Spaying/neutering puppies before 12 weeks - Poodle Forum - Standard Poodle, Toy Poodle, Miniature Poodle Forum ALL Poodle owners too!

CurlyTop · 11-09-2012, 09:54 AM

Anyone with experience or option regarding spaying/neutering puppies before 12 weeks?

PaddleAddict · 11-09-2012, 10:28 AM

I would absolutely NEVER agree to get a pup spayed or neutered so young, particularly a female, but I wouldn't do it for a male either.

There is mounting scientific evidence that pediatric spay/neuter can cause issues in growth, incontinence, and future health problems.

From what I have researched, I am most comfortable with spay/neuter after the dog has finished growing, which varies from large dogs to small. My breeder recommends neutering at around 1 year old (for minis and toys). With a standard I would ideally want to wait until 18 months, although this might be long to wait for some people since you need to be very careful the dog does not accidentally reproduce.

agilityfreak · 11-09-2012, 10:45 AM

agreed I would absolutely never spay/neuter a dog that early and am not a fan of early spay/neuter. For males(I also plan to own mainly larger breeds) I wait till at least 18 months of age/the dog is finished growing if at all. Right now Twister is 9(almost 10) months and still intact and we have not had any issues with him and the only reason he will be neutered is because we already have an intact male and I don't really want to deal with two... With females I'm more inclined to spay than leave intact as I don't want to really deal with heats and as far as age I'd probably wait till at least a year, but we'll see

sweetheartsrodeo · 11-09-2012, 10:46 AM

I have always heard you do not do it until all puppy teeth are gone/ the growth plates have hardened. PaddleAddict, I totally agree from what I have read and the advice of our vet, a year and over for standards to prevent health issues.

ArreauStandardPoodle · 11-09-2012, 04:31 PM

Our recommendation to all of our puppy families is girls- 8 months, boys- 14 months. If you see a dog who was altered young, they are usually leggy, lanky and lean and the males and females look similar, Usually it is quite obvious with a quick glance if a dog is a boy or a girl. But without the hormones, they do not have a chance to be all they can be.

MaryLynn · 11-10-2012, 05:47 AM

Yeah my vet hounded me for both of my boys to alter them at 3 months, and I got a phone call at 6 months, etc, but I think you should at least wait a year (some breeders contracts wont allow you to wait longer).

The hormones really do affect their growth and development, just like ours did to us!

MollyMuiMa · 11-10-2012, 10:24 AM

If I would have been given the choice I would not have had my Molly spayed until after her first heat! Unfortunately, I live in a Senior community blg. that mandates all dogs must be spayed before they can reside here.....Molly was spayed at 5months. :^(

CurlyTop · 11-11-2012, 09:01 AM

Thanks everyone. From talking to vets and other breeders, there seems to be a consensus that there's more risk for harm than good by spaying/neutering so early and that the only real reason not to wait until later is convenience. Personally, health trumps convenience for me every time.

Dog catcher · 11-12-2012, 05:40 AM

Our vet admonished me when he found out Fang was 10 months old and still intact. Made a big deal about the risk of breast cancer reduction when the spay is done before the first heat. I was feeling that perhaps I was a poor pet owner until reading on this forum that for hormonal reasons it is better to allow her to become mature and then having the procedure done. We had her surgery at 15 months.

By the way, the same vet gave us the obligatory lecture about modern dogs not being able to eat a raw diet because they are so many generations removed from wolves. He explained how Science Diet was specifically designed by expert dog nutritionists to have everything the dog needs and in the proper amounts. I asked him what percentage of grains dog food should contain. He got a bit huffy with me and said that modern dogs had evolved over hundreds of years and now require grains in their diets.

Looking for a different dog doctor.

hilshaven · 11-12-2012, 06:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dog catcher

Our vet admonished me when he found out Fang was 10 months old and still intact. Made a big deal about the risk of breast cancer reduction when the spay is done before the first heat. I was feeling that perhaps I was a poor pet owner until reading on this forum that for hormonal reasons it is better to allow her to become mature and then having the procedure done. We had her surgery at 15 months.

By the way, the same vet gave us the obligatory lecture about modern dogs not being able to eat a raw diet because they are so many generations removed from wolves. He explained how Science Diet was specifically designed by expert dog nutritionists to have everything the dog needs and in the proper amounts. I asked him what percentage of grains dog food should contain. He got a bit huffy with me and said that modern dogs had evolved over hundreds of years and now require grains in their diets.
Looking for a different dog doctor.

I had a similar situation at the vet. They gave me a science diet puppy package. I told them I was feeding evo / innova, that I had read up on it online, that grain wasn't that good, especially corn, my breeder recommended, etc. the tech, who was giving us this spiel, said I shouldn't believe everything I read online. I should go to the manufacturers website. I wanted to laugh right there! Do I really look that stupid? What is a manufacturers site going to tell you?....that they have the best food! I looked at the ingredients and corn is the FIRST ingredient!

I just let them talk and am going to continue feeding what I feel is best, based on an independent study such as dogfoodanalysis.com or similar.