articule on spaying after 2 1/2 years...any thoughts???
 

wait to neuter or spay

Here is an articule on why you should not spay at an early age. I do not pretend to know what is the correct thing to do, but it seems that everyone is worried about pyometra cancer that we have perhaps forgotten about all the other issues that early spaying can deprive our babies!

Would love to get feedback......

good article pros and cons of both I neutered my male dog at 3 1/2 he did just fine with it . My female seemed to have more problems when waiting till the same age. She did not bounce back very fast and developed some type of virus after the spay. He said that does not usually happen but it did in her case. The other vet that I go to recommeds before the first heat. So everyone has there own thoughts on this that is for sure.

Interesting. Well, I know one thing - I'm 110% against "pediatric sterilization" (where the dgo/cat is spayed/neutered VERY young). Our local SPCA does this as policy.

Story - we adopted a female pit bull mix puppy at 9 weeks old. She was perfectly 100% healthy when we adopted her. They spayed her the next day, we were called to pick her up two days later. When we picked her up she had green nasal discharge. The vet I worked for at the time put her on an antibiotic, she got better right away. Well, 1 week later she was playing with our beagle and all of a sudden her nose started to bleed and she got lethargic. Rushed her to the ER clinic, 1/2 hour after we got there she was in an oxygen cage gagging on her own blood barely able to breath. Hysterically, I had no choice but to agree with the Dr. and Euthanize her right away:(. Soooo, did a healthy puppy die a week and a half later because she went through the trama of a spay at only 9 weeks old?? I'll never know, but I do know I'll never ever get a pet from that shelter again unless they changed their policy. When I called to tell them what happened, the manager said we could come choose another dog and they'd waive a second adoption/spay fee. I said no way, forget it, I couldn't go through that heartbreak again.

6 months vs. two yrs. or not at all? Idk cause here's the thing - there are more issues to think about than just the health benefits/risks. An intact adult male dog is going to territory mark, hump people, try to roam etc. A female will go into heat - bleeding, behvioral changes, trying to roam, attract male dogs to your house and of course, chance of getting pregnant. Even if the owner is keeping her away from males - if she's determined and gets loose, finds a intact male, that's it.

I personaly like to wait until just about 1 yr. old and with large breed dogs, I think it should be closer to 2 only because they grow slower and that's were those "bone desease" issues come up - I believe they need to be intact until they're fully grown. I plan on spaying Alice when she's about 10 - 13 months old. I honesly think doing it at about 1 yr. - depending on breed and size- is kind of reaping the benefits of both ideas, but that's JMHO:D

Thanks for posting that article. Refreshing to find an article that references actual studies.

But there are valid external important factors, which the article didn't address. The societal impact of unwanted pregnancies, the large number of dogs in shelters which continues to plague us.

The responsibility of owning an un-neutered dog be it female or male is great. Obviously if you are not a breeder, you need to be vigilant to insure no un wanted pregnancies occur. There are also the real drawbacks of finding (if you need to board your dog) a boarding facility that will accept un-neutered animals.

My advice for my large breed dogs, is no neutering prior to 18mths preferably 2yrs old or more. But and it is a big but, the owners have to protect the female/male from breeding.

A very frank conversation with your vet is definately in order. Gathering knowledge of health concerns specific to your breed is certainly recommended.

Very interesting. Ive always fixed them at 6 months except bobbi because hes so small. He was neutered at 18 months with no issues.

Aja is 19 weeks and less than 2lbs. Im on the fence on this. Was thinking at a yr vs 6 months but now im further going to sit and think about wjen its best. I dont like having intact pets running around. Just too much to worry about.

I can not imagine doing them at 9 weeks of age unless there is a issue way way to young.

Yep, I totally agree, but the SPCA here does it every day:confused: Their policy is that no animal leave thier shelter intact - period. Not that I agree with it at all, but you can find articles about "pediatric sterilization" and that's what they do:( Our poor puppy "Baby", I'll never get her face out of my head that night at the ER clinic and I totally blame it on her being spayed WAY to young, but if we wanted to adopt her, we had no say in the matter:mad: