PaddleAddict

My mini Jager will be 9 months old in a few weeks. I am starting to think about his neuter, but I am not really sure when to do it. My breeder said 10 to 11 months, but I am nervous that he won't be done growing yet? How do you know when their bones have stopped growing? I don't want to do it too soon and risk him growing too tall. I like my poodles square, LOL.

Should I just wait until he's a year old to be safe? The downside to that is my vet will want to vaccinate him at 1 year and I don't want to give him a bunch of vaccines at the same time as the surgical procedure.

On a side note, this is going to be a pricey procedure. He's cryptorchid, so the neuter will cost more, and he has a retained deciduous canine that needs to be pulled. Plus, I want to run a full blood panel and urinalysis before his first anesthetic procedure. Oh, and he's getting a microchip. Poor little guy...

 

ArreauStandardPoodle

I recommend that my males pups are done at about 14 months. This gives them a chance to build muscle and bulk and be all they can be. I find boys done younger stay lanky and lean and feminine. Good luck. He will be as good as new a couple of days aftger the procedure. They are so resilient.

PaddleAddict

Thank you Arreau... I do want him to look masculine, not lanky and tall and feminine like you said. Do you think there is a difference for minis and standards? Meaning, will a mini mature more quickly than a standard?

If I do wait until 14 months, do you think I should have a separate procedure done for his tooth? It doesn't seem to be affecting his bite at all, but it's crowding his permanent canine and I worry that food is getting trapped in there and causing damage to the permanent tooth. I just hate to do two anestheic procedures withing a few months of each other...

ArreauStandardPoodle

Personally, I am with you. Every time a dog or human has anesthesia there is a risk, so eliminate one risk by having everything done at once. I am not sure if there is a difference between how quickly a mini matures VS a standard. I do know there is a big difference between toys and standards. In the meantime, while you wait, can you brush his teeth every day? You can get thoser little finger brushes and peanut butter or chicken flavoured toothpaste.

debjen

All my other dogs were done at 6 months and Flyer was done at about 9 months..we were shooting for a year but he started trying to pee on one of the other dogs so his breeder agreed that it was time. He is now about 21 months and still square





He is lean but purposely lean as he is a performance dog and I don't want him caring to much weight when jumping..

not the best pics for looking at his body shape. I should get him on a grooming table so I can get some straight on shots.

Forgot to add Flyer had one undescended testicle luckily it was just above so they didn't have to dig very far for it. He came home that same night from the vet not knowing he had anything done.

fjm

Poppy had retained deciduous teeth, too - I was advised by a friend who breeds papillons to wait until she was 12 months before having them pulled, as long as they weren't distorting her bite. One came out at about 9.5 months, one at nearly 11 months. They were only wobbly for a day or two. I took especial care with tooth cleaning, etc, and there don't seem to be any long term effects from leaving them. I was glad I waited - any anaesthetic is a risk.

PaddleAddict

Thanks for letting me know how Flyer turned out.

I used to work in a veterianry hospital years ago, and I was a huge proponent of early spay and neuter back then. I agreed with the younger, the better mentality.

Now, I have completely changed my opinions about automatically spaying an neutering (both early and at all). So much reserach has come out in recent years about negative health affects of altering dogs, most specifically early altering. It seems there is much we don't know...

That said, I am still for spaying and neutering for the most part, but just not as early as I used to think... I get so many weird looks and comments, even from my vet who is somewhat progressive, but doesn't really understand the desire to wait to neuter. I have explained that I don't want to it affect his growth at all, and he asked why it matters if he's not a show dog. Well, it matters to me, both for looks (I want him to look the way a poodle should look) and for movement, and also some studies have shown an increased risk orthopedic disorders in dogs that are spayed or neutered too early. It's frustrating that I feel more up to date about these topics than my vet. The same thing goes for vaccines, he sort of gets it, but not to the extent that I would like. Don't get me wrong, I do like my vet and he's not pushy about these things, he allows me to make the decision without trying to pressure me into anything I am not comfortable with, but I do wish vets were more up with the times...

Purley

In Regilna they have a spay/neuter program. If you get your dog fixed between 6 and 8 months its cheaper than if you wait. The program is funded by the City and by the vets. I assume its done to try to eliminate unwanted puppies that end up at the Humane Society. But seeing that the vets are the ones doing the surgery, they must think its safe.

Is there any proof that early spaying or neutering makes the male dogs tall and lanky and looking like females? What about a female - what do people believe happens to a female if you spay around six months old?

PaddleAddict

I didn’t mean to imply that I think it’s unsafe to spay or neuter young, just that it may not be so cut and dry. To be honest, I don’t agree with all vets—many vets still think yearly vaccinations are safe, and I certainly do not. I just look at spaying and neutering differently than I used to. I'm putting more thought into it now and doing more research.

I know that at least one study has demonstrated a higher risk of hip dysplasia in dogs neutered before 6 months of age (compared to those neutered later).

Many people (breeders, trainers, etc.) have told me that spaying or neutering (males and females) before a dog is done growing can affect height—the dog grows too tall—because it affects the hormones that are released to tell the growth plates to close and the bones to stop growing. I believe there are studies that demonstrate this, but I would have to search for them.

PaddleAddict

By the way, I just love Flyers glorious ears!!!