Just six weeks ago at the end of August, I reported that thanks to Marie at The Little Pod Foundation our two latest rescues Suzy and Mum were spayed. When we took them in they had both just recovered from their respective and synchronised seasons and there was little doubt that bith were pregnant. Both have fully recovered from the operations and are now integrated into our pack.
I was asked why I hadnt had our puppy Sophie spayed at the same time and my reply at the time was that there was no urgency for her; she'sonly little compared with the rest of the pack and needed time to fully develop. It hadn't occurred to me that perhaps spaying would not have been an option anyway.
I guessed at the time that I probably had around six weeks to 2 months to save up for Sophies op.
In the UK, vets recommend spaying for all non-breeding bitches at age 6 months; this is also the case in the USA where some bitches are spayed even as young as 6 weeks. (Pediatric Spaying.)
Marie caught that post and pointed out that her vet wouldn't spay any bitch until after her first season. Which set me thinking... I contacted my UK vet a gentleman I have known for over 20 years and trust implicitly. he reiterated that spaying at six months is not a problem and that indeed spaying before a first season removes virtually all risk of mammary cancer later in life. I then asked the question of by regular Spanish vet, the same guy that performed the ops on Suzy and Mum and he concurred with Marie's vet. "No spay until after the first season is complete and any pregnancy resulting from that first season can be dealt with at the same time."
On Friday evening Sophie began 'spotting...' having been around dogs for almost all my life I recognised this as the first sign of the onset of her first season. I called Summer (now on a working holiday in the UK) to let her know and she was insistent that I take her to the vets for confirmation. So on Saturday I took her to the surgery along with Izzy our greyhound who needed her claws clipped. The vet very quickly confirmed the onset of a season... and told me '"You can expect the spotting to last for about another week and then the season begins properly and should last for another two weeks or so..." And so it begins...
Regular readers of my ramblings will know that I have 9 dogs in a very small house, no garden and very limited outside space. The pack of which Sophie is a part comprises 4 spayed females (Izzy, the Alpha Female and ultimate boss, Sox, Suzy and Mum) and 4 very horny un-neutered males (Leo the Saluki the Alpha Male boss dog, Fred, Spike and Scruffy). Trying to isolate and monitor Sophie 24/7 for three weeks is going to be quite impossible...
Things are ramping up quickly; Scruffy in particular is taking note... a shame really because of the four males he is probably most inoffensive, and unfortunately for him totally unable to do anything about Sophies urges. He has a birth defect that makes it impossible for him to 'have sex. (Details in a previous post.) Spike and Fred are following her around like lost souls.Leo hasnt noticed yet...
So the next three weeks or so are going to be difficult to say the least.. interesting but difficult.