Bitch Spay and Seasons 

never too late to Spay

A female dog is called a bitch. She will come into "season" (where she becomes ready to mate) any time from 7 months of age and usually around 9 months old. Some Bitches do not start to cycle till one year old or more - there is nothing you need to do about this, just wait and see. They repeat seasons every 6 months, but a few can be 9 months while some are only annually, but this is rare. During a season, a bitch will bleed for around 10 days (some are heavy, some are barely visible), then she will "stand" for a dog to be mated. At this time some bitches will run away, given the opportunity. She will be attractive to dogs for a further 10 days, so the season will last for 3 weeks in total. Her bottom swells considerably over the first 10 days.

Most bitches are spayed before they have there first season at 6 months of age. This makes the op simpler - smaller wound, less sore for the bitch and safer due to less blood supply. If a bitch does not have a season, she will not develop mammary tumours and the common womb problems of older bitches cannot happen.

If your bitch is adult, having had a season, and you want her spayed, then we would do this between seasons. Wait for one month after a season, then spay her any time over the subsequent three months.

We operate at all three surgeries and your dog would come in first thing (after 8.30 am) and go home after 4pm, same day. The 2-4 sutures would be removed 10 days later, when we check the healed wound. All ops receive pain relief at Parkside - on the day and also the subsequent two days. This is included in the price of the Spay.