[Dailydrool] more questions about spaying

[Cblatz]

Hi Deb,

I know I one of the lone voices out there but here goes anyway.
.
First, I am not against spaying and neutering.  If your girl is not going to show and/or bred she should be spayed.  It will make your life easier in the long term.

I AM AGAINST SPAYING BABIES!!!!!

Removing hormones from babies is disgusting to me.   Would you do a hysterectomy on a 5 year old child??

 It is More then growth plates not knowing when to close.  (I have a beagle and a basset who were spayed at 6 months, and yes both are much taller then their non-spayed counterparts.    

More important  is the dog's long term overall health  that concerns me.   

With 1 in 4 dogs getting Cancer, plus all the allergies and other problems we see in dogs I can't advocate removing body parts and hormones before an animal is mature.   (Poor nutrition and over vaccination also are a mature problem for the health of our dogs)

Your vet may recommend 6 months but mine actually advocate waiting until they are a year old for proper growth and health.   I have 4 intact bitches and none of them came into their first season before 8 months.  2 waited until 10 months.
I have a fenced yard and also have intact males.
In 6 years of showing and having intact animals I have never had an "oops" litter.  And my males and females are of 2 different breeds.

Some on the list are talking as if heat cycles are something terrible for the girls to endure.
Granted your not going to want to walk your baby through the neighborhood while she is in season, but she will be able to go out in the yard or out on a flexi if you don't have a fence.    Just stay on your property and surpervise her.    I have never had a stray dog trying to get into my fence.
My 2 intact Basset bitches keep themselves so clean, I barely notice they are dripping and have never had to "diaper" them.  (One of my dachshunds is another story).

Most European dogs do not get spayed or neutered (elective surgery) and they have very little problems with excess litters.   

You waiting until Zoe is 12 or 18 months old is not going to contribute to the unwanted puppy problem unless you let it.   That is such a silly argument for early  Spay/Neuter.  
 And girls only want a male for maybe 5 days out of their whole cycle while they are actually ovulating.   

It amazes me that people scream about docking tails and cropping ears as cruel, but think it is perfectly okay to do major elective surgery to spay a baby.

Let your puppy grow up.  Give her the oppurtunity to grow into the beautiful healthy basset she was meant to be.   Assuming you are a responsible dog owner there will be  plenty of time to spay her. 

Cathy
www.summerhilldachshundsandbassets.com




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