HELP!! I need advice/opinions on when to spay!

Corine Pesantes

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I have 14 week old EBD siblings. One male and one female. We are going to wait to neuter our male until he's a year old, but I'm just not sure about when to spay our girl. My vet recommends to wait until she's atleast 6 months and preferably after her first heat. Her stance is that it would help with her (slightly) hooded vulva and the issue with bladder control, and hormone levels. BUT- she would honor whatever I choose. I know the chance of cancer is almost eliminated by doing it before the first heat, but I don't want her to have leaking problems either. Then the other issue- our male. Im not sure I even want to deal with him while she's in her heat.
I want to do what's best for Penny- but within what will be more manageable in the home as well. Any and all advice and experiences would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you!!
 

2BullyMama

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We had Banks spay at 6 mths ... Before she went into heat
 

Texas Carol

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Do you have friends/ family/ neighbors to take your Male
while she's in heat?

Had a friend with a female Weimy with same issues of vulva,
her Vet also suggested waiting until after 1st heat. She did
and her dog never had other issues w/ infections or leakage.

For me, I like to wait until Males have developed bone & muscle
mass (protection from bone cancer & injuries) before neutering,
at least a year old or more for bullies.

Best of luck!
 
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Corine Pesantes

Corine Pesantes

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Do you have friends/ family/ neighbors to take your Male
while she's in heat?

Had a friend with a female Weimy with same issues of vulva,
her Vet also suggested waiting until after 1st heat. She did
and her dog never had other issues w/ infections or leakage.

For me, I like to wait until Males have developed bone & muscle
mass (protection from bone cancer & injuries) before neutering,
at least a year old or more for bullies.

Best of luck!

We don't have anyone that I would be willing to take him for that long- shoot, I don't think I'd want him gone that long. Lol. We always wipe her anyway, and it's not severe. I think wherever she is at her 6 month mark is what will happen. I'm leaning towards spaying her before her first heat- but wait until 6 months. If by chance she goes into heat- then I have no choice but to wait. Lol.
 

2BullyMama

I'm not OCD....now who moved my bulldog?
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have you had any issues with bladder or her hormones out of whack? This is what I leaning towards I think.

No..., she did have issue with too much skin/tissue in her girly area and our vet told us at a few months old she would need a vulvoplasty (more common than you'd think in all breeds) to lessen the chances of bladder/UTI issues. she lived a very good 9 yrs.... her issues were all related to arthitis in her spine and allergies
 

Donnam

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I had Winnie spayed before her first heat. She hasn't had any leakage problems yet. My last boxer, Lily was spayed after her first heat and she did develop a leakage problem--just a little leaking at night when she was asleep. Out of all my females who were spayed, two developed leakage. And they were both spayed after first heat. There is a medicine they prescribe for that--it's a hormone--and it worked great for my girls. What I'm saying is that in my experience it doesn't seem to matter concerning the leaking. I've had six girls (boxers and Bulldogs), some spayed before and some spayed after first heat, that did not develop any leakage.

Just my experience, but it will make you crazy if Penny goes into heat and Lockjaw is at home. I've done it and it's terrible!! [MENTION=14682]Corine Pesantes[/MENTION]
 
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Corine Pesantes

Corine Pesantes

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I had Winnie spayed before her first heat. She hasn't had any leakage problems yet. My last boxer, Lily was spayed after her first heat and she did develop a leakage problem--just a little leaking at night when she was asleep. Out of all my females who were spayed, two developed leakage. And they were both spayed after first heat. There is a medicine they prescribe for that--it's a hormone--and it worked great for my girls. What I'm saying is that in my experience it doesn't seem to matter concerning the leaking. I've had six girls (boxers and Bulldogs), some spayed before and some spayed after first heat, that did not develop any leakage.

