# Spaying a 6 month old puppy?



## nunchi95 (Apr 9, 2020)

Hello! My vet suggested that I should spay my poodle puppy at 6 months to prevent any problems, but I know she's far from reaching the maturity at 6 months, would there be any problems if I spayed her before reaching the maturity and coming in heat? I wouldn't like to have her come in heat because I know it will be a lot to deal with. What should I do?


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

Welcome! Peggy suffered from puppy vaginitis, and if I'd spayed her when my vet wanted to, her vulva would have never fully matured and she could have suffered infections and irritation her whole life. With her first heat cycle, it's like her vulva "popped out" and I can see why this is important. 

You have a standard poodle? There are also reasons to spay medium and large dogs later than small breeds. They take longer to mature and are more prone to joint issues. You want their bones to fully develop before turning off those hormones, otherwise you can end up with a more fragile, long-legged poodle.

Of course, there are also those who argue that the benefits of early spaying outweigh the risks. So you must weigh these pros and cons and decide for yourself. Pyometra is a very real concern with unspayed females who are not bred during a heat cycle.


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## nunchi95 (Apr 9, 2020)

PeggyTheParti said:


> Welcome! Peggy suffered from puppy vaginitis, and if I'd spayed her when my vet wanted to, her vulva would have never fully matured and she could have suffered infections and irritation her whole life. With her first heat cycle, it's like her vulva "popped out" and I can see why this is important.
> 
> You have a standard poodle? There are also reasons to spay medium and large dogs later than small breeds. They take longer to mature and are more prone to joint issues. You want their bones to fully develop before turning off those hormones, otherwise you can end up with a more fragile, long-legged poodle.
> 
> ...


She is a toy poodle of the size of an oversized mini; she's just 15 weeks now so I still have time to think about this but I thought I should ask here for some opinions.


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## Raindrops (Mar 24, 2019)

The health risks of early spay are much greater with a standard poodle than the smaller varieties, but the miniatures for sure are still not done growing at 6 months. It is a bit old fashioned for vets to suggest it that early. But some also still recommend it simply because they are used to dealing with irresponsible pet owners that cannot be trusted with sexually mature pets. For me, I would rather wait for both physical and mental maturity before spay. But you have to weigh your ability to deal with it. Many people opt to let them go through one heat cycle before spaying so that they can mature, but it is something you have to decide for yourself given your circumstances.


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

nunchi95 said:


> She is a toy poodle of the size of an oversized mini; she's just 15 weeks now so I still have time to think about this but I thought I should ask here for some opinions.


Not to say this was the right thing to do, but I spayed my mini around 6 months with no issue. She was about 8 lbs at the time, and fully mature at about 10.5 lbs.

(This was 15 years ago and early spay was normal. We know more now about the risks.)


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## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

I did a lot of research before spaying my toy (6 pounds) and decided the best option for her health and growth was to do it after her first heat. She was in heat around 12 months so was spayed at 14 months. The vet wanted to do it at 6 months and my contract stated it had to be done before 12 months but I got an extension and approval from the breeder to do it a little later.

I would never spay a six months old.


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## nunchi95 (Apr 9, 2020)

Dechi said:


> I did a lot of research before spaying my toy (6 pounds) and decided the best option for her health and growth was to do it after her first heat. She was in heat around 12 months so was spaying at 14 months. The vet wanted to do it at 6 months and my contract stated it had to be done before 12 months but I got an extension and approval from the breeder to do it a little later.
> 
> I would never spay a six months old.


I did some research earlier and came to the conclusion that it might be better to wait until after her first heat


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