[MyFairLacy]

Originally Posted by love_me_cody

http://www.littleriverlabs.com/neuter.htm

I just think that they should wait till they are older to neuter them... They have a set date of 2months old. They should be letting them go to their new home after 12wks, right? So why not wait to the latest time to get them fixed? Why not wait til week 12? Even if it is a law, they can still do it at a later date to 'lower' the risk then at 8wks.... And it's like... if it really is such a great idea then shouldn't we encourage everyone who will fix their dog to do it earlier then the recommended 6-8months.... I don't know, to me it just doesn't make since. And if someone who adopted them doesn't spay their adopted dog at a 'healthier recommended time' then you should be able to take the dog back/fine them....

Many vets spay and neuter early now. It's mostly your older vets that continue to spay and neuter at 6 months because that's the traditional thing to do. I have never told anyone on this site to wait until 6 months to spay or neuter their dog. I usually say the earlier the better (esp. for the males). The only time I've ever recommended waiting longer was when someone was already at 6 months and their dog was under 2lbs, teething late, or had retained testicles (told them to wait a couple more months to see if they'd drop on their own). Otherwise I've always said if I had a male, I'd neuter between 12 and 16 weeks and female I'd spay between 16 weeks and 5 months (although I'm not opposed to doing it earlier). Yes, 8 weeks honestly seems a little young. I think it would probably be okay to wait until 10 or 12 weeks and then adopt them out after that, but if they are adopting them out ASAP then go ahead and spay/neuter at 8 weeks. I don't think spaying and neutering early really has that much effect on them growing...maybe it does somewhat in larger breeds, but I doubt it in our tiny yorkies