Shouldn't I let my dog have a litter before I spay her?

No. Just in case that wasn't clear on tape, no. No. There's no evidence or proof that that is a positive thing. Look, I grew up with people telling me that my whole life. "Oh, I heard it's a good thing to let them have a litter," and the simple fact is, there's no truth to that. I will tell you that in recent years, certain research has come out that shows that large breed dogs may benefit from not being spayed or neutered until closer to that year of age. Okay? You can find plenty of information about that if you look, and I think there's some truth to it. What it implies is that dogs that are spayed or neutered at a later age have a less likely chance of developing hip dysplasia, or if they do develop it, they don't develop it as early. So that's very intriguing to me. I have to heed that and I do want to pay attention to that. At the same time, normally I will spay or neuter animals before their first heat cycle. Why? Because there are also studies that show that with every heat cycle that a female dog goes through, she is more likely to develop mammary cancer later in life. So which way do you go? It varies on personal opinion. It varies depending on the veterinarian that you use. But for the average case, usually before the first heat cycle is when it's done on females and about six to seven months or so on a male as well.

I would recommend not doing that. Breeding animals can be complicated. Also, I used to work at a low-cost spay-neuter clinic as well, and so I've seen that we have a significant overpopulation of animals. I would recommend that, if you love your dog, spay her before her first litter so she has less of a risk to have breast cancer.

Well, that's one I actually hear quite a lot. There's really no health advantage to letting your dog have one litter. We like to keep looking like puppies and kittens. If you let them have litters, they're less puppy-like. There is a significant increase in the risk of mammary tumors in pets if you wait for them to have a heat cycle. The published rate goes from about 99 down to 95% as prevention of breast cancer if you wait for them to have the heat cycle.

It’s not recommended. Again, regarding the overpopulation problem, we don't really need more unwanted puppies. If you choose to have your dog get pregnant and have a litter of puppies, be responsible. Make sure that you do have secure financially stable homes for those puppies to go into. But as far as the dog needing to have a litter goes, it's not going to benefit her health or her behavior. Dogs aren't born with that maternal instinct where they have to have puppies. If they never have puppies, they can still be just as content with life.

A lot goes into breeding that I don't know that everyone understands. It's not just about having puppies. It's also about having healthy puppies. So making sure that the parents are healthy, they're not carrying any genetic things that they could pass on. For that reason, unless you're going to be committed to making sure that the puppies are healthy, it ends up being a lot more work and headache than it is worth. Dogs aren't like people in the sense that they want to be a mom necessarily. They don't really know what that is. So unless you're planning to breed the dog, I usually recommend not having just a litter for the sake of having a litter.

No, there is no reason or need for your dog to have a litter before being spayed. Depending on your dog's size, your veterinarian may determine a specific time to spay, but there is no benefit to letting her have a litter first.

My personal recommendation is no, unless you are using your dog for breeding or your dog is a show dog. I would recommend spaying or neutering before the possibility of them breeding. There are a lot of risks that come with carrying and delivering a litter. That also increases your female dog's chances of getting mammary cancer later in life.

No, there are no studies suggesting that having a litter of puppies before being spayed has any health benefits for dogs.