OK Spay advice...to spay or not to...
Submitted by Angela and PollyAnna on August 21, 2012 - 1:48pmOlive..lovely little Olive. Good pedigree and conformation. Healthy! We have a wonderful stud waiting for her when she gets old enough. She is 10 months and has been through a heat cycle. We are waiting until she is about 2 to breed her. The question is. We are not going to show her and really do not have a lot of time for raising puppies. Does spaying a female make them a little more laid back? She is a crazy, sassy, pistol of a bully girl but very very smart. We just want the best for her and will be very choosy on who gets a baby (if we don't keep them all). Is a spayed female a more settled female? We have always spayed our female pets but have never had one with a promising pedigree. WE are not a back yard breeder and do not want the puppies if any in the hands of one in the future. WIth C-Section deliveries and chances of Spina Bifida or other congenital disorders Bulldog babies are special. I vote spay..but some of the family says no...... OK convince them...
I would vote spay...
I've never attempted to breed bulldogs, but the lady that we got Newman, Ollie, Oscar and Truman from has told me many times what a heartbreak it can be. She recently lost one of her mothers and all the pups the day before the Csection was scheduled. So if she were my dog, knowing how we all love them, I would have her spayed not try for pups.
I agree
Time to make an appointment.
PollyAnna's Words of Wisdom
http://www.lakeside-studio-petportraits-andmore.com
Spay
There are thousands of very good dogs with great pedigrees that should not be bred. There are many champions that should also not be bred. A pedigree is a piece of paper, you still need to have the dog. If you think she is of breeding quality why not take her to a few shows or better yet a couple of specialities and show her to see how she stacks up against other bitches. Raising puppies is not all its cracked up to be and placing them is even more difficult. You are responsible for them the rest of their lives. Also the BCA as requiring minimum health testing (CHIC) for BCA members, I'm assuming you are a member. 10 months is way to young to even determine if she is of quality and health to breed, she's still a puppy.
No shows
No time to show her and don't want to get wrapped up in the politics of the show ring. Enough of that at work. My veterinarian has bred Bulldogs for decades and knows the breed better than most. He seems to think she has good potential in the show ring and her parents are healthy as the come. Since we are not going to show her and don't have the time to spend time raising puppies she is going to be spayed as planned.
PollyAnna's Words of Wisdom
http://www.lakeside-studio-petportraits-andmore.com
Oh who is your vet?
Would love to know their line. Good decision in the spay, there are so many bulldogs these days the market is flooding, with everyone breeding for bucks and the rescues are over flowing. Also puppies should be sold on spay and neuter contract or at least limited registration. Many health issues show up in bulldogs later well past 18 months so it is not unreasonable for a 10 month old puppy to be healthy, if they are not then you got big problems. And of course that means parents, grandparents, etc. One reason I decided not to breed Ester again, and IMO if you are not breeding for the next show puppy and keeping one you should not be breeding. There are enough millers and BYB to take care of that. There are also way to many show breeders mass producing too, IMO so it isn't just those that don't show.
Yes there are politics, but if you have a good bitch they will win at some point. Not all the judges are political.
The personality results I have seen are varied.
We have one male lab that was neutered at 8 years old. Long story - all our other animals were fixed a.s.a.p. I was shocked when he turned into a big cuddle bug! It's hard to know if they fixing settles them, or just the growing up. But with this guy, it was clearly the fixing that changed him!
Spaying did not settle down my girls
I have been blessed or maybe cursed (LOL) with 4 very sassy and sometimes wild bulldogs. Age is about the only thing that has slowed them down.