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audbowser · Jul 18, 2008, 05:35 PM

We have a 2 1/2 pound chihuahua that was born on October 19th, 2007. She is about 9 months old. We didn't know if spaying her would be a good thing since she is so small. We think she is in heat for the first time. Her genitals are swollen and she is licking a lot. Is 9months normal age for a chihuahua to go into heat for the first time? She does not go outside so there's no chance of pregnancy. Is it too late to get her spayed now that she has already gone into heat? We were told by friends that you can't spay a dog before 1 year old or it's dangerous because they aren't fully developed. We already have an appt at the end of aug for a checkup, we haven't had her to a vet yet, the vet we use is very busy and we made the aug appt back in April when she was 5 months old, they asked us then if we were going to spay her and we said we would decide by the time of the appt. what do you think? Should we get her fixed? Is there a huge risk because of her small size? I'm reading all these future problems that happen to unspayed female dogs. We would be devastated if something happened during the surgery, but we want her to be as healthy as possible. We had an 85lb german shepard/golden retriever before the chihuahua and she was already fixed when we got her from the humane society. Snoopy is in great health, she is a full bred with a good pedigree, the breeder we got her from was a vet and made sure she received all her shots , etc. I'm hoping someone out there has also gone through this with a small dog. She is so loving and laid back, we've only heard her bark 5 or 6 times and she is just he best behaved dog you'd ever see. We wonder if spaying her will change her behavior for the worst? If anyone has any advice please let me know!! My email address is [email protected]
Thanks so very much...
Xoxoxoxo
Audrey and Snoopy

N0help4u · Jul 18, 2008, 05:42 PM

What Petsmart told me was you should get your dog spayed between second heat and 6 years old. They say spaying a pet makes them calmer

sandra6 · Jul 18, 2008, 05:49 PM

Hi I think you have to wait until they have their first season before you get her spayed. If she is not likely to get pregnant can I ask why you are thinking about doing it. I had a female springer before I've never got her spayed. I did'nt want her to change either. I think it all depends on the dog themselves. My mom and nan had 3 chihuahuas, one of my moms dogs was really nice I loved her, the other was true to the word ha ha. She never had them spayed either. But I'm sure you have to wait a while I hope I've helped.

N0help4u · Jul 18, 2008, 06:01 PM

The vet told me they are more likely to get cancer if they are not spayed by 6 yrs old

sandra6 · Jul 18, 2008, 06:12 PM

I must say I've never heard that one before, none of my dogs had cancer and they lived to 15 years old.. I might be wrong but I think they might say that because of all the unwanted dogs in the world. Just another queston if that was right what happens to the breeders of dogs, Like I said I might be completely wrong.

sandra6 · Jul 18, 2008, 06:16 PM

I've just checked out a website. It says you can spay a dog three months after their first season. And yes you are right it can help reduce can cancer. It doesn't mean they will get it though. Sorry nohelp4u if I offended you

sandra6 · Jul 18, 2008, 06:20 PM

Hi me again there is website called dogs trust: information and it tells you everything you need to know about spaying you dog.

froggy7 · Jul 18, 2008, 09:16 PM

The general rule of thumb is that spaying before 1 year reduces the risk of mammary cancer by the largest amount. Doing it at a later time reduces the risk, but not as much, until you reach a point where it doesn't really matter.

From http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body..._canine_.html: The risk of cancer is essentially 0 if spayed before the first heat, 7% if after the first heat, and 25% in unspayed females allowed to experience multiple heats.