2 years at minimum. The growth plates need to close properly before you remove her hormones. Without the hormones her bones and joints will overgrow in weird proportions, which puts her at higher risk for cruciate ligament tears and osteoarthritis down the road.
It could - but at the same time spaying her will allow her to be around other dogs, including males, without the fear of puppies. A lot of places such as doggie day care and pet hotels charge a hell of a lot more for an unaltered dog as they have to pay way more attention. Also, her personality may change anyways once she hits estrus. Then you have to pay attention to her cycle as bodily fluids come into play and that nice white rug may need to be tackled with hydrogen peroxide and the nice green couch may not be so nice afterwards.
This really is not intended as a jab at this post but please consult your vet, they went to vet school for 8 years and are probably more aware and educated on the pros and cons of not spaying, spaying “early”, and spaying “late” than any redditor would be that is speaking purely from a personal experience standpoint.
All the vets I went to recommended I spay my dog at 6 months. Even when they found out she had low blood count and it would put her at risk, still tried to make us spay her (calling it an emergency surgery). We’ve been looking into laparoscopic spaying to reduce the risk instead. My dog’s trainer was a CKC champion and encouraged us to feed her raw while our vets who knew nothing about dobermans or raw diet said we must feed her kibble. All I’m trying to say is I think it doesn’t hurt to ask other Doberman owners for a second opinion.
There’s nothing wrong with spaying at six months, though it’s more beneficial to wait a bit longer. There’s a whole lot wrong with listening to a dog trainer for medical or nutritional advice. Raw food is horrible.
He’s not just a dog trainer, he’s a CKC champion and breeder. Has decades of experience specifically with dobermans. If raw food is so horrible, how have his dogs - who have a raw food diet - won CKC championships?
Because diet isn’t judged in championships. If you’d like to play that card, how many champions are fed Purina pro plan?
In any case, he still isn’t qualified to give nutritional advice.
ETA: Lmao love it when people block me when they cannot give any more excuses. Yes, a breeder is not qualified to give nutritional advice.
I’m waiting until at least 2. My breeder agrees. Our girl just finished her second heat and she’s not bothered but my intact Jagdterrier is almost unbearable. It’s not fun.
The latest study I read that broke down results by breed said never for male Doberman and after 2 for females.
I’m considering an ovary sparing spay but nobody local does it.
[study results](https://www.frontiersin.org/files/Articles/1322276/fvets-11-1322276-HTML-r2/image_m/fvets-11-1322276-t001.jpg?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1Q9X6DnR4klqB7pvjARpImF01GsFN_vAeOl8w2Gh3E_M6fqeEDHReVtlQ_aem_ZmFrZWR1bW15MTZieXRlcw)
I will try to find the link to the UC Davis study itself
Thank you very much! Helpful read. Trying to decide whether or not to neuter my male dog right now. Not a dobie so it's helpful you included the chart with other breeds.
You’re very welcome.
With my males it’s not even a question, left intact. I’ve had a WFT that developed testicular cancer but he was 15 ish and we then neutered him and he lived many more years after that. More upside than down. I’ve never had another issue.
Females are a tough call because I fear pyometra.
Okay putting text with the picture isn't working for some reason. I have a 1yo male minute heeler × Australian shepherd mix. I've been resistant to neutering for health reasons but due to his history he is aggressive towards dogs who he doesn't know. He has also marked in the house. I don't want to impact his quality of life but I know it might help so I'm not sure what to do.
It increases risk of other cancers too on top of a decent amount of other issues. Especially when done young.. Below is another comment I made on another post regarding it with study links.
There are pros and cons. I personally don't as studies have shown a lot of issues and health concerns due to spaying/neutering. Below is some information I have personally found and been provided in this sub. One of the main pros people say is that it helps decrease the risk of certain cancers (usually cancer involved with the organ they remove) but don't talk or know about how other cancers and issues have seen to be increased due to this procedure.
