The right time to spay

[Stacy]

Because I worry about everything, I read this article. 

https://tinyurl.com/y2bfobj7 It talks about risks and benefits of waiting longer to spay and neuter. I have an appointment for Willow to be spayed in September, she will be 9 1/2 months old. But now I question, should I wait until she's over a year? I know there was a golden retriever study that showed increased risk of mammary cancer if they have a heat cycle before they're spayed. But then there's other articles with studies that show increased incidence of a different cancer and joint issues if they're spayed before a year. There's no chance that she will get pregnant, and I can buy her panties if she goes into heat. And possibly a heat cycle will help with her recessed vulva. I know I'm overthinking, but I just want to do the perfect thing for her, and it seems like we can't come to a single consensus about what the healthiest thing is. I thought that splitting the difference between the vets recommendation of at least 6 months and before her first heat and this article of a year I would be doing the right thing. But now I question!

[Laurie, Wally & Charlotte]

We were advised to wait until just before the first heat for the spay surgery. Our vet and breeder both thought that Charlotte was likely to go into heat around the time of her first birthday, so we scheduled it for 11 months. She was pretty much fully grown at the time, so this made sense to us. Our other dog, Wally, was neutered when he was a puppy and still with his breeder, so we had no choice in the matter. 

[Stacy]

I do not think there is any truth to that - in fact, I recently came across a different article that basically said that un-neutered males were far more easy going and neutered males are more likely to pick on them. It was an interesting article. Let me see if I can find it again. I think it's Europe that thinks we're kind of weird for spaying and neutering everything. They have a different, and interesting perspective. But hang on, I'll look for that article. I was talking to Karen about it a while back.

[Stacy]

https://tinyurl.com/yya2psov

This article here. I thought it was well researched and interesting. I don't know if I agree with absolutely everything in the article, but it definitely gives you some things to think about.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Being confident has nothing at all to do with being confrontational or aggressive.

Being less confrontational doesn't mean the dog is scared, immature, unable to cope, or think on its own. In fact, the most confident dogs are the ones who are NOT confrontational. They are secure and happy, and have no need to pick a fight or try to "prove" themselves. It's confrontational and aggressive behavior that is indicative of insecurities. 
In a pack of wild dogs, wolves, and related species, the alpha is not the one going around posturing and pushing the others around. The alpha is the secure, confident one that is sitting back observing things. It's those who are lower on the heirarchy and looking to move up who are being competitive and starting scuffles with others. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I think I did understand what you were/are saying. 
And I'm saying, it simply isn't true that neutering a dog results in lack of maturity or an inability to have a mind of its own or to think for itself, nor does keeping the dog intact result in a dog that who does have more of a mind of its own. 
All of those traits are related to confidence or a lack thereof, and it has nothing to do with whether or not a dog has been desexed. Being confrontational is a trait of an insecure dog. It's not really about being intact or not. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I put absolutely zero stock in this, or in anything put out there by doodle breeders to defend their own bad practices in the interests of making a profit. 

But beyond that, it's just plain wrong. I too used to believe that intact male dogs were the aggressors. In fact, it's just the opposite. Neutered males are the ones who will start confrontations with intact males. 

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Charlie is very interested in intact dogs and they seem to be interested in him.  For us, this has not been a good 'interest' and it has gotten him into trouble. Charlie is not aggressive but has definite dominant tendencies and emits some high energy vibes.  I have no facts to back this up but my experience tells me that he was imported from a breeder who de-sexed before sending them to their new home, and  also suspect that he was  also younger than 8 weeks when he was sent because of his lack of proper meeting skills with new dogs.  He has gotten soooooo much better in the time we have owned him though.