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You can call it "spaying" or "neutering". Both terms refer to an ovario-hysterectomy -- removal of the ovaries and uterus. Just don't say "spading."
Good reasons to spay
Health reasons top the list. Spaying offers complete protection against pyometra and endometritis...serious infections of the uterus. Complete protection against the hormonal upsets of false pregnancy. Partial protection against breast cancer.
No more worrying about her being impregnated or dying from the risks of pregnancy and birthing.
No bloody discharge that can stain your carpets and furniture. No unsightly swollen genitals...and embarrassing licking of same when the minister is over for dinner.
No more interruption of daily walks, vacations, and visits to friends because of twice-a-year heat periods.
Freedom from agitation, flightiness, moodiness, and loss of appetite during heat periods. No more distractibility and flirting whenever a male comes near her.
No males following you home and howling outside your door.
Less frequent mounting of other dogs and humping of pillows -- yes, females do this, too! But less, when spayed.
Less expensive to license.
Possible cons
It's expensive: one to two hundred dollars when the safest techniques are used and all safety precautions taken. Low-cost spay clinics are available, but I would avoid these, if possible.
You can't show a spayed dog in conformation classes...but you can show her in every other canine activity, such as obedience and agility.
Spaying is major surgery requiring general anesthesia, which always carries some risk.
When to spay
If you spay before her first heat, her risk of developing a breast tumor in later life drops from 1-in-4 to 1-in-200. But breast tumors are usually benign, and the disadvantages of early spaying are...
Increased anesthesia risk because of smaller size, especially in small breeds.
Tendency to mature with a rounder, somewhat generic body shape...because her reproductive hormones didn't have enough enough time to stamp in distinctive feminine characteristics.
Tendency to develop incontinence (leaking of urine) in middle age.
If you wait until after her first heat, but before her second heat...
She will be bigger and stronger for the surgery.
Her organs and systems are more fully developed.
Her feminine characteristics will be more clearly defined.
The risk of uterine infections still drops to zero.
The risk of breast tumors drops from 1-in-4 to 1-in-15.
The spay is easy to schedule, a month or two after her first heat is done.
This is when I prefer to spay.
If you wait until after her second heat, you're no longer reducing the risk of breast tumor; it remains 1-in-4. But you're still eliminating pyometra and endometritis. Since these uterine infections are so common and so dangerous, spaying is very much worth it even at several years of age.
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