[pstinard]

Originally Posted by pstinard

There was a long discussion on neutering here: http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/gen...f-ever-31.html

Most of the studies on the bad effects of neutering involve large-breed dogs, and may not be applicable to Yorkies. The consensus we reached by the end of the long, long thread is that for female Yorkies, it's best to have them spayed after their growth plates have closed, but before their first heat, around 8 months of age. (X-rays can be taken to determine if the growth plates have closed.)

UC Davis will be releasing the results of a new study on the effects of spay/neutering of 30 breeds of dogs on June 26. I do not know if Yorkies are included, but I'll give an update if I can find the information.

Here is my update on the UC Davis conference. The link to the talk abstracts is here: 2017 International Society for Anthrozoology Conference | Continuing Education

Of particular interest is this talk by Ben Hart: http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/ce/loc...tract_hart.pdf .

The abstract says:

Giving the Owner Data-base Guidelines on When & If to Spay or Neuter a Dog

Benjamin L Hart, DVM, PhD, DACVB and Lynette A. Hart, PhD
School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California
-Davis, Davis, California

Abstract

A broad overview, representing over 30 breeds will be presented. In essence, some breeds, including the Golden Retriever, Labrador Retriever, and German Shepherd Dog, have an increased risk of a joint disorder with spay/neuter before 1 year (early), ranging from 2 to 4 times that of neutering later. In small breed dogs, there is no increased risk. The increased risk for cancers, especially with lymphoma, occurs in several breeds with early spay/neuter.

So to emphasize, for small breed dogs, there is no increased risk of joint disorders with spay/neutering.