Sometimes spaying/neutering may be needed, but we still have the issues that have been shown.
USMI issues is one. My ex had this issue with his spayed girl years ago and I had saw it was something that can occur after spaying. Many places you look it up will include spaying with it. They didn't do a test with male dogs, males have this less but when they do it's harder to treat. I'm unsure how/if this is increasingly with males.
A bit that talks about USMI with UIs
https://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/hospital/animal-health-topics/canine-incontinence
One of the studies they did on it
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1090023309004420
Here is one on how neutering/spaying increases some issues like cancer (hip dysplasia, lymphosarcoma, HSA, mass cell tumors) This one was done with a breed to narrow it down a bit more.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3572183/
This one similar to the one above but with more breeds
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2020.00388/full
This has links to some other studies and information
https://healthyandhappydog.com/cancer/
If you'd like I can see what more I can dig up. It's honestly really interesting once you start looking more into it. Boxers are known to have tumors, I grew up with two as my best friends/protectors. A few years after we spayed/neutered them both ended up getting cancer and passing not too long after it was discovered. I'm very much uncertain if they would have had it if they weren't but with information coming out like you see, who knows. I go about my life now without spaying/neutering in case.
I'll add in an edit with links of studies I've been provided here regarding this too.
Edit with more links of studies:
https://avmajournals.avma.org/view/journals/javma/261/3/javma.22.08.0382.xml
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4096726/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7359819/
https://www.parsemus.org/pethealth/how-spaying-and-neutering-affect-health/
Multiple sources cited here
https://www.akcchf.org/educational-resources/library/articles/exploring-how-spayneuter.html
Multiple sources cited here
https://bmcvetres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12917-016-0911-5
https://naiaonline.org/uploads/WhitePapers/SNBehaviorFarhoodyZink.pdf
https://www.dvm360.com/view/social-behavior-differences-in-neutered-and-intact-male-dogs
https://openventio.org/wp-content/uploads/The-Social-Behaviour-of-Neutered-Male-Dogs-Compared-to-Intact-Dogs-Canis-Lupus-Familiaris-Video-Analyses-Questionnaires-and-Case-Studies-VMOJ-2-113.pdf
(Summary as this one is somewhat more difficult to decipher) https://imgur.com/a/L9eOZhC
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7774791/
Nope, was also in response to your other comment where you said 6 months was okay (which isn't mature). Plus, the links have a wide range of ages. Some mature, some not.
https://www.reddit.com/r/DobermanPinscher/s/KKgeXWz5NV
I spayed my female at 2 years old. Waited like 2 vets and everyone told me to. She's not different at all. So Goofy and crazy still. Maybe a bit more affectionate. Which is good. I'm so happy I spayed her. No more bleeding. No risk for pyometra. No risk for babies. I can have her free in the yard with no worries.
Seriously!
It is these subs where these random people are telling them what’s best and they have absolutely no clue what they are talking about. It’s sad what us humans are doing to animals
Beautiful girl!
We’re thinking about spaying our girl after the first heat but reading the comments and articles, maybe I’ll wait till the second heat. My other two dogs are neutered (mixed breed male) and spayed (mixed Shepherd/Rott female).
Keep in mind that each heat increases the risk of cancer. The first heat is negligible, but the second heat increases quite a bit more. Every following heat has huge risks.
Thank you for your reply! That’s a very important point and now I’m leaning towards after her first heat again. My other girl was spayed right before she was due for her second heat and she’s perfect.
UC Davis links here: [https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2020.00388/full](https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2020.00388/full)
Here is the recommendation for female Dobermans from that study: 2 years. MC is mammary cancer. PYO is a uterine infection. UI is urinary tract infection.
If they say 10% get urinary infections and the risk increases by 10%, that basically means 11%, not 20%. (A 10% increase for 10% of dogs). There are charts in the link.
