love to hear other input.


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## Crazy Kian

There is a member on here (who rarely posts) and her girl is just over 1.5yrs old and still has not had her first heat.


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## fiona long

my vet wouldnt spay bailey until after her first season..... she came into season at 11 months and was spayed afters!


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## BamBam

Hi fiona,

have you found that spaying her after her first season has had any affect on her temperament at all?


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## fiona long

no not at all 

our vet said that it can increase risk of cancer not letting them have there first season and can affect maturity levels.

our girl is still daft as ever!!

i think vets in uk and vets in us reccomend different things when it comes to spaying!


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## Chippett69

Hi i'm new to the site today

My 9 month old bitch came into her first season on boxing day she was 6 months old at the time.
We too were not sure whether to get her spayed before or after, our vet was pushing us to get her done before her first.
To be honest i am glad she had her first one, it was not that messy and we constantly had tissues in hand to help catch any drips. Poppy our little V was shown to keep herself clean which she did. 
Her exercise was not a problem we took her out on her lead and kept her on it, we went for 20 min jogs which did her no harm. In fact was great for more lead work.
She is now though, in a phantom pregnancy which is common, we have up'd her exercise and reduced her food slightly which is advice we have been given.


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## jld640

I had Savannah spayed between 6 and 7 months which was a little later than the vet recommended and a little earlier than the breeder recommended. Since there are pros and cons for spaying early and late, ultimately, I finally decided it would be easier keeping her calm and inside now before the spring weather and sunshine make being outside soooo much more desireable.


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## dghubbard06

Much like the previous posts, our breeder recommended waiting until after 1 year and the vet wanted to spay at 6 months. I talked to our breeder and he says his girls usually have their first heat around 13 months, but this I am sure various greatly for other breedlines.

We've scheduled Stella for her operation in May when she'll be 11 months.


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## nick

This topic is full of uncertainity...so there must be a lack of good medical research to prove one way or another when to spay a puppy. My vet recommends doing it before their first season....but who knows for sure when that is. The bottom line here seems to be trust your vet and don't look back. We are having Molly spayed on Mar 15...she will be 6.5 months old then.


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## Roslind

For introduction, I worked as a vet tech for a year. Also, I am now in Med. School so I have an idea behind the science behind this. 

Vets typically recommend getting dogs fixed BEFORE first heat, because the surge in hormones can increase risk of cancer; getting fixed before this surge reduces the risk of the reproductive cancers to virtually zero (same with males, increase risk of testicular cancer). However, getting the dog spayed after first heat will also reduce risk of cancer, because you are still reducing the total lifetime hormone load.

If you get the dog spayed before the first heat, the surgery is technically easier because the organs are smaller/less vascularized(blood flow) due to not being hit with hormones yet, however I think the risk of the surgery before and after is comparable.

If you spay a dog before the first heat, it may not develop fully the secondary sexual characteristics of an adult dog (same with male), which is why your breeder is recommending you wait until afterwards.

However, I have not researched how this translates into a lifetime benefit, i.e. if you get your dog fixed, even though she might not get breast cancer, her likely average lifespan is increased, decreased, or the same. Obviously, there is a risk of pregnancy if your dog goes into heat, which is another reason the vet would favor spaying before. 

I know with humans, getting your ovaries out prematurely increases your risk of osteoporosis, but I don't know if any studies have looked at this in dogs (just trying to acknowledge the fact that hormones/ovaries are not all bad). 

I think this is a personal choice. I personally like my dogs to be fully developed. The risk of cancer is going to be low regardless if you get your animal fixed while it is young, whether before or after heat.


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## labar349

We heard same conflicting information and decided to have Sophie spayed at 7 1/2 months (which was done April 7th). It was just going to be easier to have her done with it before the summer since they can not get in the water for 10-14 days and she likes to swim. Vet said there were signs she was starting first heat so a little messier - heavier blood but otherwise surgery went great. We got the pills to keep her calm but only used the first 2-3 days cause they made her so loopy. We did not use the cone and she left the site alone. We did pay extra for the cold laser (supposed to help the healing process) and the IV so she had fluids making recovery easier. I sure had been dreading the whole thing but it went so much easier than I thought it would. One of us was always with her, which is why we were able to not use the cone and after the 3rd day we started some short walks. The worst was keeping her somewhat quiet (oxymoron for Vizslas)  and not have to overdo the drugs. Sophie did great with the whole thing and I am sure glad it is over. I have not noticed any change in her personality or activity level. She is as crazy, fun, loving, and energetic as she was before. I think in the end it is a personal choice and a matter of time of year and what is going on in life. Before summer was in full swing sure worked best for us! Good luck!!


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