Spaying and neutering..how young is too young?

lauranoelle09

This might be a silly question, but I've never heard much about this topic and I am curious. I have an 11 week old puppy that I'm planning to neuter in the future, but I'm not sure when the right time to do it is. I did look online, but got mixed answers. Some say that getting it done too young can stunt the growth of the dog. Is there any truth to this? Are there any health risks to getting a pup neutered too young? Thanks in advance.

RedheadBaker

What breed (or mix) is the puppy? 

The shelter I volunteer for neuters as young as 8 weeks.  

lauranoelle09

He is 1/2 german shepherd, 1 quarter boxer and 1 quarter lab.

Kaiene

RedheadBaker:

What breed (or mix) is the puppy? 

The shelter I volunteer for neuters as young as 8 weeks.  

The shelter we foster through speuters as young as 8 weeks as well.

2 of our cats were speutered at before 12 weeks (not sure of the exact age but we adopted them at 12 weeks and they were already fixed), another at 5 months (she was a stray we took in) and our 2 newest boys were over a year (their previous owner never had it done).

RedheadBaker

There are benefits and risks to both neutering early, and waiting to neuter. There was a post about it a few weeks ago. Let me see if I can find it.  

laurenpaula

We adopted our  2 dogs at the same time that they were spayed/neutered at 8 weeks. 

 

MrsOjoButtons

RedheadBaker:

There are benefits and risks to both neutering early, and waiting to neuter. There was a post about it a few weeks ago. Let me see if I can find it.  

This one?

http://community.thenest.com/cs/ks/forums/thread/61335397.aspx 

MrsOjoButtons

Do you ever take your dog to the park?  Does your dog go potty off-leash when you're home?  Has your dog ever tried to run through the door when you're coming in or going out?

I think for the average pet owner, it's better to neuter/spay sooner rather than later. Too many people leave their dogs out in the yard unattended and it only takes a second for a dog to jump a fence if he smells a dog in heat.  Dogs are quick to dash out a door or ignore commands when they know they have an opportunity to mate.You can't put all the responsibility on the owners of female dogs. If the dog is otherwise healthy, no neurological problems or anything that would make general anesthesia risky, I vote get it done soon.

Was this dog from an accidental litter or a stray? 

TheLinkBride

As you can see from that post, there are reasons for opinions on both sides.  Personally, I think there is a difference in what shelters do with pediatric spay/neuter and what you can do with you pet.  Shelters try to ensure that puppies are sterile in order to control the pet population in their area, but if you can be responsible for your dog, especially with a larger breed, I would wait to neuter until at least the growth plates are closed to help the dog to mature physically.  You can always evaluate along the way to maturity if you feel the need to neuter earlier, but once you neuter and remove the hormones, you can't go back.

RedheadBaker

MrsOjoButtons:

RedheadBaker:

There are benefits and risks to both neutering early, and waiting to neuter. There was a post about it a few weeks ago. Let me see if I can find it.  

This one?

http://community.thenest.com/cs/ks/forums/thread/61335397.aspx 

Yep, that one.

Sorry. Got distracted by a fussy baby.  

natnandy

Neutering as early as 8 weeks is pretty common.. The sooner they are neutered, the less likley they will be a constant leg lifter or marking their territory inside the house.

onceuponadisaster

I personally am not comfortable with neutering before 1 year for skeletal health, but it is definitely one of those things where you have to take extra time/precautions... having an intact male is a huge responsibility. 

lauranoelle09

Thank you all. I am thinking now that earlier is better, to avoid the leg lifting in the house and running off for females...I will check with my vet next week when I take him back, and see what he says.

smange10.10

I read a lot about this when we first brought Jackson home.  He's a black lab so we knew he was going to be a rather large-ish dog.  His breeder asked us to wait until he was a year and half - in order for him to be full grown and lessen the risks for certain cancers.  On the other hand, our vet said he would do it at 12 weeks.  We were torn, but decided to wait until he was a year and essentially full grown.  Since the surgery, he's gotten a little bigger - 5-6 lbs, but that's about it. 

We never had any issues with him marking in the house or being overly aggressive with anyone - dog, person, kid, etc.  He marked A LOT outside, and had to lift his leg on every tree, bush, hydrant, you name it.  But we never had a problem in the house - he was house trained and nothing deterred that.

If you can wait until your puppy is full grown, I would, but that's just my opinion.

onceuponadisaster

smange10.10:

We never had any issues with him marking in the house or being overly aggressive with anyone - dog, person, kid, etc.  He marked A LOT outside, and had to lift his leg on every tree, bush, hydrant, you name it.  But we never had a problem in the house - he was house trained and nothing deterred that.

If you can wait until your puppy is full grown, I would, but that's just my opinion.

My experience is similar. I have one male that was pediatric neutered and lifts a leg on everything outside when he is off-leash at the park (we correct him on walks). My little big guy who was neutered at 15 months doesn't mark at all. 

TheLinkBride

Since you listed marking in the house as one of the issues you want to avoid, I want you to know that being intact does not mean they will mark.  I show my dog so he is intact and he was pretty easy to house train and has never had an accident in the house or marked inside.  I travel with him for shows and I haven't had issues in hotels either.  While marking can be hormone related, it also can be trained.

dusk42

I would talk to your vet and evaluate the size of your dog's dominant breed as well as the level of vigilance in your household (particularly post-baby).  If anyone in your household would leave him outside without a person right.there (fenced yard or not), I would neuter him sooner rather than later.  It can be very easy to let a dog outside "for a few minutes" while feeding/changing/playing/putting to bed a baby.  Not that you should do that with any dog, but an unneutered male dog is way more likely to find a way out.  

 

A lot of vets here neuter around 7-8 months for non-giant dogs (Great Danes, etc.).  The shelters will do it as early as 8 weeks because people are non-compliant about bringing the animals back for the (prepaid) speuter.  Our boy dog was neutered at 13 weeks along with the rest of his litter (we were fostering them because we adopted a pregnant dog from the shelter), mostly because momma dog was not cleared for spaying post-heartworm treatment until the puppies were about 5 months old.  We did not want an intact male of that age in the house with his intact mom.  None of the males in his litter (hounds, 40-60lbs) have any ortho problems.  Neutering early does not doom them to ortho problems and neutering later does not doom you to marking or other behavioral issues (there is obviously a chance of either happening), so it's up to you and your vet.

dee1923

Our vet suggested to us between 7 and 11 months for our Bluetick hound. He is almost 8 weeks now.

onceuponadisaster

dee1923:

Our vet suggested to us between 7 and 11 months for our Bluetick hound. He is almost 8 weeks now.

 

How long have you had your dog? Younger than 8 weeks is awfully young to be away from mom 

dee1923

In-laws are the breeder, we've been around since our pup has been born. We went to our pups first vet visit (6 1/2 weeks). He came home a couple days after this post, just over 8 weeks. He's doing very well and we are neutering him in likely in July-August (around the 9 month mark).