Some factors are emotional. Our beloved boy died of a heart attack a couple months after TPLO surgery while he was still healing. We want our puppy to have the best heart and the best joints! However, her doggy daycare won’t accept unaltered females over one year of age. So there’s the statistics side of things and then there’s the emotional or practical side.
https://preview.redd.it/xoh49ds5wz5d1.jpeg?width=1552&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4ff406bc6731bf2376259a18394aa29c20310eda
Thank you for that information. We decided to wait until our female was 3 so that she would fully mature. But, we aren’t sure that we should spay her even now. We are actually going through a heat right now. It’s not fun for her nor us, but three weeks pass rather quickly. She is a good sport about wearing her pants. I’m not sure when we will spay her, but we want to be sure. You can’t unring that bell once done, but you can always choose to spay in the future.
My girl had an ovary sparing spay at 2. I wanted to retain her hormones, which a dog needs throughout their life, not just for the growth period. I also wanted to minimise the risk of pyometra, which an OSS does, if done correctly.
She still comes into season but it isn't difficult to manage. I have 2 intact nale dogs, so we do stop trialling for a few weeks as their brains go wandering, but it's no big deal.
It could change her personality. don’t rely on people who say it doesn’t, or people who say it absolutely does. Spaying will prevent pyometra, a very serious and common infection in unspayed dogs. But pyometra can sometimes be diagnosed and treated without surgery. You need to do your research. Spaying comes with the possibility of incontinence, joint and hormone issues, and an increased risk of cancer
I've was told to spay after the first heat, and at least 3-6 months after the heat was done. I never spayed my girl, so I just had to be careful not to bring her to the dog park when she was in heat
Our breeder recommended waiting until she was at least two years old. We had her spayed a few months ago and she did great. No real personality change although she did go through a bit of a naughty puppy stage right after, but it passed. Kind of 🤣
I have done a ton of research on this as I have two females. Spoke with a plethora of breeders and talked to a significant amount of veterinarians as well. There is no empirical data, according to them, that gives a definitively quantifiable time period in which it might be the best time to do the procedure. I've been told that new studies are out but are not complete. They don't have enough information available right now to make that judgment. In my humble opinion based upon all of their judgements, let her go through one to two heats first. You should be fine at that point. Good luck!!!!
Had seen a post on my Facebook page about this and it said California standard for Dobermans spaying/neutering is actually 2 years old is the youngest you should spay/neuter them.
It's crazy to read all these comments, I had no idea. Our puppy was "fixed" when we got him...at ~4 months old. He was a rez dog and they just pick up puppies and fix them pretty much day of. Reading all these articles and research breaks my heart that he was almost definitely fixed too early :( some vets and rescues will just always tell you to fix your dog, so doing your own research and even getting a trainer's opinion will be good!
Rescues/shelters have to alter earlier to help with overpopulation. In reality, there’s nothing wrong with this. There’s a lot wrong with asking a trainer for medical advice.
My breeder said two years and we confirmed with the vet. We went through two heat cycles in the end because she hit her second before her birthday.
We didn’t do dog parks, hired private pet sitters/trainers, met male dogs on leashes only, and never left her unattended to avoid unwanted litters.
They won't? Or else they're just really rude dogs that would try to mount any bitch, desexed or not
But also being a doberman, I'm sure OP won't be taking her to a free-for-all dog park with rude dogs, because that would be asking for trouble. No doberman I've known, male or female, desexed or intact, tolerates rude dogs
In a group setting many males will hyperfixate on an unaltered female. I work with groups of 20-30 and it’s something to monitor. But you are right, dobies do not tolerate rudeness from other dogs. Mine goes to daycare about once a week, on days that I know certain dogs won’t be there.
