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based on your study whats the best age for females

Posted by rastajaguares on 28 Jul 2014 at 20:16 GMT

Hello, thanks for sharing this information, I have been doing some research myself on the internet, I recently got a labrador puppy, and I believe the info you found on golden retrievers its applicable to labradors, in my case my dog is in great health condition, however my vet is pushing to have her spayed, I believe at 5 months old may be too soon, and your investigation seems to confirm that, of course I am looking for the best option for my dog, which seems to be something in the middle, wouldn't you agree? so my question here is, talking about labradors o golden retriever, on female side of business, is there a recommended age for spaying if any?

thanks for your help

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RE: based on your study whats the best age for females

blhart replied to rastajaguares on 31 Jul 2014 at 16:17 GMT

Thanks for being being concerned about the long-term health effects of early spaying. Our new paper in this journal, found at this doi, 10.1371/journal.pone.0102241, compares the Golden with the Labrador Retriever. Our data, presented in the paper shows that spaying female Labs before 6 mo., and indeed before 1 year of age, significantly doubles the risk of the dog acquiring at least one joint disorder. Hip dysplasia is the main joint disorder affected. So I suggest your delay the spay until your female is a year of age. You will see in this new paper that mammary cancer is not increased in incidence by delaying spaying until the female is at least a year of age.

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