I am in a dilemma, my research told me to wait until my standard poodle girl is one year old then spay her; while some other professional opinions are to spay her after her first heat, which my girl was on since last week, and she is only 6 month old. Purebred Standard poodle. What should I really do? I am a first time dog owner, and I did take my girl to u leashed dog parks in the past two weeks but I don’t recall any dog ever mounted her. Please share with ur professional knowledge. Thanks

Updated On August 12th, 2018

Pet's info: Dog | Poodle | Female | spayed | 6 months and 1 day old | 36 lbs

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

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My professional opinion is to spay Coco now. As I explained in your other post, the risk of mammary tumors jumps from 0.8% to 8% if you spay her after her first heat, but then makes a massive jump to 25% if you spay her after her second heat. Keep in mind as well that 50% of mammary tumors in dogs are malignant. Should you wait until she is a year, you are risking her going into heat a second time, thus increasing the risk of mammary tumors. While some people say to spay after a year due to growth issues, the research on that is inconclusive. The research on the risk of mammary tumors is conclusive and proven. I would spay her as soon as her heat is over. I hope this helps!

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