At Wednesday, 17 July 2002, you wrote: >Any drawbacks to spaying prior to the first heat, or is it better to spay >after the first season? I'd like some opinions. thank you.... >
Pam: This is based on what I have learned about sussex and labs (I know a few lab breeders), so take it with a grain of salt. I was always told that in terms of pure health, spay early because before the first season, the risk of certain disease like breast cancer and of course, pyo, go to almost zero (well, zero for pyo). Males have similar benefits with prostate and testicular cancers and neutering. However, I have also learned (and seen with my own eyes) that early spaying can affect the dog's general shape -- early spaying/neutering can make bones longer and thinner. Sussex who were speutered early become more "field spaniel-like". Show labs can look more like field dogs. For some people, they prefer the dog finish growing before speutering so that the structure isn't impacted. How old are Cavs when they first go into season? How much growing do they usually do after that age? Patti Robinson [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.floppydog.org/ ========================================================= "Magic Commands": to stop receiving mail for awhile, click here and send the email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20NOMAIL to start it up gain click here: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20MAIL E-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] for assistance. Search the Archives... http://apple.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ckcs-l.html All e-mail sent through CKCS-L is Copyright 2002 by its original author.
