[OwnedByJezebel]

I think it is too early, too.

I have a friend that volunteers with the local SPCA. She takes litters of puppies that have been weened and brings them into her home, because that is a much better situation for a puppy than to have them in shelter cages. They have all been larger breed dogs. When they reach 5 lbs, back to the shelter they go for their spay/neuter, regardless of age. Then they are placed into their permanent homes.

I'm not sure the shelter has a lot of choice in their case. There are so many coming through that have to be placed, and if they hang on to them too long they would not be able to shelter and eventually place as many dogs. They would probably have to place them without spay/neuter, and then some new owners would procrastinate or neglect to get it done at all, and here are more puppies and the cycle starts all over again.

Even though the timing of the spay/neuter isn't optimal for those pups, the shelter is really in between a rock and a hard place.

I guess that what I'm trying to say is that even though the spay/neuter CAN be done safely at an earlier age, doesn't mean that is really the best time for the pup.