[JuliePgh]

I heard from an owner of labs that allowing a dog to go into heat changes the personality, making the dog more eager to flee, and less tolerant of people, etc. She said that even if you spay after the heat, the dog remembers the effect of those hormones and is more conditioned to have those negative behaviors.

I'm not sure if any of this is true, so I thought I'd ask the owners of dogs who have spayed after a heat if they've seen any personality changes as a result of having had that first heat, even though there are no future heats. So, this goes towards the issue of is it better to spay before or after that first heat.

 

[BlackGSD]

"More eager to flee and less tolerant of people".

:rolleyes2::rofl: (Directed at the person that said that, not at you.)

Never heard those "reasons" before. LOL

 

[Samba]

The main reasons people spay before the first heat is to prevent the small chance of the occurence of mammary cancer later and to avoid the mess.

As far as those behavior changes in a female, I have not heard that. Oh well, a lot has been blamed on those darn hormones over the years. Women used to be subject to the removal of their reproductive organs in order to make their personalities more laid back. They didin't call it a "hysterical-ectomy" for no reason.

 

[angelas]

Shania was spayed after her first heat and her personality has remained the same. Diva.

 

[DonP]

Tough to determine. They do change when they are in heat, but they're still young and constantly changing anyways. Certainly Iska is not eager, at all, to flee and she is very tolerant of people. It's possible that heat affects their personalities because everything does, but I don't think it should be a factor in deciding when to spay.

Don

 

[roxy84]

The main reasons people spay before the first heat is to prevent the small chance of the occurence of mammary cancer later and to avoid the mess.

.

relative to other cancers that affect female dogs, id would not say the chances of mammary cancer are small in an unaltered female, and the malignancy rate of those occurences is high. it is a legitimate concern.

 

[Samba]

I don't consider the chance so high in the breed that I spay for it. Some people do, their choice, of course.