Desexing female rotti

Question
I have a twelve week old female rotti and what to have her desexed the problem is I don't know whether to do it before or after her first season, can you tell me the pros  and cons of both?

Answer
Hi Kym,

Your puppy will get the most health benefits from being spayed (desexed) if the procedure is done BEFORE the onset of her first heat cycle.  

Generally the age of the pet will be between 4 - 6 months of age. The statistics show that if a female dog is spayed before her first heat she has less than a 0.5 %chance of developing breast cancer. That compares to an 8% chance after the first heat and a 26% chance after two heat cycles.

A spayed female dog has a reduced risk of diabetes mellitus due to the reduction in hormone levels that occurs due to spaying. An unsprayed female dog is at a higher risk of certain types of uterine infection. One of the most serious is pyometra which can be life-threatening.

If your dog is going to be a companion animal rather than a breeding animal, then there are no benefits to allowing her to have a litter or to go through a heat period.

Many veterinarians have started to perform spay and neuter surgeries on pets as young as 6 - 8 weeks of age. These surgeries have been performed on young puppies for many years without any health problems developing later in life.

Talk to your vet regarding the age to spay that's right for your dog.

Read more about spaying your dog here:

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=2&cat=1625&articleid=926

Best of luck,
Patti