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What are the benefits and risks of spaying my female Golden Retriever?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Golden Retriever | Female | unspayed | 1 month and 17 days old | 10 lbs

What are the good things about spaying a dog and what are the downside to spay a female golden retriever?

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1 Answer

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Answered By Susan England-Foster

Veterinarian

Published on June 13th, 2017

How cute is Bailey!!! I recommend spaying Bailey at 6 months of age. This will allow her to be spayed before her first heat cycle. The pros about spaying her at 6 months is decrease risk of breast cancer when she is older, decrease risk of pyometra ( pus filled uterus) and patients recover faster/ faster surgery due to smaller blood vessels and less fat. Some recent studies in the U.K. Recommend spaying at 1 year of age to decrease issues with bones but as a general practice I do not see this helping in most of my patients.

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