De-sexing Puppies At An Early Age

[Jerry Kandel]

I posted this in another section but perhaps I should have it here:

We are buying a Labradoodle from a reputable breeder who requires that the puppies be de-sexed at either six or seven weeks. I know she belongs to the Australian Labradoodle Assn. and while I am not sure I believe it is they who require their members to de-sex the puppies prior to releasing them (other than selling a dog for breeding purposes). I am not knowledgeable in this area and didn't think anything of it until I posted something in another site and was attacked on all fronts - with mostly everyone stating it would be unhealthy for the dog - especially long-term. Then someone posted the following article:

http://naiaonline.org/pdfs/LongTermHealthEffectsOfSpayNeuterInDogs.pdf

So my question is whether those of you who purchased Labradoodles from breeders who required this - does/did it concern you and what are your opinions after reading the above article?

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

In my opinion (and that is worth nothing) it is fine to neuter early. My thoughts are that we used to want females to have a litter first, then at least come in heat. That is not the common thinking today. We want our males NOT to get that full male testosterone before neutering. I do think it is easier on the pup the younger they are. That has been my limited experience. I liken it to getting your wisdom teeth out. All of the people in my family have had to have them out at some point in our lives. Of the 5 of us, my husband had the most difficult time = and not because he is a whiner but because he was in his 30's and the actual surgery was more difficult, and my son's who were the youngest had the easiest time. The youngest son (at 14) never had any discomfort and only "chipmunk cheeks" for short while.

[Dan, Judi, & Timbow]

I'm not an expert either so my opinion isn't worth a lot either. :-) However...my vet was amazed at how well Timbow healed from getting neutered early. He was 8 weeks at the time and there isn't a scar at all! I know there are a lot of people out there that disagree with it and a lot of people that think it's wonderful. I am just speaking from our experience. :)

[Steve Drury]

I have no qualifications to express an opinion. But I have read numerous articles both pro and con.
One of the cons claim it interferes with the normal growth hormone development. It claims that it results in unusually long limbed dogs. And when I see so many extremely tall American labradoodles---taller than the standard for either of the parents' breed standards---it leads me to believe their argument.
But mostly the notion of subjecting a 6-8 week old creature to major surgery seems cruel. And being a cynic, I'm inclined to believe the motive for the breeder is to make sure no one can breed their dogs while the motivation for the vet to encourage the breeder is that the vet gets all the business from the litter.
No science. Just old fashion knee jerk reaction. But I bought my doodles from a breeder with an agreement to spay by 6 months---which we honored and would have done anyway.

[Sally, Echo and Emmi]

if you read anything regarding the longer limb theory with ESN they are only talking maybe 1/4' if that. It is basically negligible.

[Dan, Judi, & Timbow]

I was just going to say, from our personal experience Timbow's limbs are no longer than any of his relatives. :-) I think there's great information to go either way with it. I would recommend to do a lot of research on both sides and talk to your vet about it. My vet had no problem with it which is another reason we decided to do it.

[Jerry Kandel]

Well definitely a lot of opinions and as I figured they are both pro and con. After reading the article (I posted above) the main thing I am worried about is the long-term affect - especially with cancer. We had a Golden Retriever who died at 9 1/2 from cancer and he was neutered at six months. I wish I could hear from someone who has a Labradoodle that is over 12 or 13 and had that dog de-sexed when it was seven weeks old. I might try asking the breeder if I could do the neutering with the puppy at six months and ask as an assurance if she would feel better if we just put it in the contract.

[Dan, Judi, & Timbow]

This is a great idea. You can also let her know that you can fax her the paper from the vet saying that you had it done. :-) I cannot imagine that she would have a problem with that. I think that this is going to end up being your decision and you need to be comfortable with whichever you choose. One thing about cancer is that almost anything can cause cancer these days. I know that a lot of people that are for early neutering believe that it stops certain forms of cancer. My doodle is still young, but he is super healthy. I don't know if you're going to find anyone on here that had a labradoodle who is 13 that was de-sexed early since early spaying/neutering is a fairly new concept. I do think it's silly if the only reason your breeder wants you to do early spaying/neutering is because she wants to make sure you don't breed your pup. If she's pushing so hard for it then it should be for health reasons.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

What I would do is give the breeder a deposit which will be held and refunded after you send proof of spay or neuter. That's the way it's sometimes done with purebreds and rescues. In the case of an ALD, assuming the papers/pedigree are of value to you, the breeder can withhold them until you submit proof of spay/neuter. That's what the champion purebred breeders do.
Regarding cancer, spaying or neutering a dog at a relatively young age will help to protect against any sex-related cancers. There is no advantage to doing it @ 6 weeks vs 6 months.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Good idea, Karen. If it is important to wait that is a good compromise.
We would all like to know the future for our dogs so that we could do "everything right" but since that isn't possible, you just have to go with what you think is best with the information available. If you don't really have a strong opinion, I would take the easiest route. Why rock the boat if it isn't that important to you?

[Dan, Judi, & Timbow]

Nicely said Nancy! :o)

[Leslie J]

I think that the early de-sexing is especially popular with Doodles because they are not purebred, so there are no AKC papers to hold back until the dog has been spayed or neutered. I think that Karen's idea of a deposit might be an incentive for a breeder to allow later desexing- otherwise there is no way for them to be sure that people won't purchase a puppy and decide later that they want to breed her. Puppies which are selected and sold for breeding are significantly more expensive then pet-quality puppies.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

My ALD was already neutered when we got him at 10 weeks. I'm no expert at all, but my Vet thought it was great that the breeder did the procedure early, and said that she thought it was better for the dog. She was actually hoping that it would become more common...she saw no downsides.