Dog spaying - shall i do it ?

[curiousity]

hi all, my little dog is 3 yrs old and the vet has advised me to get her spayed. she is quite an anti-social dog to others - although she loves me. the vet is scared of her, the groomers refuse to do her anymore as she is very anxious and tries to bite anyone strange who touches her. I am not sure wether spaying her will help her aggressive tendencies or make her worse. is it good for the dog to be spayed or not.... help

[lankeela]

Spaying wll not alter her behaviour in that respect - that is only something that might possibly be achieved through a training and socialisation programme.

The one thing it will do without doubt is ensure that this temperament is never passed on to any offspring - so I would go ahead.

The medical reasons for spaying are also important - a spayed bitch will never get pyometra or develop mammary tumours.

[kita1]

The first thing I would do is to try and see if you can get into a good dog training/behaviour class. If the vet is scared of her it is going to be very difficult to treat her for any illness she may have in her lifetime. I have had GSD's that did not like strangers (one was a rescue bitch) and she had to be muzzled everytime she went to the vets. This made life extremely difficult, especially when she had something wrong in her mouth or around her muzzle.

A good dog trainer will help you socialise her with dogs and people, don't think that she will love you any less if she gets on with other people and dogs!

As for spaying, if you are not going to breed from her (which I would not with her temperament) it is probably a good idea.

It will stop temperament changes around coming into season, like women dogs tend to get a bit hormonal and moody! My bitch had phantom pregnancies and used to nest build and would kill anyone who went near the 'nest' and she was normally a very nice bitch who would not dream of biting anyone!

As I say the first step for me would be a GOOD training class, as soon as you can, and both you and your dog will probably make some new friends.

Good Luck.

[doglady]

Totally agree. Have it done for her sake, not yours.

[doglady]

Sorry, pressed submit by mistake.

Do you want to chance bringing puppies into the world that will inherit her temperament, and may end up being put to sleep because their owners can't cope with them as well as you have.

[funkymoped]

ive got a Staffordshire Bull Terrorist...
she is as savage a dog as ive ever met !!!!
she is also as loving a dog as ive ever met !!!

i think a dog is programmed from a very early age.... i personaly think that MY dog is savage with all other animals (except our cat..) because she had some medical condition as a pup and wasnt allowed to mix !

in saying that, she was spayed at the vets reccomendation to calm her down.... the vet told us "it could calm her down" but it DIDNT !

the ONLY way we benefitted was that we now have a dog that doesnt come into season every six months....

[curiousity]

sorry not to have answered earlier - off work so no access to AB. thanks everyone who replied. I definitely will have her done now - as soon as saved up. unfortunately for my little dog, i only got her when she was a year old - as she was not good enough to put in dog shows - and she was definitely Not socialised when i got her so very anxious and nervous, its not her fault but i love her anyway. thanks everyone.