Just my experience, but it will make you crazy if Penny goes into heat and Lockjaw is at home. I've done it and it's terrible!! [MENTION=14682]Corine Pesantes[/MENTION]

Thank you so much! I've been leaning more towards before her first heat. They are a handful now together at 3 1/2 months. I can only image how it'll be If she's in heat and trying to keep Lockjaw away from her. He's not an overzealous barker- but, if there's something he wants, he'll definitely let you know. Lol. We're going to wait until she's 6months. How old were your girls when they were spayed?
 

Donnam

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Thank you so much! I've been leaning more towards before her first heat. They are a handful now together at 3 1/2 months. I can only image how it'll be If she's in heat and trying to keep Lockjaw away from her. He's not an overzealous barker- but, if there's something he wants, he'll definitely let you know. Lol. We're going to wait until she's 6months. How old were your girls when they were spayed?

Well, my first bully Daisy went thru one heat and then we had her spayed before the second. Rosie was my second and she went thru the first heat and we had her spayed before the second one, just like Daisy. You know, both of those girls I would probably have had both of them spayed before their first heats--they just snuck up on me! Annie was spayed at 6 months and Winnie was spayed at 7 months, both of those girls before the first heat. None of my bullies ever had any leakage problems. One of my boxers did and she was spayed after her first heat. I had an intact male boxer when she was in heat and it was awful--and that craziness lasts for 3 weeks! And it's really messy too. Your babies are adorable! I bet they are a riot!
 
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Corine Pesantes

Corine Pesantes

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Well, my first bully Daisy went thru one heat and then we had her spayed before the second. Rosie was my second and she went thru the first heat and we had her spayed before the second one, just like Daisy. You know, both of those girls I would probably have had both of them spayed before their first heats--they just snuck up on me! Annie was spayed at 6 months and Winnie was spayed at 7 months, both of those girls before the first heat. None of my bullies ever had any leakage problems. One of my boxers did and she was spayed after her first heat. I had an intact male boxer when she was in heat and it was awful--and that craziness lasts for 3 weeks! And it's really messy too. Your babies are adorable! I bet they are a riot!

Thank you! They are a mess! They puppy play 99%of the time! When they take it too far I have to alternate who goes in the x-pen to give them a few minutes from one another. Lol - my biggest obstacle right now is potty training. Lockjaw was about 90% trained when we brought Penny home- now he seems to be regressing a little bit. He pooped in the x-pen today and he hasn't pooped in the house since the day we brought him home (2 months ago). Penny was kept in a raised kennel, so we had to start from scratch with her. Crate training has been exhausting. She does well in there- but she poops- almost everyday. I even waking up in the middle of the night to take her out. Another thing is that it takes her FOREVER to poop after they eat. She's on the same food from the breeder, and she was fed about the same time I feed them. But she's just not pooping as fast/ often as Lockjaw. She is a VERY sweet, docile little girl though - except with her brother, she doesn't take any of his crap. LMBO!
 

2BullyMama

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Thank you! They are a mess! They puppy play 99%of the time! When they take it too far I have to alternate who goes in the x-pen to give them a few minutes from one another. Lol - my biggest obstacle right now is potty training. Lockjaw was about 90% trained when we brought Penny home- now he seems to be regressing a little bit. He pooped in the x-pen today and he hasn't pooped in the house since the day we brought him home (2 months ago). Penny was kept in a raised kennel, so we had to start from scratch with her. Crate training has been exhausting. She does well in there- but she poops- almost everyday. I even waking up in the middle of the night to take her out. Another thing is that it takes her FOREVER to poop after they eat. She's on the same food from the breeder, and she was fed about the same time I feed them. But she's just not pooping as fast/ often as Lockjaw. She is a VERY sweet, docile little girl though - except with her brother, she doesn't take any of his crap. LMBO!

Sounds like you have a little spitfire in her! Have you started to transition her to Lockjaw food yet?
 
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Corine Pesantes

Corine Pesantes

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Sounds like you have a little spitfire in her! Have you started to transition her to Lockjaw food yet?

