Early spay/neuter question.
 

Are there health risks to early spaying and neutering? Some shelters do it very young and my vet also says it can be done at about 4 months. Are there any valid health risks to this?

I'm wondering because so many breeders sell their puppies on a spay/neuter contract and then get upset if it's not done and the dog is bred. Why not spay/neuter before the puppy leaves the home to be safe?

the ONLY thing i can think of (not a breeder) is yorkie related, the younger they are the smaller they are and the smaller they are the higher the risk of putting them under. So maybe if the dog is a lab or a shepherd, the age doens't really matter because they are so big anyway?

Early spay/neuter question
 

There are a multitude of things to keep in mind when considering early spay/neuter. Early spay/neuter has been shown to increase the risk of urinary incontinance in females, it can cause both sexes to grown taller, to have a more narrow chest and skull, the tibia can grow excessively putting increased stress on the cruciate ligament making it more likely to rupture, such dogs are more likely to be dysplastic (not such a concer in toy breeeds), they are more likely to have increased noise phobia, there is eveidence that females will be more fearful and males more aggressive, and in at least one breed such dogs are 5 times more likely to develop hemangiosarcoma (blood cancer) and also more likely to develop bone cancer. One distinct benefit of spaying before the first heat is that it limits the chance of mammary cancer, however mammary cancer in dogs is not as life threatening as it is in humans.

I breed papillons, any puppy that is not to be bred (meaning, so far, all of the whopping 3 puppies I have placed) goes on a spay/neuter contract with limited AKC registration, meaning if they were bred their puppies would not be AKC registrable. However, the most important thing is screening puppy homes, I would not place a puppy with a person I could not trust to adhere to our agreement, meaning that I really don't place puppies with people I don't know or, if I don't know them personally, they are friends of friends and have a history of responsible dog ownership and references. If I felt unsure about a home I would not place a puppy there to begin with.

As my dogs compete in performance events, I personally would not consider spay or neuter until they were fully mature (most of mine show in the breed ring so they are not altered until after they have finished their breed CH) both physically and mentally.

Apollo was spayed at around 5 mo. he was at a good wieight at the time. He never learned to hike his leg on anything :D Was concerned as my Mom was not too happy bringing a second one home and wanted soo much to like him. And trust me he is loved by her, thats her boy ! ;)

I wish I had marked the thread where I read this, but somehwere in the health and diet section I believe I read that spaying too young can cause some kind of rapid growth? You'll have to do a search for it.

That is the exact reason my vet gives. A lab puppy at 4 months weighs much more than a yorkie puppy.

I got Tbone at 12 weeks and he was already neutered. They had him lazer neutered before I got him.

I heard that if you neuter to early they will tend to grow bigger than intended. When is a yorkie matured?

I'd like to ask you a question, I wanted to spay my Nina at 8-9 months, before her first heat. However my husband was critically ill around that time and I couldn't. Now she is ten months old and just started her first heat (this week). Since I've heard she should be spayed before it, will she now be more at risk? How long does the heat last and how soon after can I have her spayed? Thank..:confused:

Since she has came into season it takes about 3 weeks to come out of season depends on the dog. It's ok to spay her when she goes out of season. I'm sure your vet will want to do a blood test to make sure her blood panel is ok to go in for surgery :) If all checks out well then you shouldn't have any problems with the spaying :)
I hope this helps.
Donna Bird
Brooklynn's Yorkshire Terriers

what is the average cost of neutering a male?
thanks!

I would say that it really depends on the vet. Some people on here may have a good idea of the costs, but just to be safe, you can always call around to reputable vets and ask them for pricing. I've done that many times. They usually don't have a problem and don't ask too many questions. :)