Neutering
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| I was told that 6 months is ideal, but that the puppy should have some adult teeth as a safety factor for the anesthesia... but that was just from one particular clinic, so I am not sure if that is truly the ideal scenario, or if it's just their standard procedure. |
| 6 months is the perfect time. |
| Why are people getting their dogs fixed before 8 weeks. I have read this and know of someone that has just got a pup and she is fixed already? |
| I know my best friend adopted a female puppy at 7 1/2 weeks old from a rescue place. They required that all dogs be spayed or neutered before leaving the premises. I guess they don't trust the owners enough to do it months down the road.
My personal opinion is that that is too young. But it does ensure..... at least to the animal rescue that that dog won't be having any unwanted litters. |
| My vet recommened between 6 and 8 months. we just had Bowie done at 8 months. however, my breeder said they like to wait a year so the dog matures a bit...I think 8 weeks is way too young but if you're sure you are not going to show, I don't know why not at 6 months. |
| There are many schools of thought about when to spay/neuter a dog. You'll get people from the '6-month' camp, from the '1-year' camp, the '2-year' camp and a variety of others. This, like a lot of other decisions you'll make for your puppy, is your decision to make - even though a lot of people would like to help you make it.
I'll keep my response to the neuter side, as that's the one I know better (I have a male dog who was neutered), and the one you're interested in. Some vets and breeders suggest that a dog be neutered at or around 6 months of age. The stated intent is that it will discourage roaming, marking, aggression and other undesirable behaviours. Our breeder and vet agreed that we should wait until Barkley was around a year old (he was neutered at 13 months) to allow him to develop male sheepdog characteristics (broader head, bigger structure) and to allow his growth plates to fuse (so he'll stay square and not be leggy). Canine Sport people often suggest that any time from 14 to 24 months is a good timeframe to neuter, as it allows the dog to fully mature with all of the normal hormones that would be present. Now, for my opinion: We waited to have Barkley neutered until he was 13 months, based on a recommendation from our breeder and vet. In hindsight, I might have waited even longer, just to be sure he was fully mature. In our case, he has never marked, was never aggressive (other than when we're playing), and has never been prone to roaming. There's been absolutely no change in his personality since the neuter (in fact, when I called the vet's office the afternoon after he was neutered, the receptionist had been playing with him in the kennel and thought he was just there being boarded for the week). He's neither more or less lazy, aggressive, velcro-ey or anything else. One other reason I might have waited a little longer is because at 13 months, Barkley was (and still is now, at 15 months) a puppy. You try keeping a playful puppy who doesn't realize he just had surgery and isn't in pain quiet and non-playful for a week. I think we made it two days before he managed to jump on the couch (my fault, I wasn't watching), and almost three before he was rolling around outside playing with other dogs (by this point, I figured he was going to go stir crazy if he didn't play with his friends). From what I've read, neutering earlier causes a dog to grow longer (instead of basically reaching full height/length at 12-14 months, a dog might grow until 18-24 months), which can change the balance between the lengths of certain bones and increase the chance of problems later in life. However, an early neuter is reported to decrease the likelihood of certain cancers and behavioural problems. If you can't be certain that you'll be in control of your dog all the time, then perhaps an earlier neuter is for you. One suggestion for anyone who is going to have a dog neutered: opt for the laser. It cost us about an extra $40 to have the surgery done by laser (instead of by scalpel), and Barkley was totally healed (no raised area, no licking, no pain, scar hard to find, etc...) in under two weeks. As I noted above, he was up and playful within hours of his surgery. The other strong positive is that he wasn't licking (not sure if that's based on the laser, the dog, the surgeon, or just dumb luck), at his incision, so no need for an Elizabethan Collar. There, now that I've totally muddied the waters, I'll be on my way. |
| I was looking for something else and ran across this little blurb here:
http://www.avma.org/issues/policy/anima ... neuter.asp If you don't want to click it, I'll copy the text: Policy statements Early-Age (Prepubertal) Spay/Neuter of Dogs and Cats (Approved by the AVMA House of Delegates 1994; revised by the AVMA Executive Board April 1999, April 2004) The AVMA supports the concept of early (prepubertal, 8 to 16 weeks of age) spay/neuter in dogs and cats in an effort to reduce the number of unwanted animals of these species. Just as for other veterinary medical and surgical procedures, veterinarians should use their best medical judgment in deciding at what age spay/neuter should be performed on individual animals. This came from the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Animal Welfare Policy. |
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