They both eat the same food from the breeder. It's Victor 24/20 high energy. Today has been good so far! No poop in her kennel since yesterday morning! Woohoo!!!! Let's just pray this continues! Lol
 

2BullyMama

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Donnam

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Thank you! They are a mess! They puppy play 99%of the time! When they take it too far I have to alternate who goes in the x-pen to give them a few minutes from one another. Lol - my biggest obstacle right now is potty training. Lockjaw was about 90% trained when we brought Penny home- now he seems to be regressing a little bit. He pooped in the x-pen today and he hasn't pooped in the house since the day we brought him home (2 months ago). Penny was kept in a raised kennel, so we had to start from scratch with her. Crate training has been exhausting. She does well in there- but she poops- almost everyday. I even waking up in the middle of the night to take her out. Another thing is that it takes her FOREVER to poop after they eat. She's on the same food from the breeder, and she was fed about the same time I feed them. But she's just not pooping as fast/ often as Lockjaw. She is a VERY sweet, docile little girl though - except with her brother, she doesn't take any of his crap. LMBO!

I understand what you're going thru with Penny. My first 3 bullies were a dream to potty train. None of them ever had more than two accidents in the house EVER, which led me to believe that Bulldogs were the easiest dogs in the world to house train. Silly me! Then came Winnie. She never pooped after eating at all, and she pooped about 5 times a day! She wasn't completely house trained until she was 8 months. She does fine now unless we have a bunch of people over. I guess she's having so much fun entertaining everyone that she doesn't want to go outside to pee, and she will pee on the floor. I also quit feeding her 3 times a day as soon as the vet said it was okay to cut down on the amount of times she pooped.

What would be helpful for you to do is to keep a record of the times of day that she poops. If she poops in the crate, just jot down the time. You should see a pattern after a few days--hopefully! Then start taking her out at those times and start watching her closely before those times for any signs that she's fixing to go. Hang in there--she'll get it!
 
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Corine Pesantes

Corine Pesantes

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I understand what you're going thru with Penny. My first 3 bullies were a dream to potty train. None of them ever had more than two accidents in the house EVER, which led me to believe that Bulldogs were the easiest dogs in the world to house train. Silly me! Then came Winnie. She never pooped after eating at all, and she pooped about 5 times a day! She wasn't completely house trained until she was 8 months. She does fine now unless we have a bunch of people over. I guess she's having so much fun entertaining everyone that she doesn't want to go outside to pee, and she will pee on the floor. I also quit feeding her 3 times a day as soon as the vet said it was okay to cut down on the amount of times she pooped.

What would be helpful for you to do is to keep a record of the times of day that she poops. If she poops in the crate, just jot down the time. You should see a pattern after a few days--hopefully! Then start taking her out at those times and start watching her closely before those times for any signs that she's fixing to go. Hang in there--she'll get it!

The hardest thing right now is that my husband and I both work and my girls are in school. I got off of work early yesterday and was home by 3 (instead of the usual 5) and her kennel was poop free - ����! When we got Lockjaw I planned that out much better. Lol It was summer so my girls were home with him for a month. With Penny it was kind of a last minute decision to get her. We have a long weekend this weekend though, so we'll have 3 good days to try to get her is a good direction. I talked to one of the dog trainers at PetSmart yesterday about it and she said to add in a high value treat that she will only get when going potty outside. So, I started that. She still isn't going to the door like Lockjaw, but we also take them out every 30/45 minutes anyway. Lockjaw goes ALL THE TIME- but it seems Penny could go longer between outside breaks. She hasn't had an accident today (and actually DID poop after she ate this morning-lol). With time and patience I'm confident she will get it though. I wondering if I should start putting her into the x-pen and Lockjaw in the kennel since she thinks it's OK to go in her kennel. But i don't want to confuse her at the same time.
I really love this forum! I've learned so much just from reading other forum topics, posts and replys!! Thank you for your reply! It makes me feel better to know that it's not just me that has some of these issues. Lol and that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. At the end of the day I love these 2 monsters!! They melt my heart!
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