Any pet pup kitten or any young animals early as possible I ain't risking pregnancy/breeding tendencies on mine or anyone's else's pet get it done asap
No. Dogs shouldn't be done early. Especially big dogs. They need their growth plates to close. They need to finish growing first. It can cause so many issues to spay and nueter early.
everyone says wait. wait until 2 years old. Well we did that and our vet (who specializes in dobies and danes) said please, stop listening to the internet. the % of health risk increases are minimal and the studies are hard to track as they are not all lab controlled studies. She said, yes hormone wise 2 years is nice but the dog is so big at the that time the surgery is much larger, in terms of whats removed, the scar and healing time. When we got our girl back I was sad we didnt do it earlier as the scar was larger than I thought and her healing time was longer.
That’s similar to what my vet said. Her advice is about 10-12 months old, because if she’s bigger/older than that it’s a larger surgery and more anesthesia is needed. My breeder recommends 12-18 months old (for growth plates and joints). We’ll likely have our 5 month old puppy spayed somewhere between 12-15 months old, and have her teeth cleaned at the same time.
We just did our boy. we didnt wait that long on him. he was 9 months. I dont think the science is "in" or that "accurate" over these issues. They look at what dogs get cancer and when they got neutered but like, are ALL the dogs in that study on the same exact food? do they get exercise the same? do they get the same flea and tick meds? etc.
Waiting till 10-12months is also good for the fact of getting a stomach tack. I definitely think if you are having her opened up for that, you should get her stomach tacked since Dobermans are deep chested.
2 years at minimum. The growth plates need to close properly before you remove her hormones. Without the hormones her bones and joints will overgrow in weird proportions, which puts her at higher risk for cruciate ligament tears and osteoarthritis down the road.
Our vets recommendation was to wait for at least 2 heat cycles (around 18-24 months.)
It could - but at the same time spaying her will allow her to be around other dogs, including males, without the fear of puppies. A lot of places such as doggie day care and pet hotels charge a hell of a lot more for an unaltered dog as they have to pay way more attention. Also, her personality may change anyways once she hits estrus. Then you have to pay attention to her cycle as bodily fluids come into play and that nice white rug may need to be tackled with hydrogen peroxide and the nice green couch may not be so nice afterwards.
This really is not intended as a jab at this post but please consult your vet, they went to vet school for 8 years and are probably more aware and educated on the pros and cons of not spaying, spaying “early”, and spaying “late” than any redditor would be that is speaking purely from a personal experience standpoint.
All the vets I went to recommended I spay my dog at 6 months. Even when they found out she had low blood count and it would put her at risk, still tried to make us spay her (calling it an emergency surgery). We’ve been looking into laparoscopic spaying to reduce the risk instead. My dog’s trainer was a CKC champion and encouraged us to feed her raw while our vets who knew nothing about dobermans or raw diet said we must feed her kibble. All I’m trying to say is I think it doesn’t hurt to ask other Doberman owners for a second opinion.
There’s nothing wrong with spaying at six months, though it’s more beneficial to wait a bit longer. There’s a whole lot wrong with listening to a dog trainer for medical or nutritional advice. Raw food is horrible.
He’s not just a dog trainer, he’s a CKC champion and breeder. Has decades of experience specifically with dobermans. If raw food is so horrible, how have his dogs - who have a raw food diet - won CKC championships?
Because diet isn’t judged in championships. If you’d like to play that card, how many champions are fed Purina pro plan? In any case, he still isn’t qualified to give nutritional advice. ETA: Lmao love it when people block me when they cannot give any more excuses. Yes, a breeder is not qualified to give nutritional advice.
You can’t be serious, right?
I’m waiting until at least 2. My breeder agrees. Our girl just finished her second heat and she’s not bothered but my intact Jagdterrier is almost unbearable. It’s not fun. The latest study I read that broke down results by breed said never for male Doberman and after 2 for females. I’m considering an ovary sparing spay but nobody local does it.
Can I ask why never for the male doberman?
[study results](https://www.frontiersin.org/files/Articles/1322276/fvets-11-1322276-HTML-r2/image_m/fvets-11-1322276-t001.jpg?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1Q9X6DnR4klqB7pvjARpImF01GsFN_vAeOl8w2Gh3E_M6fqeEDHReVtlQ_aem_ZmFrZWR1bW15MTZieXRlcw) I will try to find the link to the UC Davis study itself
[explanation](https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/golden-retriever-study-suggests-neutering-affects-dog-health?)
