When to spay?

[Ashley]

Our goldendoodle puppy is 4.5 months.  The vet recommends getting her spayed by 6 months. I have read articles about doing it too young could affect their joints or bones. Years ago we noticed after having our retriever spayed that she seemed to widen and put on weight.  Was that just coincidence, or could that happen to my pup?  Please help.....6 months or older?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It depends on the expected adult size of your dog. Ideally, spaying/neutering should happen after the dog reaches full skeletal growth and the growth plates of the bones have closed. That happens earlier in small breeds than large breeds. So if you have a small mini, she may very well have reached full skeletal growth by 6 months old; if you have a standard doodle, she may not reach full skeletal growth until she's 10-12 months old. (Giant breeds like Great Danes don't reach it until about 18 months of age.) In all cases, the dog will continue to gain weight in the form of lean mass (muscle and bone density) after they've reached their full height. 

I had two small (20-30 lb) females before Jack, and both were spayed around 6 months of age with no bone or joint issues. Jack is a large standard and was not neutered until he was a year old. 

Spaying should not cause your dog to widen or put on excess weight, as long as you feed and exercise her appropriately. 

Some vets believe in spaying females before they have their first heat cycle, but that thinking is not as prevalent these days as it used to be. 

[SUSAN HALL]

Yes, our vets recommend waiting until after the first heat. The thinking on that has changed.