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I have learned alot since getting Brinkley also. We were responsible pet owners before him...but not knowledgeable...if that makes sense?!
I originally was going to breed Brinkley...or at least was leaning towards it. My breeder gave me the breeding rights etc. I decided, for me right now, it was not smart. I knew I would not be able to give the puppies up...it would be hard for the kids too...and although we make plenty of time for Brinkley and the rest of our zoo...our schedule at this time is not able to handle breeding and raising a handful of pups.

But, I also learned since I got him that it is healthier for the dogs. I don't know that I understand why...but it is supposed to be. (especially for females I think) Many have also said that if you get them "fixed" before they start marking/hiking etc...that many times they will never start. So, to answer the age question...I think it is after 6 months...but they could start marking anytime around then. I was lucky and Brinkley had never (to my knowledge) marked anything. He doesn't even raise his leg to tinkle. He is almost 8 months...and I knew that if he hadn't yet, he was probably going to at any time. I also knew he needed those baby teeth taken out as soon as possible.

Someone more knowledgeable than myself would have to answer more technically. Like I said, we were not as "smart" as we thought we were. We got our inside cats fixed because the females DID go nuts when they went into heat...drove me crazy with the noises they made...and one of them would spray/pee in my floor vents! :eek: It was hard not to boot her to the moon!!!! I was SOOOO aggravated! That smell was awful!!! And still is the first time or two we turn the heat on in the winter...

Our two outside dogs...are both females and have not been spayed... :ph34r: But we did not know then, what we know now-and our vet never questioned it. I knew I didn't necessarily want puppies with them-but they would stay in the kennel and chances were slim they would get pregnant anyway. I knew the bassett would be slim because they have trouble "breeding" anyway-supposedly you have to "help" them sometimes :wacko: -because of their size or something. Anyway-I wish we had been smarter then...and I hate to put them through it now...they absolutely cannot stay in the house...and I would hate for them to have to recover from that out in the kennel now. Sometimes I wonder if they are "normal" when they are in heat anyway...we can tell by their bums when they are in heat...but we NEVER have dogs bothering them...?! Explain that....?????? A guy I work with says he was about to go nuts because the stray dogs were jumping the pen to get to his female...so he took her to get taken care of....but we have NEVER had that problem...weird. I guess that is why I don't worry about it too much. They are never out of our sight when they are out of the kennel...
(I am so long-winded...and SUCH a birdwalker...)

Sorry-anyway...confession is good for the soul...now everyone knows what an idiot I am...and someone reading this is cursing my stupidity.
 

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Originally posted by LadyMontava@Oct 16 2004, 09:19 PM
as for females it is even more important to spay them before they go into heat b/c it dramatically decreases their chances of getting mammary cancer (almost 100%).  if you wait til after their first heat then it only decreases their chances by 50%.  then if you wait even longer it doesnt help at all.  also spaying prevents pyometra (infection of the uterus) which is a deadly situation.  <div align="right">index.php?act=findpost&pid=12165
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Why didn't someone tell us that when we were young and ignorant pet owners?
 

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I guess we are pretty lucky with those percentages that ours are as healthy as they are. One is edging on 7 years and the other on 5 years. The only problem has been the non-cancerous tumor things removed from the bassett.
 

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I dropped mine off at 7 am and picked him up at 4 pm. He said it was not necessary to keep him overnight. My cats didn't stay overnight either. I think some let them stay. Depends on the vet probably.
 
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