spaying

Question
Our toy poodle is probably in heat.  She is 8 months old.   I do not plan to breed.  When should I spay her?  What are the dangers ( other than pregnancy) if I wait until she is over one year old .   Is she at higher risk for cancer?

Answer
Your big concern now should be getting her safely through her heat cycle.  If she manages to get loose, pregnancy is not the worst result.  This from a strong spay/neuter advocate.  All sorts of things can happen, dashing across the street in front of a car, infection from a casual breeding, injury by a large male, attack by larger females, eaten by a coyote, who knows.  Be prepared for escape attempts you would never imagine.  It is so easy for her to dart out the door.  Do not leave her alone outside in even the most secure fence.  Bathing or swimming at this time can bring infections.

Most vets won't spay her until she is done and back to normal.  I would go with your vet's recommendation on the best time.  I don't and I doubt many others can say how much waiting until after she is a year old to spay her increases her chances of cancer.  The biggest danger is putting off too long, and suddenly 6 months later, she is coming into heat again.  

Let me reassure you that the large dog guide school I raise puppies for, doesn't spay their females until after a year.  NOBODY has more experience and incentive to produce dogs with a long active life.  They can't afford to be training any more dogs to replace ones that have cancer than they have to.  They routinely wait until after the dogs begin their training at a year old to spay/neuter them.  This gives them 300-400 dogs to select the very best as breeding stock.  If it made much difference, they would at least spay many of them.  

It was a mistake not to do her at 4-6 months.  If you safely get her through the next few weeks, you will have gone through an unnecessary hassle, but you haven't seriously increased her chances of cancer.  I want to thank you for being a caring, responsible pet owner even if you slipped up a little.