My mom is giving me her 2 year old unaltered AKC German shepherd dog and I already have a 4 year old German shepherd/border collie mix (who is spayed). I am planning on spaying the new dog and my question is if I should spay her right away and then integrate her into the pack and bond with her etc, or if I should spay her after she has had time to bond with us and find her place in the pack? I have about a year until her next heat. Both dogs are female.

i would spay her before you bring her into the pack that will eliminate the extra hormones of an unaltered dog
as for bringing her into your pack she will bond well either way you do it but you do have the risk of her trying to be more dominent if she isnt spayed, and her heat cycle should be closer to every 6 months but all dogs are different some show the major signs and some you cant hardly tell they are even in heat
her vulva will swell and she will have a "period" so to say she will have a little bloody discharge but like i said all dogs are different if she is in heat before you take her to get fixed some vets will make you wait until her cycle is over and some will still do it at a higher cost but either way they should let you know

if you are really worried about your dogs all bonding together you can always just bring her in and let her learn where she is in the pack and then take her in it might even be a bit better but if you spay her first just make sure she is fully healed so that she doesnt injure the incision site

She can be spayed at any time now. She is well over the age to be done. How do you figure you have a year before she comes in to heat. Female dogs come in every 6-9 months depending on their size. So being a big dog she would be closer to 6 months apart. And depending on when she was last in she may come at any time.

Heats are every six months not every 12 just so you know.

My question is does your dog and your mom's dog get along now? Have they met? If not you might want to introduce them now, if they don't get along spaying wont' change that fact, so whether you spay now or later won't matter a lot if your dog and her dog don't get along.

If they get along then bringing her to your home prior to spaying then arranging to have her spayed after probably won't make a difference at all.

People read! She is not asking at what age to spay, the dog is already 2. She is asking how soon after she takes the dog to a new home, HER home, should she.

Why does she have a year until her next heat? Most dogs come into heat every 6 months.

I see nothing wrong with scheduling it asap. She will bond just fine after. Many rescue/shelter dogs are done before being sent to a new home.

My only concern is activity level when she comes home. Perhaps schedule it for a week or two after she gets there so she has met your other dog and has settled somewhat.

ASAP! The sooner an animal is neutered/spayed - the less traumatic it is for them. The later you leave it, the more they remember life before it. This is why it is normally a better option to decide wether to spay/neuter before getting an animal. :)

You can definitely spay her immediately. The older she gets, the longer the healing process is. 2 years is way past the "appropriate" age of spaying. She'll bond with you just the same.

Just schedule her to be spayed. After a few days she should be relatively adjusted to her new home.

Dogs come into heat cycles about every 6 months. Its best to schedule her to be spayed as soon as possible.

I think I spayed my dog when he was 6 months, or longer....

I also see what your saying, its up to you, if it makes you comfortable having them bond first, then do it right after...

my dog

I would just go ahead and get it over with. Either way, she'll bond with you, but I would get it out of the way.

ask your vet

spay her now. before she meets ur other dogs.

When Do I Spay and Neuter?

You will hear many ideas about spaying neutering. All I can do is tell you my experience with this and what I tell my puppy buyers. When males are neutered too young, before their hormones are full tilt, they do not gain the muscle that an adult male should have and look like a gangly puppy their whole life. I do not recommend neutering a male until at least 12 months of age.