Best age to spay or neuter?

[lkellen]

Does anyone know if there are effects or problems down the road if they are spayed too early?

Remington was 6 weeks when she got spayed, because the Humane Society doesn't adopt dogs out until they are neutered/spayed, but they start adopting out at 6 weeks old. My vet hasn't shown too much worry about it, just that it was done WAY too early.

She's 9 months now, happy &healthy.. I just don't know if there are certain higher risks for her now??

[Kayos and Havoc]

I see this is an older thread but active again. My pup is 8.5 months old and not spayed yet. I will let her go through at least one cycle first.

I have an acquiantance who is a canine rehap vet. Her recommendation for a performance dog was to wait til maturity as the hormones are important for skeletal development and we put a lot of stress on jumping dogs which can cause injury. The risk can be higher in dogs altered too early. That said, she also felt that early spay/neuter was the right answer for the family companion.

I plan on agility with Lydi so will let her go through at least one cycle.

Remy is already spayed, not much you can do now about that and really, if she is your family companion and not destined to go out for agilty or other work that puts stress on the skeleton, I would not worry. I might consider making sure her diet is balanced and she is started on a jont supplement early on.

[msvette2u]

Originally Posted by Kayos and Havoc

I see this is an older thread but active again. My pup is 8.5 months old and not spayed yet. I will let her go through at least one cycle first.

I have an acquiantance who is a canine rehap vet. Her recommendation for a performance dog was to wait til maturity as the hormones are important for skeletal development and we put a lot of stress on jumping dogs which can cause injury. The risk can be higher in dogs altered too early. That said, she also felt that early spay/neuter was the right answer for the family companion.

I plan on agility with Lydi so will let her go through at least one cycle.

Remy is already spayed, not much you can do now about that and really, if she is your family companion and not destined to go out for agilty or other work that puts stress on the skeleton, I would not worry. I might consider making sure her diet is balanced and she is started on a jont supplement early on.

Great post

[lkellen]

Originally Posted by Kayos and Havoc

Remy is already spayed, not much you can do now about that and really, if she is your family companion and not destined to go out for agilty or other work that puts stress on the skeleton, I would not worry. I might consider making sure her diet is balanced and she is started on a jont supplement early on.

Thanks! Just didn't know if there more risks spaying early. I just didn't want to start a new thread when there's already one


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[msvette2u]

There's always risks, but you've gotten some benefits, too - such as no chance of mammary tumors or infections in the uterus.

[Doc]

Not before 2.5 years old. Later if you can wait.

[lorihd@comcast.net]

while at the park, i noticed another shepherd a female and knew right away she was spayed too early. ive heard it on this forum time and time again, how lanky they get when altered too early. my dog is 18 mos and i will spay after 2, i couldnt help but notice how well balanced in structure my dog was compared to the other female. i would have spayed her before 6 months, had i not been educated on the subject from this forum. glad i didnt listen to my vet and instead listen to the members here.

[LeoRose]

Originally Posted by lorihd@comcast.net

while at the park, i noticed another shepherd a female and knew right away she was spayed too early. ive heard it on this forum time and time again, how lanky they get when altered too early. my dog is 18 mos and i will spay after 2, i couldnt help but notice how well balanced in structure my dog was compared to the other female. i would have spayed her before 6 months, had i not been educated on the subject from this forum. glad i didnt listen to my vet and instead listen to the members here.

Couldn't that be because of breeding, and not the fact that the other bitch was spayed early? Did you ask her owners if and when she was spayed? Cause I've seen a couple of skinny, scrawny, lanky GSD that were not altered. One was an obviously intact male, and one was a ASL bitch that is supposedly going to be shown.

[yuriy]

All the vets I've spoken to recommend doing the spay no later than 6 months. My friends just spayed their 6 month old GSD a few weeks ago, and she's doing fantastic. Absolutely no change in anything.

I also got mine spayed today (just under 6 months old).

[msvette2u]

Originally Posted by LeoRose

Couldn't that be because of breeding, and not the fact that the other bitch was spayed early? Did you ask her owners if and when she was spayed? Cause I've seen a couple of skinny, scrawny, lanky GSD that were not altered. One was an obviously intact male, and one was a ASL bitch that is supposedly going to be shown.

Structure has far more to do with genetics than early (or even late) s/n.
Our boy has horrid structure, including elbow dysplasia, and was allowed to "mature" before neuter. It's because he came from a BYB!
Unless you know that dog came from a wonderful breeding, don't bemoan the fact it was altered early. In fact with that horrible of structure, it should be spayed and not allowed to be bred