Spaying

[Dawn and Molly]

I know this topic has been brought up many times.  I read through a lot of the old comments.  I just wanted to survey the group and see when people got their puppy spayed.  My vet basically says she likes to wait for larger breed dogs, until about a year.  I have read many different points of view.  I am going to have another conversation with her tonight, I am just curious what members of the group have done or experienced.  Molly will be 7 months on the 24th.  Thanks!

[Frank and Pippa]

I would like to know peoples insight as well. Pippa is 4 months and an vet told me 6 months but I don't want that to stunt her growth.. If that is a thing.

[Stella]

I had both of mine neutered at five months old on the advice of my vet. Knowing what I do now, I would never do that again. Current advice is to wait until the dog has stopped growing - your dog needs its sex hormones to close its growth plates, so if you spay or neuter before they are done growing it changes the way they grow.

This article relates to canine athletes, but most of the suggestions are also relevant to pet dogs:

http://www.caninesports.com/uploads/1/5/3/1/15319800/spay_neuter_co...

[Cindy and Olive (Ollie)]

Thanks for this great article, Stella! And for bringing up this topic, Dawn! We are "contracted" with breeder to spay Ollie between 6-8 months. But since she had a UTI early on, vet talked with us about waiting until after her first heat. Apparently this helps the vulva mature and thus deters future UTIs. I was concerned though since I'd read one article about the increased risk of mammary cancer with waiting (for us, the C word is a biggie) but this article really does neatly sort out the many pros of waiting.

[Amy and Annabelle]

My vet at the time wanted the dogs to be at least 6 months and 9 months for large dogs. I had Annabelle done at 6 months because we live in the country where a lot people let their dogs run loose. We didn't have a fenced yard at the time. I didn't want Annabelle and I to be attacked by horny male dogs while we were out going for a potty walk. I also didn't want to deal with the mess of a dog in heat.

[Tara]

I am really torn on this subject as well.  My Seymour is 5 months today.  I had him in a Doggie Day Care so I could spend some time at my kids camp for visiting day.  I get a call from the facility a couple of hours later and they told me Seymour was attacked by another dog after Seymour attempted to mount him.  I was horrified to hear that he had been hurt.  They were concerned that his mounting was a behavioral thing and that neutering him earlier might be the best thing for him.  My vet had said to wait until 9-10 months but when I took him to the vet today to get treated for his bites, they said, I should consider neutering him in the next 2 months.  I also spoke to Seymour's trainer and she said that the mounting could be out of excitement and not out of dominance or aggression.  Seymour doesn't have a mean bone in his body.  He loves all people and animals.  I guess I have to see how things play out, but I don't want to neuter too soon. 

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Humping is often a power situation rather than a sexual one.  Our new 3 1/2 year old doodle will try to hump new dogs or children but if rebuffed, he stops.  He has tried it in the dog park, and been told NO by the dog and that was the end of it.

[Nancy & Echo]

I have a mini ALD.  The vet I talked to said there's lots of controversy.  My contract with the breeder is that I have to have her spayed by 6 months or pay ~$5000.  So I'll be getting her spayed 4 days before she turns 6 months.

[Dawn and Molly]

Thanks everyone.  There is a lot to think about...

[Cindy and Olive (Ollie)]

Olga, your link isn't working. Was it the Golden Retriever study to which you are referring with this data? Or, other? Thanks.

[Erin]

I am also wondering about this. My pup is suppose to be neutered by 6 months as per contract. I don't want to increase his chances of orthopedic issues but I do like the idea of going through the process while he is still young.

[charlotte bednarsh]

Hi, having recently lost my beloved labradoodle, Paz to lymphoma when he was only six, I've done lots of reading about the potential link between the early development of joint disorders and cancer in dogs who were neutered or spayed at a young age.  Paz was only 7 weeks old when the breeder neutered him and it may be possible that the early neutering contributed to Paz getting lymphoma before he turned 6.   I'm hoping to get a labradoodle puppy in November, and based upon the increasing research which is demonstrating the link between ESN and diseases in young dogs, my breeder will do what's called an vasectomy or ovary sparing procedure on the puppies which allows the continued production of hormones as the puppy grows.   I will complete the procedure when the dog is about 1 year of age.

[Dawn and Molly]

I have spoken to my vet and my breeder.  They both have agreed that this is a very controversial issue and said that there is not a"right" answer.  My breeder lets us wait until 18 months at the latest to have the dogs spayed/neutered.  She had said that there aren't a lot of negatives to waiting.  My vet gave me lot of advice to help make my decision.  She was also very specific saying this was for large breed dogs (so I don't know if it would be different for smaller dogs?).  She basically said that if you go through a heat cycle, you do increase your risk for breast cancer by a small percentage.  She then said that out of that percentage only another percentage will have malignant cells.  She said if you spay to early (for large breed) you run the risk of bone cancer (which is fatal).  We talked about some more benefits and risks, but we have decided to wait.  I think this is just a tough, personal decision.