Neutering/Spaying: What age?

[bckrazy]

I feel that mixed breed dogs & pet dogs *unless they're giant breeds* should be neutered/spayed before they're sexually mature and able to reproduce... ideally 6 months. Fozzie was neutered at 6 months, and even if the rescue didn't require him to be neutered by then, I would've done it.

I know we're all responsible owners here, but accidents CAN and DO happen. Not only that... but an unaltered dog is much more likely to feel the need to roam. And, unfortunately, most people don't even realize when their female dogs are in heat; much less do they keep them locked away during it. I definitely want to prevent my dogs running off and impregnating unattended female dogs as much as I possibly can. Plus, lots of behavior problems really are avoided when those raging hormones are subdued. That is compared to the few and rare affects of speutering at 6 months.

That said, I definitely would avoid altering any young puppy. 4-6 months is ideal, imho. And puppies do heal incredibly fast & easily!

[CathyBogart]

Dogs can be altered as young as six weeks old with no health/behavioral side effects. In fact, young puppies recover much more quickly from the anesthesia and the surgery itself than an adult dog does.

Having the sex hormones in the body while the dog is maturing results in the growth plates closing six to eight weeks earlier than in the altered dog. Some people speculate that this may predispose the animal to injury, but there isn't any solid evidence to back that up.

Waiting to spay a female until after her second heat takes away any protection you would have gotten from mammary cancer. Mammary cancer is the most common form of cancer in dogs, and around half of all mammary tumors are malignant. I think it's worthwhile, if you aren't planning on breeding the bitch, to spay before the second heat.

Plus, having seen three pyometras in the last two weeks, I'm all for ANYTHING that prevents that!