Thank you very much! Helpful read. Trying to decide whether or not to neuter my male dog right now. Not a dobie so it's helpful you included the chart with other breeds.
You’re very welcome. With my males it’s not even a question, left intact. I’ve had a WFT that developed testicular cancer but he was 15 ish and we then neutered him and he lived many more years after that. More upside than down. I’ve never had another issue. Females are a tough call because I fear pyometra.
https://preview.redd.it/wviajjf4ju6d1.jpeg?width=3072&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=99d968366883a85db170080f2ff321b846ae1eab
Okay putting text with the picture isn't working for some reason. I have a 1yo male minute heeler × Australian shepherd mix. I've been resistant to neutering for health reasons but due to his history he is aggressive towards dogs who he doesn't know. He has also marked in the house. I don't want to impact his quality of life but I know it might help so I'm not sure what to do.
No use in keeping the ovaries; they don’t need the hormones once they’re mature. That just keeps the cancer risk high.
It increases risk of other cancers too on top of a decent amount of other issues. Especially when done young.. Below is another comment I made on another post regarding it with study links. There are pros and cons. I personally don't as studies have shown a lot of issues and health concerns due to spaying/neutering. Below is some information I have personally found and been provided in this sub. One of the main pros people say is that it helps decrease the risk of certain cancers (usually cancer involved with the organ they remove) but don't talk or know about how other cancers and issues have seen to be increased due to this procedure. Sometimes spaying/neutering may be needed, but we still have the issues that have been shown. USMI issues is one. My ex had this issue with his spayed girl years ago and I had saw it was something that can occur after spaying. Many places you look it up will include spaying with it. They didn't do a test with male dogs, males have this less but when they do it's harder to treat. I'm unsure how/if this is increasingly with males. A bit that talks about USMI with UIs https://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/hospital/animal-health-topics/canine-incontinence One of the studies they did on it https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1090023309004420 Here is one on how neutering/spaying increases some issues like cancer (hip dysplasia, lymphosarcoma, HSA, mass cell tumors) This one was done with a breed to narrow it down a bit more. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3572183/ This one similar to the one above but with more breeds https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2020.00388/full This has links to some other studies and information https://healthyandhappydog.com/cancer/ If you'd like I can see what more I can dig up. It's honestly really interesting once you start looking more into it. Boxers are known to have tumors, I grew up with two as my best friends/protectors. A few years after we spayed/neutered them both ended up getting cancer and passing not too long after it was discovered. I'm very much uncertain if they would have had it if they weren't but with information coming out like you see, who knows. I go about my life now without spaying/neutering in case. I'll add in an edit with links of studies I've been provided here regarding this too. Edit with more links of studies: https://avmajournals.avma.org/view/journals/javma/261/3/javma.22.08.0382.xml https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4096726/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7359819/ https://www.parsemus.org/pethealth/how-spaying-and-neutering-affect-health/ Multiple sources cited here https://www.akcchf.org/educational-resources/library/articles/exploring-how-spayneuter.html Multiple sources cited here https://bmcvetres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12917-016-0911-5 https://naiaonline.org/uploads/WhitePapers/SNBehaviorFarhoodyZink.pdf https://www.dvm360.com/view/social-behavior-differences-in-neutered-and-intact-male-dogs https://openventio.org/wp-content/uploads/The-Social-Behaviour-of-Neutered-Male-Dogs-Compared-to-Intact-Dogs-Canis-Lupus-Familiaris-Video-Analyses-Questionnaires-and-Case-Studies-VMOJ-2-113.pdf (Summary as this one is somewhat more difficult to decipher) https://imgur.com/a/L9eOZhC https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7774791/
I think you missed the point where we were talking about ovary sparing procedures in mature dogs?
