Spaying/neutering young puppies

[CarolinaGirl]

[QUOTE=Laurierace;7239534]
No freaking way I am having a male or female in my house that long unaltered. Don’t want to deal with urine marking or heat cycles.[/QUOTE]

My vet will not spay/neuter younger than 6 months. As far as large breed I have been told not to do it before 18 months by a long time breeder (who is married to a vet). I’ve got an almost 3 y/o black Labrador Retriever, he is still intact. He does NOT hump things, he does NOT mark in my house, and you’d have no clue he was intact except for the obvious testicles! Honestly the most annoying thing about him being intact is that he can’t go to doggie daycare type boarding.
I also have a female pembroke corgi who IS spayed. I got her from the breeder at a year of age and I had her spayed the week before I picked her up. I honestly just don’t want to deal with heat cycles… and diapers and all that kind of stuff.
I get crap from my rescue oriented friend about my lab, but I’m also a responsible owner (also an LVT!). He’s never out on his own and unless it’s a quick trip to the car he’s always either on a slip collar or harness when we take him out. He’s never in the backyard for more than 5-10 minutes without me checking on him. We have a 6ft full fenced backyard. He’s also been sent off to training and is NOT a runner if he does happen to go out the front door with us when we go to get the mail or out to the car to get something.
That said I understand why rescues and shelters do what they do…

[Laurierace]

I actually don’t like dogs that mark outside either. I am a dog walker and it annoys me like crazy when it takes 15 minutes to go a block. Obviously I don’t have to allow them to stop to pee on anything and everything but it seems like it stresses them out if I make them keep going and I like happy clients.

[trubandloki]

@SquishTheBunny;7242346

My theory is either they are lemons, or they are not. I know just as many intact lemons as altered ones .

I realize this is over simplifying it but I tend to agree with this thought too.

[Horsegal984]

[QUOTE=SquishTheBunny;7242346]
My theory is either they are lemons, or they are not. I know just as many intact lemons as altered ones .[/QUOTE]

This is a great summation of all the research for/against both sides. Sure spaying/neutering that young could cause issues. Leaving intact to reach sexual maturity could also cause a totally different set of issues. Ultimately the cards are in the air either way, just look at the anecdotal stories on this thread alone.

And as usual I agree completly with Squish.

[TrotTrotPumpkn]

If we are doing anecdotal stories, my first female Doberman was spayed before 6 months at my then-vet’s suggestion, grew alarmingly tall compared to intact litter mates (fed the same food), had numerous UTIs after spaying (very expensive to visit the vet constantly), was fully incontinent at age 5 (lots of “accidents” leading up to that…ruined furniture, etc.) and on Proin and diagnosed with bone cancer and put down at age six. As far as I know all of her full siblings are still alive and kicking. So there you go.

I personally know of several large females that are/were spayed young and are incontinent. I don’t know if it is due to spaying young or not, but what’s the deal then?

I have a rescue male dobe who was spayed very young and apart from looking a-sexual (very underdeveloped for a male) he is happy and healthy at 8-9 years of age…minus some pretty bad arthritis (his hip conformation leaves something to be desired).

Most of my dog friends do ringsport (I’m talking quite a few people) and most of the rest show AKC and have intact males (some multiple) and no one has marking issues in the house. I wonder if that is a owner issue or some kind of management problem?

I’m not ripping on a shelter for doing what they have to do, just explaining why I haven’t neutering my newest male (he just turned six months). Of course, we may show confirmation, but that’s a different topic. Also, males and females have different cancer risks/likelihood as adult dogs…personally I would spay a large breed female around a year-year and a half, unless my (ortho) vet advised differently (I have many vets…it’s sort of sad).

One last comment. I have used an orthopedic vet for consults and his biggest comment was that we over feed puppies. Media shows cute chubby lab puppies and that’s what we’ve been conditioned to want to see. He said weaned puppies should be lean, he wants to see ribs (not starvation ribs, but visible) and he thinks the worst thing people do is overfeed young dogs. He also isn’t a fan of some of the super high protein “5star” foods for puppies.

[threedogpack]

[QUOTE=SquishTheBunny;7242346]
Ultimately chances are slim altering or keeping intact will make a significant change in life expectancy in a large breed.

I wouldn’t pass up a nice dog because it was altered early, especially if it was a rescue. If it was a breeder dog, I personally would spay a little later but the vast majority of early spay/neuter shelter dogs don’t come into the vets for incontinence or bone related issues.

My theory is either they are lemons, or they are not. I know just as many intact lemons as altered ones .

I also feel like if you pass on one you really like, and find another, there are no guarantees that dog will be healthy either.

But each to their own.[/QUOTE]

all of this.

[MustangSavvy]

Breast cancer:
The scientific literature states that the risk of developing mammary cancer in dogs spayed prior to the first heat is only 5 in 1000, but the risk rises dramatically to 80 in 1000 in dogs spayed after first heat and before the second heat. In dogs spayed after the second heat or not at all, the risk jumps to 260 in 1000.

Uterine infection:
Pyometra means uterine infection. While this condition is rare in humans, it is common in dogs, and it is often life-threatening. Because dogs don’t have a monthly menstrual cycle like people do, the infection grows and grows undetected until it becomes an emergency condition. While there is a treatment for pyometra, it is at best expensive, and dogs can and do die from pyometra even with treatment. A Scandanavian study estimated that at least 25% of un-spayed dogs in Scandanavia will develop pyometra by 10 years of age, while an American study put the number closer to 66% by nine years of age for American dogs.

Prostate issues:
Neutering reduces the risk of enlarged prostate, prostate cysts, and prostate infections. Enlarged prostate occurs in more than 80% of unneutered male dogs past the age of five. Some dogs with an enlarged prostate have difficulty with urination or bowel movements. Fortunately, if you neuter at that time, the prostate will shrink quickly and the problems will resolve. Prostate cysts and infections, though, can be harder to treat.

Testicular cancer:
About 7% of unneutered males develop a testicular tumor. Fortunately it seldom spreads and has a cure rate over 90%. But neutering prevents it entirely.

Just a few statistics, as you can clearly see it is a two way street.