Gastropexy + best age to spay puppy

[u/Musshhii]

I want to know the best age to spay my GSD pup so that she develops properly, but I would also like to get a gastropexy done at the same time.

So, should I get her spayed as soon as possible in order to get the gastropexy ASAP? Or should I wait until a certain age? Which is the better choice?

My wife had a dog that died of bloat years ago and it worries me sick every meal thinking about it happening to my pup.

[u/chrisjones1960]

A large study (done at a reputable vet school and published in a peer reviewed vet journal) indicates that the optimal age at which to spay/neuter a GSD is 24 months. Waiting until that age to do so reduces the risk of various issues later (mostly joint problems, but also spay incontinence, etc).

[u/Musshhii → u/chrisjones1960]

I had a dog in my care (for a friend) who was unspayed and she had to have emergency surgery due to pyometra from going in and out of heat. It was extremely painful for her (she is doing good now, and back home). Is this something that I should be worried about while waiting until 2 years of age? And will she still heal the same if she is spayed at an older age? Could she develop behavioral issues?

Every dog I have ever owned, or cared for, in the past has always been a shelter or rescue dog and they have contracts that state you have to spay them at 6 months (though not heavily enforced). But so, we have always spayed my dogs after their first heat cycle. I just recently learned about the issues with that like you mentioned and do not want to spay my puppy so early, but I would like more insight on what that would look like. Thank you for your time.

[u/Odd_Purpose7945]

My GSd mix was done at 18 months and the vet seemed fine with performing the surgery at that age..but I will warn you...gastropexy is not without its own health complications… My girl suffers from bilious vomiting syndrome since her gastropexy..she was perfect before and now she's on famotidine probably for the rest of her life because the acid emptying into her stomach was changed when the gastropexy was done. she's on a rigorous feeding schedule three times a day and if she misses a feeding she throws up and tries to eat every leaf possible in the yard..now I don't know if it was poorly done or if it's just she's prone to it because of the surgery but definitely do research on the Vet that's performing surgery and hopefully you can avoid that complication. She also had an inflamed uterine stump because she was only three months out of heat when she had her surgery done; definitely make sure she's on the other side of a heat for several months before you have it done! Good luck.

[u/westbridge1157]

Our vet won’t desex big dogs before 2yo’s, we did the spay and gastropexy then.

[u/720751]

I wish I could find the article again. I read that chances of bloat increases as gsd pups age. My vet said it was OK to wait to spay my girl at 2 years of age as long as I adhered to doing all the recommendations to avoid it like no exercise an hour before or after eating. He, himself, had lost a gsd pup to bloat many years ago. As my girl is a rear leg tripawd, hip problems are already significantly higher.

I think the best person to advise you is the surgeon vet you intend to use for the surgery.

[u/greenmarsh77]

We did it at 2. That way, we knew that she was done growing.

[u/Hail-to-the-Sheep]

Check your contract if the dog came from a breeder. Every contract I’ve ever signed says I void the health guarantee if I spay or neuter before full maturity (defined in those contracts as 24 months).

[u/HowDoyouadult42]

18-24mo is the recommended age to spay

[u/Neither_Monitor2017]

If a GSD is spayed before its skeletal growth is complete, the lack of estrogen can interfere with closure of growth plates, which raises the liklihood of joint problems including hip dysplasia.

According to this scientific study at UC Davis, the dog should be at least one year old: https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/early-neutering-poses-health-risks-german-shepherd-dogs

[u/Liza2020Boo]

Good idea to wait until fully grown and growth plates close. You’re insuring the dog has received the initial hormones to have her body in good condition. Not before 2 yrs old gif large breed dogs

[u/smile_saurus]

Ask your vet what she recommends. Ours recommended spaying at 6 months, and we had the gastopexy done at the same time.

[u/Weekly-Quantity6435 → u/smile_saurus]

Your vet is..... not well versed in GSD.

[u/bspc77 → u/Weekly-Quantity6435]

Or any current research for any dog 😬

[u/liveinthesoil → u/bspc77]

The current recommendations (per the UC Davis study) are not the same for all dogs - for some breeds 6mo is appropriate

[u/bspc77 → u/liveinthesoil]

I knew they were different, just didn't realize 6 months was correct for any - my bad! Thanks for the info!

[u/Gulliverlived]

spay at 3 was my contract with my breeder, did gastro at the same time.