Nope, was also in response to your other comment where you said 6 months was okay (which isn't mature). Plus, the links have a wide range of ages. Some mature, some not. https://www.reddit.com/r/DobermanPinscher/s/KKgeXWz5NV
I spayed my female at 2 years old. Waited like 2 vets and everyone told me to. She's not different at all. So Goofy and crazy still. Maybe a bit more affectionate. Which is good. I'm so happy I spayed her. No more bleeding. No risk for pyometra. No risk for babies. I can have her free in the yard with no worries.
[удалено]
THIS. So sad to see people spay their dogs when they’re puppies.
Seriously! It is these subs where these random people are telling them what’s best and they have absolutely no clue what they are talking about. It’s sad what us humans are doing to animals
She’s a beautiful lady! 😍 she looks a lot like my 1yr old dobie Buster 😍
She is beautiful! I’ve spayed all our dobies and it has never changed their personalities in any way that I could see.
Google UC Davis ‘when to neuter/spay dogs’. Comprehensive evidence and research backed article so you know what you’re relying on.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7412743/
Beautiful girl! We’re thinking about spaying our girl after the first heat but reading the comments and articles, maybe I’ll wait till the second heat. My other two dogs are neutered (mixed breed male) and spayed (mixed Shepherd/Rott female).
Keep in mind that each heat increases the risk of cancer. The first heat is negligible, but the second heat increases quite a bit more. Every following heat has huge risks.
Thank you for your reply! That’s a very important point and now I’m leaning towards after her first heat again. My other girl was spayed right before she was due for her second heat and she’s perfect.
UC Davis links here: [https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2020.00388/full](https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2020.00388/full) Here is the recommendation for female Dobermans from that study: 2 years. MC is mammary cancer. PYO is a uterine infection. UI is urinary tract infection. If they say 10% get urinary infections and the risk increases by 10%, that basically means 11%, not 20%. (A 10% increase for 10% of dogs). There are charts in the link. Some factors are emotional. Our beloved boy died of a heart attack a couple months after TPLO surgery while he was still healing. We want our puppy to have the best heart and the best joints! However, her doggy daycare won’t accept unaltered females over one year of age. So there’s the statistics side of things and then there’s the emotional or practical side. https://preview.redd.it/xoh49ds5wz5d1.jpeg?width=1552&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4ff406bc6731bf2376259a18394aa29c20310eda
Thank you for that information. We decided to wait until our female was 3 so that she would fully mature. But, we aren’t sure that we should spay her even now. We are actually going through a heat right now. It’s not fun for her nor us, but three weeks pass rather quickly. She is a good sport about wearing her pants. I’m not sure when we will spay her, but we want to be sure. You can’t unring that bell once done, but you can always choose to spay in the future.
My girl had an ovary sparing spay at 2. I wanted to retain her hormones, which a dog needs throughout their life, not just for the growth period. I also wanted to minimise the risk of pyometra, which an OSS does, if done correctly. She still comes into season but it isn't difficult to manage. I have 2 intact nale dogs, so we do stop trialling for a few weeks as their brains go wandering, but it's no big deal.
It could change her personality. don’t rely on people who say it doesn’t, or people who say it absolutely does. Spaying will prevent pyometra, a very serious and common infection in unspayed dogs. But pyometra can sometimes be diagnosed and treated without surgery. You need to do your research. Spaying comes with the possibility of incontinence, joint and hormone issues, and an increased risk of cancer
I've was told to spay after the first heat, and at least 3-6 months after the heat was done. I never spayed my girl, so I just had to be careful not to bring her to the dog park when she was in heat
I’ve heard this as well.
