Gundog Training Forum

Interesting link....And probably more representative than my mottly crew..

http://www.markelliott.co.uk/Mark_Ellio ... _Dogs.html

This is the result of a ten minute going over with a Mars Coat King of my only surviving spayed bitch, Fizz ( who was spayed at 11.5 years old because of Pyometra and is now 13) she looked like a giant puff ball before I started...Mind you now the temperature has dropped to well below freezing I maybe shoulda left her.



You could knit a puppy from that little lot.

I remain unconvinced of the benefits and I guess because we only have bitches that probably makes my decision easier...

Rascal

Must say that most of my workers are boys. The bitches are hard work.

Rascal wrote:Interesting link....And probably more representative than my mottly crew..

http://www.markelliott.co.uk/Mark_Ellio ... _Dogs.html

This is the result of a ten minute going over with a Mars Coat King of my only surviving spayed bitch, Fizz ( who was spayed at 11.5 years old because of Pyometra and is now 13) she looked like a giant puff ball before I started...Mind you now the temperature has dropped to well below freezing I maybe shoulda left her.



You could knit a puppy from that little lot.

I remain unconvinced of the benefits and I guess because we only have bitches that probably makes my decision easier...

Rascal

Thanks for posting link rascal, most interesting read. If those statistics are correct and if the potential problems are correct then personally I see no reason whatsoever to spey a bitch. Even if you had concerns about the obvious risk of unwanted pregnancy surely whatever your lifestyle and living arrangement for the dog something can be done to protect against it for what is a relatively short time.
I am glad that I dragged my heals with a decision on this and researched it fully because if I had done it and then read the comments on this thread incl your link I would have been devastated and guilt ridden.

This is only my opinion and it matters not to me what others do as I am sure there are justifiable reasons depending on how you interpret the data.

Just an aside, I have had five bitches spayed since 1970, one Collie/Ess and four German Shorthaired Pointers and not one got a woolly coat or put weight on. Maybe only certain breeds of dogs get woolly coats as a result of spaying and the weight control is easily done by owners.

This is not a plea for spaying, just sayin' !

Jelinga wrote:Maybe only certain breeds of dogs get woolly coats as a result of spaying

I wonder whether it actually might be even more refined even than just breed.

I've had my bitch spayed, and hands up I did it before I realised that I should research my own choices and not blithely follow what others told me to do. So first off, thumbs up to IPS for actually looking into it properly.

Mine's a liver cocker spaniel and was spayed after her first season. My friend also has a cocker spaniel, in the black flavour. She had her bitch spayed after her first season too. My bitch is as woolly as they come, she looks like a fluff ball. She gets a clip every 4 months or so to take it all off. My friend's bitch has the most beautiful shiny coat and has never needed to be trimmed.

Maybe it's something in the genetics of the coat type

FWIW IPS, my boy is entire and I have no plans to neuter him unless medically necessary. And were I to be lucky enough to have another dog, I'd not neuter it either ... again, unless medically necessary.

Short-coated breeds tend not to get woolly, most Spaniels and the longer coated breeds like Flatcoats, Goldies, Setters, etc., go woolly. Some say it also depends on when they are spayed as to how woolly they get, not sure on that one. I do think it depends on the coat type to a degree, one of my Cockers is woolly without being done and one is so short coated I doubt spaying would have had much effect. Certainly liver Cockers and Flatcoats go 'oribble after spaying and some go 'orrible anyway!

Friends of mine have Flatcoats who have been spayed and non of them went woolly The Flatcoats that is, not the friends!

PS, their brains might have gone woolly through owning Flatcoats

And choose a vet who uses the keyhole method of speying, much less traumatic for the bitch.

Just seen this;
http://speakingforspot.com/blog/2016/03 ... ring-dogs/

I didn't find it very clear but its worth persevering with, some interesting statistics.

Spayed girls tend to become somewhat incontinent especially in the later years of their life. Drugs can control continence but sometimes have side effects. I choose not to spay because of incontinence issues.