I would wait as long as possible, even after her first heat (7-9 months old) to allow her to be as grown up as possible. Then, if any remaining puppy teeth need to be pulled it can be done without having her be 'put under' anesthesia twice.
Latest reports are finding problems in older dogs that were spayed too early, that wouldn't have occured if they had been spayed later.
This is only my personal opinion, many people have it done earlier and before the first heat, which is to reduce the occurence of mammary and others tumors that may develop later in life.
The main reason early sterilization began was population control
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Problems associated with early spay/neuter: Hormone-related urinary incontinence, crutiate ligament disease, prostatic cancer, osteosarcoma, thyroid disease, delay in closing of growth plates, odd growth patterns: long legged, narrow head/chest, weakened bone density, early onset of hip dysplasia, aggressiveness, behavioral problems...etc.
In many dogs, not all dogs.
It is your decision... is it worth the risks?
What's the right time to spay and neuter your dog? | PetMD Early spay and nueter and not closing growth plates? Spaying and Neutering Dogs Too Early - A Stark Warning Problems With Early Spaying | eHow.com PetsHouston.com Can Spaying Make Dog Behavior Worse? |Victoria Stilwell Positively Is 6 months too early to neuter? - Yahoo! UK & Ireland Answers
There are risks no matter when spaying/neutering is done.
When I was growing up, it was common practice to wait until after the first heat to spay a female dog. There wasn't as much concern, at that time, about neutering the males, bc they weren't the ones having the puppies.
When I started working for a vet, the age to spay went way down, to before the first heat all the way to 6-8 week puppies. The reason for doing this was solely to prevent reproduction, as pet overpopulation was beginning to become a problem. And this worked.
The drawback is that when this change to sterilize young dogs started, there was no way to tell what the longterm effects would be, or if there would be any.
Now, 20-30 years later, reports are coming in and statistics are being collected. Some are hearing about the causes and age of death in these pets who underwent early sterilization. Some are hearing of the benefits, and some are hearing of the not so beneficial effects of early sterilization, as these numbers are now becoming available.
What upsets me the most is the fact that most vets will not be talking about the drawbacks and cons of these procedures, bc in their minds, the fact that this practice works to control pet overpopulation is, by far, more beneficial to society as a whole, than to be overly concerned with the aging health of some individual pets, who, if they do have problems, they will just treat them as any problems arise, just as they have been treating the problems that arise from being spayed after the first heat cycle.
Basicly the same thing is happening with vaccines, only that issue is a bit further along, and more and more vets are beginning to agree that there are serious problems with the prior protocols for vaccinating our pets. New protocols are being put in place, with the health and safety of our pets being kept in the forefront.
Veterinarians who speak out against established and accepted practices, who speak up againt the statusquo, push the envelope, think outside the box... whatever you want to call it, do risk serious threat against their careers. Human Doctors suffer the same consequences, as in the Lyme disease controversy.
So, sadly, I think, the truth will be a long time coming. In the meantime, I can only take the bits and pieces, snipets, and leaks from the higher ups, and process them, in order to make the best decisions possible for my own pets' health. I would urge everyone to do the same.
As this controversy is only now beginning to surface, there is not a ton of scientific info on the cons of early sterilization, and those that would run studies fear for their careers. This concerns me and I see it as a definite 'red flag' situation.
And for those who made decisions to spay before the first heat, I'm sure you made that decision with the most current info available at the time, and with advice from your vet and the information available to him or her at that time. What's done is done.
I'm sure not every dog will experience bad effects from an early spay, some will experience only the benefits. But, I would keep a journal on my dog, and report anything out of the norm to my vet, for the life of the dog. That is one way vets get their data. If you don't report it, they may never know.