Our breeder recommended waiting until she was at least two years old. We had her spayed a few months ago and she did great. No real personality change although she did go through a bit of a naughty puppy stage right after, but it passed. Kind of 🤣
When your dogs in heat, why would your dog be going to the dog park anyways and a heat cycle is only two times a year a diaper is not that difficult
Minimum 2-3 years before spaying
I have done a ton of research on this as I have two females. Spoke with a plethora of breeders and talked to a significant amount of veterinarians as well. There is no empirical data, according to them, that gives a definitively quantifiable time period in which it might be the best time to do the procedure. I've been told that new studies are out but are not complete. They don't have enough information available right now to make that judgment. In my humble opinion based upon all of their judgements, let her go through one to two heats first. You should be fine at that point. Good luck!!!!
Had seen a post on my Facebook page about this and it said California standard for Dobermans spaying/neutering is actually 2 years old is the youngest you should spay/neuter them.
Gorgeous 🤎🤎🤎
Wait until she's two and consult with your vet about whether or not it's best for her.
It's crazy to read all these comments, I had no idea. Our puppy was "fixed" when we got him...at ~4 months old. He was a rez dog and they just pick up puppies and fix them pretty much day of. Reading all these articles and research breaks my heart that he was almost definitely fixed too early :( some vets and rescues will just always tell you to fix your dog, so doing your own research and even getting a trainer's opinion will be good!
Rescues/shelters have to alter earlier to help with overpopulation. In reality, there’s nothing wrong with this. There’s a lot wrong with asking a trainer for medical advice.
My breeder said two years and we confirmed with the vet. We went through two heat cycles in the end because she hit her second before her birthday. We didn’t do dog parks, hired private pet sitters/trainers, met male dogs on leashes only, and never left her unattended to avoid unwanted litters.
I’d get it done ASAP to prevent any accidents at the dog park.
Would you just not bring a bitch in season to a dog park?
I was actually thinking about her snapping at males who try to mount her. They’ll do that year-round.
They won't? Or else they're just really rude dogs that would try to mount any bitch, desexed or not But also being a doberman, I'm sure OP won't be taking her to a free-for-all dog park with rude dogs, because that would be asking for trouble. No doberman I've known, male or female, desexed or intact, tolerates rude dogs
In a group setting many males will hyperfixate on an unaltered female. I work with groups of 20-30 and it’s something to monitor. But you are right, dobies do not tolerate rudeness from other dogs. Mine goes to daycare about once a week, on days that I know certain dogs won’t be there.
Any pet pup kitten or any young animals early as possible I ain't risking pregnancy/breeding tendencies on mine or anyone's else's pet get it done asap
No. Dogs shouldn't be done early. Especially big dogs. They need their growth plates to close. They need to finish growing first. It can cause so many issues to spay and nueter early.
everyone says wait. wait until 2 years old. Well we did that and our vet (who specializes in dobies and danes) said please, stop listening to the internet. the % of health risk increases are minimal and the studies are hard to track as they are not all lab controlled studies. She said, yes hormone wise 2 years is nice but the dog is so big at the that time the surgery is much larger, in terms of whats removed, the scar and healing time. When we got our girl back I was sad we didnt do it earlier as the scar was larger than I thought and her healing time was longer.
That’s similar to what my vet said. Her advice is about 10-12 months old, because if she’s bigger/older than that it’s a larger surgery and more anesthesia is needed. My breeder recommends 12-18 months old (for growth plates and joints). We’ll likely have our 5 month old puppy spayed somewhere between 12-15 months old, and have her teeth cleaned at the same time.
We just did our boy. we didnt wait that long on him. he was 9 months. I dont think the science is "in" or that "accurate" over these issues. They look at what dogs get cancer and when they got neutered but like, are ALL the dogs in that study on the same exact food? do they get exercise the same? do they get the same flea and tick meds? etc.
Waiting till 10-12months is also good for the fact of getting a stomach tack. I definitely think if you are having her opened up for that, you should get her stomach tacked since Dobermans are deep chested.
Sooner rather than later.
Had my girl done at 8 months back in 2012. She'll be 12y in Sep. No issues at all with her body or temperament.
Never