Wow! I didn't mean to re-open such a heated topic. My question was purely a long-term health question. I can say 100% certainty that my dog would easily be protected against any accidental pregnancy for 18 months. I do not expose her to intact males, or take her to dog parks. My concern is that my puppy's mother is a little bit aggressive, but I believe it is due to poor socialization according to the breeder. My pup doesn't show any aggression towards other dogs, in fact, quite the opposite as she is a little submissive. Still, I don't know if that fact alone is worth the other possible side effects of early spaying.

Thank you all for your suggestions and opinions, and Connie I would appreciate any other links to info you might have.

Jon

 Quote: Jon Lee

My question was purely a long-term health question. I can say 100% certainty that my dog would easily be protected against any accidental pregnancy for 18 months. I do not expose her to intact males, or take her to dog parks.

Wow, is THIS nice to hear. Kudos to you for making the commitment to your dog's health and taking responsibility for what does and doesn't happen to her. She'll pay you back tenfold.

How old is she now? What kind of dog? Spaniel, right? Did you introduce her? Sorry if I missed the whole thing.

She is 5 months old. An English Working Cocker. I would post a photo here, but I don't know how. Really a great dog.

There's a "Member Introductions" page where you can post one and introduce yourself. It's not mandatory...but we like them.

It is funny to me that the quote below needs to be explained on a web board of people who claim to be the "cream of the crop" when it comes to dogs.
I founded a dog and cat rescue group in Chicago 7-1/2 years ago. We all know, or should know, how many animals lives are lost each year due to the irresponsibility of humans. One of the things that I take great pride in is the fact that I don't let people have one of my rescued cats or dogs because they are UNFIT to own one. I can not begin to tell you how much I enjoy speaking with a person that is irate because one of the people in my rescue group, who has spent a lot of their time, money, sweat, blood, and tears caring for these animals, has decided that this person is UNFIT to own a pet. They threaten lawsuits, me physically, they want to call the police, you name it. It is comical and only proves the point all the more. Some people should not own pets, PERIOD!!!
I will even take this one step further, A LOT OF PEOPLE SHOULD NOT BE BREEDING them either. I am relatively sure that a lot of you have been on the Pedigree Database. That has to be one of the saddest web sites ever. I like to call it, "The Great Dumping Ground for German Shepherd Dogs". If every one of the dogs/puppies on that site was able to find a home, every person in this country would own a German Shepherd. Sad thing is that all of these people think they are "responsible breeders" and "contributing to the advancement of the breed". What a crock of crap!
In closing, it is disappointing to me to see the people on this web forum having arguments when you seem to agree on the what is presented in the whole, but, want to nit-pick certain parts of posts. Maybe you could spend your energy educating the nit-wits instead of fighting with each other.
Sometimes I feel that this web forum is turning in to a sewing circle and my guess is that this is not Ed's intention. My guess is that Ed's intention was to provide a very valuable place for a lot of information to be disseminated amongst as many people who seek it.
--Steve

 Quote: carol boche

 Quote: jenni williams

"Is it really that hard to keep an eye on a dog until it's physically mature people? Guess I come from the nasty school of thought that believes that if you can't safely and surely provide what that animal deserves for OPTIMUM health and longevity, you needn't have a pet."

So, please explain this.

 Quote: SteveZorn

Maybe you could spend your energy educating the nit-wits instead of fighting with each other.

Good idea.

Excellent New Year's Resolution!

Steve,
Check your PM's.

Whew! What a thread.

If I may ask what may appear to be a silly question. I am new to the board. I have a 6.5 mo schipperke. She is to be a pet. I have intended to get her spayed. I have always spayed/neutered the dogs I have had. They were all large dogs. Now, with all the new information about dogs, I would almost be afraid to ask the vet. But, what age would be best to spay a small dog like her? The web sites I find when I surf for schipper sites are mostly generic. What age are they mature or how do I find out? I know this forum is mostly about working dogs and I read Ed's post that he spays pets, but I still didn't get the gist of what age? Also the pros and cons of not spaying a house pet/small dog. I have only experienced dogs in heat a few times and they weren't pleasant. Best I remember, it was really difficult to keep the dog inside not to mention the mess.

Thanks for any info.

Nora - I stayed out of this thread during the major posting times because what I would have said was already stated my multiple people anyways. I will say that spaying her will be up to you. If you feel you can keep her away from male dogs, but do still want to get her spayed for personal reasons gauge by her temperament and maturity etc. I personally and this is only a personal preferance and opinion, I would wait until after she has her first heat if you do want to spay her. For me, if a female is spayed it is done after or around 2 years of age for most dogs except for giant breeds.

Regarding the mess - they make doggie diapers with disposable liners that a female can wear to prevent the mess being "distributed" throughout the house.
http://www.google.com/search?q=female+dog+diapers&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7&rlz=1I7ADBR
That is a search on "female dog diapers" via google for you

Thanks, Jennifer. I had always heard (old wives tale?) to wait until after their first heat. I had also thought that it was best temperament-wise to spay a female so they would be less aggressive and easier to train, but like I said, there is such a newer way of doing things now. So far as the mess, I used those liners with a dog once before and they helped some, but still a mess. More than the mess, what I remember about my boxer (she was house kept) was that I had a time trying to keep her in the house. She was always scratching at the door, whining, etc. Other dogs were at the outside howling and barking. These would have been neighbors dogs (I lived in a rural area). Even now, although I live in a small town, there are neighbors dogs that aren't kept up. As a matter of fact, a resident on my street has a beautiful Irish Setter that they kept tied up outside on a chain (no fence) and the poor doge broke loose so many times dragging that chain around that my husband(ex) told the owners to just let the dog loose. Maybe not the best thing to do, but we were forevermore getting him un-hung from dragging that chain around and were afraid he would get choked or hurt. My yard isn't fenced either, but my new puppy will never be off-leash or without supervision in the back yard.

I guess (long story short which I am obviously not good at) what I am asking is exactly how bad is it to spay a dog. I don't want to do anything that would interfer with her long term good health but I always thought spaying promoted good health.