When is the best time to Spay/Neuter your doodle?

[Wendy]

The title says it all. I would love to get both of mine fixed before we go on vacation with the pups. They will be 15 weeks and 4 days old if we do it 2 weeks before we leave and both will be over 30 -35 lbs at that time IF it matters. I just want to make sure they aren't too young at this age.

My vet doesn't have a problem with this but I want other opinions.

[Adina P]

Since some breeders do it to pups 7 weeks old -- there shouldn't be an issue with doing it at their current age. Might be a pain in the butt to have BOTH fixed (since they can't play hard, run, jump for about a week after surgery)...but other than THAT ... if your vet is okay with it...why not?

[April Cliber]

As long as your vet is experienced with spaying/neutering younger dogs, 15 weeks is fine. We S/N all our pups at 7 weeks. They recover quickly and because they are smaller, the surgery time is shorter and the incision smaller.

[LuvMyAbby&Kaela]

My Abby was spayed at 8 weeks old. The breeder had it done before sending her to me. If she would have come to me unspayed I definitely would have it before 6 months old. The sooner the better imo.

[Michele Barton]

Hey Wendy, I haven't forgotten about you. I'll be at the vet on Monday and will ask him about this, will let you know what he says. For anyone else reading this, I have a friend who had her puppy spayed at 3 months (this was 12 years ago), and the pup endured a lifetime of UTI's. She was told by another vet that it is a complication of spaying at such a young age.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Our puppy was neutered before he came to us (7 weeks). When we took him to our vet, she said she thought this was a great idea and wished most breeders handled it that way.

[sandy b]

Max was neutered at 7 wks and has not had any problems. Also, he doesn't mark territory as some of our other male dogs did when they were neutered later.

[HANNAH 8/2/07 & HONEY 7/2/08]

My Vet which I have used for 20 years recommends spaying and nutering your dog between the ages of 16wks. and 20wks. (4-5 months) of age, so your getting it done at a good age. He also will not spay a dog if it is in it's heat cycle, so before is always better. There are some old time breeders around here who still feel waiting till a dog has had its first heat cycle is better because it allows the dog to develop as an adult and does not stunt the dogs growth in anyway, so they prefer to wait till after it turns 1 year, they also have said with some dogs it has caused complications with other problems such as Urinary Tract Infections on a continuous basis, and with some males it did not make a difference with marking. Wether it's true or not...I don't know.. so if you feel comfortable with your Vet and what they tell you, that is what you should do!

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Since getting Murphy at 8 weeksold (now 6 months) and traveling the country, he has seen 5 vets in 3 different states, besides the one that neutered him. One just expressed surprise, had no real opinion one way or the other "Guess he did okay with it".
One thought it was a great idea. 2 said "It's okay, there shouldn't be any problems" and the Holistic (and last) vet was adamantly against it. Went on to site "Problems with growth plate during formation, increased weight, even said some cancers can result from the lack of hormones they need during the first 4-6 months!!!!!"
I was a little dissappointed as I really use him as my resource for raw feeds and supplements teaching. But I remember reading in the Academy of Veterinarian Medicine that there was no proof of ill effects and the only mention of what to watch for is a vet that can anesthetize a pup so young.
I should have said what I say to the doctors at work when they'd disagree with the literature I had on a patient, " Would you show me your research on that so I can understand it better?"
Never once had a Doc show me anything!!!! Usually just an OPINION. i will see if I can find it again.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Well you are getting lots of info on this, but my family vet of 25 years says 5ish months is what they recommend. Definitely before 6, but around 5 months is when they typically do the surgery. That is when I plan to spay Peri.

[AndySharon BoomerShaynaMariner]

There are 2 schools of thought.

The conventional one is that around 6 months. Some people and vets believe that the hormones contribute to both physical and brain development.

The other is the early spay and neuter. They believe that the recovery is quicker at the younger age, it prevents unwanted litters, etc.

Also I understand that as the dogs get bigger the prices of the procedures increases.

There is much literature on the web. Do your own research. But do make sure that you have it done. Because you do have a male and female - you do not want to have her go into heat.

[Wendy]

Thanks for everyone's responses! I appreciate them. I also did some searching for myself also and do feel that my decision to spay and neuter at 15 weeks and 4 day will be ok for us... or at least I will hope and pray there are no complications.