Is it healthy for my female dog for not having a baby?

Indonesia
May 21, 2007 10:56pm CST
I planned not to mate my dog ever. But is it okay for her? I heard if a female dog doesn't get mate, she would become wild. Is it true?
2 people like this
12 responses
@Galena (9110)
22 May 07
no need at all. if you don't plan to breed from her, then it's wisest to have her spayed, and it's best to do this between the first and second seasons so that her organs can reach maturity.
2 people like this
@Galena (9110)
23 May 07
we asked around a lot.
1 person likes this
@Galena (9110)
1 Jun 07
to be fair, I'm more inclined to beleive several vets, our dogs breeder and people that have had health problems with their dog from spaying too early than someone on the internet. I am inclined to think that it is not healthy not to allow a dog to reach physical maturity. dogs spayed to early are more likely to have incontinance and bone problems.
1 person likes this
@bihn07 (22)
• United States
28 May 07
you are wrong you can spay or nuter at 8 weeks it dose not need tome to mature first. if you spay before the 1st heat you can stop most of the behavior problems.
1 person likes this
• Philippines
22 May 07
i haven't heard of that issue yet.. but based on my own experience with my furrbaby, she haven't mated eversince.. yet she's still very healthy.. why not ask your vet about it? good luck!
2 people like this
• Indonesia
19 Sep 07
Ok. Thank for the comment.
@sunshinecup (7871)
22 May 07
No I don't think that is try but an old myth. I have had several female dog's from puppies until they passed of old age, and I never allowed them to mate. They were all very sweet animals.
2 people like this
• Indonesia
19 Sep 07
Thanks for the comment. Now I don't have to worry anymore :)
@Calais (10893)
• Australia
22 May 07
NO, its an old wives tale. There is no rule to say that dogs have to have pups. Ive had plenty over the years and they all turned out with beautiful personalilties.
2 people like this
• Indonesia
19 Sep 07
Thanks for the info :D
@jahvo6 (623)
• Peru
22 May 07
I really don´t know about females, but I can tell you that I have a male and has never been with a female dog and he´s exactky the same he has always been.
2 people like this
@kimmym (1)
• United States
22 May 07
if you don't want your dog to be spayed she will be wild when she goes into heat. however it is not unhealthy for your dog she will be fine. you will have to deal with her during heat. But this doesn't mean you will have a wild dog that is all about how you plan to raise her. with good enough training she will always listen.
2 people like this
@runsgame (2031)
• India
20 Sep 07
u are obsolutely correct and thought in right manner . no harm will come to your female dog. do not worry i am holding nearly 3 femae dogs without doing any mate
@palonghorn (5479)
• United States
23 May 07
I have never heard that one, and I have had females that I did not breed, they were fine. One I had spayed the other wasn't and there wasn't any difference in their personality because of it. I now have a Chesapeake Bay Retriever, I had planned on breeding her, she has an excellent blood line, but now that may not be possible, due to the hours I'll be working on my new job, and the hours my guy works. But, it won't make her wild.
@Inky261 (2520)
• Germany
23 May 07
None of my dogs have gone wild. I have had eight dogs so far. I am a breeder, some of my dogs have babies, some do not. The female dogs who had babies are more mature. The are also better recognized in the dogs society. They just know more. They are more serene. Here in Europe we do not spay often. We watch our female dogs when in heat. Early spaying makes immature dogs. They do not grow up and no other dog takes the spayed ones serious. I have an older female dog who got spayed because of health issues at age seven. The furcoat is plain miserable. Lack of hormones. It is forbidden to show spayed dogs at dog shows.
1 person likes this
• Indonesia
19 Sep 07
Thanks for the info :) I really appreciate it.
@ututen (139)
• Philippines
22 May 07
i dont think that is true but i guess it really depends on her environment.
2 people like this
@Daremyth (49)
• Venezuela
31 May 07
I have two female dogs, our vet performed an hysterectomy on both of them because we didn't want them to have so many pups. He didn't remove their ovaries because they're were too young and he said they needed the hormones to stay more healthy. However, he did explain to us that female dogs that never go through pregnancy but still keeps their uterus have increased chance to suffer pyometra. Pyometra is a disease mainly of middle-aged female dogs that have not been spayed, it's a hormonal abnormality and may or may not concurrent with a secondary bacterial infection. Pyometra follows a heat cycle in which fertilization did not occur (Source: http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=2&cat=1629&articleid=918). So, my dogs still have their heat cycle and they behave wonderfully, no problem whatsoever... but I'm relieved that they can't have puppies and don't have any chance of getting an uterine disease. The problem of not mating your dog is more a problem of health than one of behavior, if you raise her well I don't think you'll have any problems. Hope this helps.
• United States
19 Sep 07
It is false information that a dog must have puppies to be healthy. The healthiest thing to do is spay her, and the earliest the better. Spayed dogs live longer lives on average than nonspayed dogs. They do not have any risk for uterine cancer, pyometria, or ovarian cancer if spayed before their first heat. And the risk is greatly reduced if done later too. Unspayed dogs not only have health risks from not being spayed specifically but behavior being unspayed produces. Females in heat tend to wander looking for a mate. Unfixed dogs are much more likely to be hit by a car or lost for this reason. And people will tell you that you can prevent pregnancy by keeping her in the yard. nature finds a way even if through a fence. So if you are not interested in spaying your dog, but don't want her to breed - the only logical way to prevent this is to spay her.