When to spay

[cjthomps]

I have an English Springer Spaniel and she's right at six months old. I have heard that a pup has to be at least 6 months old to get her fixed. I am going to get her spayed, as I'm not set up to raise pups right now.

Is there a minimum age to get a pup fixed? Is there a timeframe window? I'd like to have it done before her first heat, as my vet said that reduces the risk of cancer later on in life. Should I make the appointment ASAP or wait a couple of months?

[CAJ]

I would have it done before she goes into heat. I've had at least 4 females, and had them all spayed before heat cycle. Sure takes care of a lot of worries about the other dogs around the area to. CAJ

[Tripleplay]

Our vet clinic sent us a reminder when my new lab turned 6 months with an estimated cost sheet based on her last weight on record. I have always had our dogs spayed at about 6-7 months so this fit into my expectations. My problem was it was smack dab in hunting season and so I talked to the place where my dog trains and where I got her from. He stated that only about 10% of females will go into heat before 1 year of age so he felt I had some leeway to work with.

I kept her hunting and training and just had her spayed two weeks ago at the age of 10 months. I also wanted to avoid her going into heat for the cancer reasons you mentioned.

I don't think you have to do this ASAP, but each dog is different and your female may fall into the 10% number my breeder mentioned. Not sure if that number is scientifically accurate or based on his experiences.