when to spay/neuter a puppy?

[lisa]

I have heard/read mixed things as far as when a puppy should be spayed/neutered.  Our breeder says they are going this before we get the puppy at 8 weeks.  Many of my friends, who have dogs, say this is very young for it to be spayed or neutered.  I don't know if it is common for this breed?  please advise!

[1xar0x2rcx0li]

And one regarding long term outcomes:

J Am Vet Med Assoc. 1991 Apr 1;198(7):1193-203.

Gonadectomy in immature dogs: effects on skeletal, physical, and behavioral development.
Salmeri KR, Bloomberg MS, Scruggs SL, Shille V.

Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville 32610-0126.

In a 15-month study, the effects of prepubertal gonadectomy on skeletal growth, weight gain, food intake, body fat, secondary sex characteristics, and behavioral development were investigated in 32 mixed-breed dogs. Male and female pups from 5 litters were randomly allotted to 3 groups: group I, neuter at 7 weeks (n = 14); group II, neuter at 7 months (n = 8); and group III, sexually intact dogs (n = 10). Growth plate closure was delayed (group I vs group III; P less than 0.000001; group II vs group III, P less than 0.000001) in all neutered dogs, as compared with sexually intact dogs. Growth plate closure was delayed longer (group I vs group II, P less than 0.000045) in dogs neutered at 7 weeks old, compared with dogs neutered at 7 months old. The rate of growth was unaffected by gonadectomy, but the extended growth period resulted in greater final radial/ulnar length in all male dogs and bitches neutered at 7 weeks. Gonadectomy did not influence food intake, weight gain, or back-fat depth. Penile development was immature in the adult group-I males (mean +/- SEM diameter of pars glandis = 11.1 +/- 1.0 mm), compared with adult group-II (16.3 +/- 0.5 mm) and group-III (21.0 +/- 2.2 mm) males. Subjectively, the prepuce and os penis of the group-I males were immature, compared with those of group-II and group-III males. Vulvar development in group-I and group-II bitches was less mature than vulvar development in the sexually intact bitches. Of 7 behavioral characteristics assessed, only general activity and excitability rated differently among treatment groups. All neutered dogs were judged to be more active (group I, P less than 0.004) than sexually intact dogs. Group-I males were judged to be more excitable (P less than 0.02) than group-III males. It was concluded that with respect to skeletal, physical, and behavioral development, the effect of neutering pups at 7 weeks old was similar to that of neutering pups at 7 months old.

[Linda Karell]

My vet was pretty upset my puppy had been spayed at 7 weeks, but honestly, my breeder made a better case for the spaying than my vet did for waiting. She's now 13 months old, and not a single problem. And I didn't have to deal with an active puppy trying to get at her stitches, anesthesia side effects, or the cost of spaying (though it was no doubt built into the cost of the puppy in some way).

[Noble Vestal Labradoodles]

funny many vets have opinions about things they really know nothing about and we look to them as if they should. Many might find it amazing that some vets are against dog breeding~ where do they think their clients will come from?

[Camilla and Darwin]

I have heard mixed things as well. My own experience, we neutered Darwin at 16 weeks... and he did great. It took him about a day to recover... and I've heard that the younger pups recover even faster. It does seem like it would be nice to have it done earlier, before they were big rambunctious pups!

[Natasha]

I agree, but our vet did discuss this study with us (I think it is the same study). She said that the dogs used were mixed breed and expressed concern that, given Rouser's expected size as well as the breeds specific to him, she wanted to err on the side of caution relative to his growth plates.

Also, the study that she cited was a small number of dogs and it wasn't administered for enough time. I admit, I skimmed the above so I didn't see their sample size. I have no idea if this is the same study that she was referring to.

Anyway, she said she certainly wouldn't turn away a rescue that had been neutered at a young age, but said that her recommendation was to wait.

[Lynda Kamrath]

I have had two vets say it is "better" to wait beyond puppyhood for desexing. However, they were not opposed to getting a puppy who was already neutered. My friend who does agility says it is important for their joint and bone development to wait. I had one dog neutered at 6 months (as recommended by the vet) and the other was neutered as a puppy. I don't think it makes much difference, but doubt there will ever be a lack of puppies whether you do early desexing or later. It has more to do with the responsibility of the owner regarding allowing their dogs to breed.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Oh yeah, I have a coworker who says you should wait until they are older than a year old. She has champion english cockers that are 3 and STILL not spayed or neutered because she might want to breed them. But her reason for saying to wait for older than a year is for bone development also. Well, first of all, I had a contract saying I had to spay Peri plus, who in the heck wants to deal with the heat cycle of their female dog? Not me! WTD? Sorry...kind of another subject, but thought it was fitting about the bone development comment.

[lisa]

Thanks for all the feed back. Anyone who has had their dog spayed or neutered early (before 8 weeks) have any issues with bone development? I am in agreement this is something that needs to be done but want to make sure it is done at the right time for my new bundle of joy! still weighing the pros and cons....