What's the best time to spay my dog: before or after first heat?

Not really, at least not a proven benefit. some believe that it can prevent incontinence in the future which is more common in spayed females in general but this has not been proven. at out surgery we usually recommend having a female dog spayed at the age of 6 months, before her first season.

Ideally spay can be done at 6 or 7 months of age. It can be done before the first heat but most of the time we ended up doing the operation after the first one. Surgery seems to have a preventive action against mammary gland tumors especially if performed before the first season.

Hello, female puppies can be spayed when they are 12 weeks old. I always suggest spaying before her first heat cycle unless she has viginitis issues. In dogs, spaying before the first heat cycle reduce chances of mammary cancer by over 99% . If spayed after first or second eat cycle, there are still some great benefits. You should call a few veterinary office close to you for an estimate. Prices often vary depending on sIze and can vary very much between veterinary offices. I work for a non profit organization in north Florida, we charge about a $100. This does not includ pre anesthetic bloodwork and may not reflect prices in private practices around the country.I hope this helps,

She is not likely to get her period before September, if she does get her period there is nothing you need to do, just be careful no male dogs come near her and you will need to wait at least a couple months before you can get her spayed as it is not recommended to have a dog spayed during or right after a heat cycle.

There is some evidence that waiting until an adult has reached skeletal maturity, which for a female dog occurs around the same time as the first heat cycle, is beneficial for bone and joint development and could decrease the risk for orthopedic disease in the future. This is relatively new research however, and if you have reasons to want to schedule the surgery now it should be fine too - many shelter animals are spayed when they are 8 weeks old prior to adoption.

It would be better to wait until after the heat as during the pre-estrus and heat the uterus is very well vascularized and the extra amount of female hormones increase bleeding. So in order too minimize the surgical risk it is better to have her spayed during anestrus, ie when not cycling.

Yes, it is absolutely fine to spay your dog, and I applaud you for wanting to do it! She's humping because it feels good, not because she is necessarily in heat again. I would have it done before she goes into heat :-)