When Do You Spay/Neuter or Do You Not Spay/Neuter?

[DanielleOttoMom]

Otto is not neutered and I will more than like not neuter him unless I had too. So If I had to pick when.... it would be after his 2nd B-Day.

[Draugr]

Preferably never, for either gender, excepting if necessary as treatment for immediate health issues (NOT as a prophylactic), or if heats were wrecking heck on her body (a friend had a mastiff like that). A male, maybe if he was routinely running off (and for some reason I was unable to prevent that) or if I was living in a house and all my neighbors constantly had females going in and out of heat and he was miserable or something like that.

But, excepting specific/extreme circumstances, never.

[Dooney's Mom]

Ya this is definitely a HOT topic of opinions. My very first dog died from uterine cancer (she was never spayed) my mom's Jack Russell also died from cancer (not spayed) My first GSD I spayed right after her first heat (about a 11 months old). She lived to be 16 years old, and it was her hips that gave out.

Female heats are SOOOO messy, I have no intentions of breeding Dooney, so I just got her spayed at 8 months (hoping to avoid a heat cycle). If I had a male I would probably wait until at least 18 months of age. The owners of her litter mate brother are waiting until he is 2 to get him "fixed" due to their vets recommendation. For me it was just the messy thing- I didn't want to have to deal with diapers, the mess, etc. The vet said anytime after 6 months, and rescues/humane society's spay much earlier than that.

Waiting and not waiting i think both have their drawbacks.

[PaddyD]

Originally Posted by LaRen616

Sorry I forgot to mention, this thread is when do your PREFER having your dog spayed/neutered, not when did you have your dog spayed/neutered.

Sorry I didn't add that in! My apologies!

All the same for me. I had them spayed based on my preference. My last 2 dogs died of cancer at 13. The cancer was everywhere except in their female parts.

[Emoore]

Originally Posted by Kittilicious

So for just a "pet", it's ok to neuter early... if it doesn't matter to you how they fill out later? There are no health reasons on when the best time is?

There are health arguments on both sides. This is one of those things where you can go down the rabbit hole if you're not careful. The trouble is that, like a lot of other things with dogs, we don't have any double-blind placebo-controlled studies that show conclusively whether earlier or later neutering is healthier. I know there was one study done in Rottweilers that showed dogs neutered earlier than 15 months tended to develop osteosarcoma more so than dogs neutered after 15 months. Some studies show health and cancer benefits to neutering earlier. There's some debate over whether earlier or later neutering is better for prostate cancer.

You can trust your vet and neuter at six months, keeping in mind that most vets have both a financial and social stake in neutering dogs young. You can dig into the research on your own and make up your own mind. You can neuter later. You can never neuter as long as you're confident you can keep your dog from ever siring a litter. Personally I think later neutering is better for the health of the dog so long as the owner is 100% sure they can keep the dog from siring a litter.

Personally, I do plan to neuter Kopper once he's around the year and a half mark. I'm heavily involved in rescue and I want to adopt a dog within the next few years. Some rescue orgs won't let you adopt or foster if you have an intact male in your household.

[Lmilr]

Males I would rather not neuter unless there was a specific reason or need for it.
Our female dogs have always gotten spayed at about 6 to 8 months though to avoid any of the irritations of heat cycles....ie: neighbor dogs wanting to get too friendly or just flat driving male dogs crazy if we took them places.
Plus since we dont like fixing the males but we dont want puppies the females have always been the natural choice.

[LaRen616]

Some females have Inverted Vulvas and Vets recommend waiting for the female to go through her 1st heat cycle before spaying because sometimes their heat cycle fixes the Inverted Vulva.

There have been studies shown that if females with Inverted Vulvas are spayed before their first heat cycle they can have UTI's and bladder infections off and on and may need medication for the rest of their lives.

[MustLoveGSDs]

Originally Posted by Kittilicious

So for just a "pet", it's ok to neuter early... if it doesn't matter to you how they fill out later? There are no health reasons on when the best time is?

Small breeds tend to mature fast so neutering at 6 months is generally a non issue. For larger breeds who mature slower its best, if you are responsible enough, to wait until the growth plates are fully closed at around 18-24 months. Cutting off the hormones too early can cause(note every dog is different though) the dog to grow taller and leaner and can lead to bone and joint problems down the road because of the growth deformities.

[Samba]

I do not have surgery done for convenience for me. Of course, when and if is dependant on several different things. The rescues were spayed as part of contract. One dog I found dumped turned out to have some fun skills for competition, so he has to be neutered for PAL listing. If a health issue arises then altering may be needed.

[Kittilicious]

My husband is worried about him marking everything. I had a shepherd mix that I never did neuter (and unfortunately sired a litter - which I take full responsibility for because I thought the female was out of heat and I left them together) and he marked everything all the time, especially inside the garage (never in the house though). I've heard that having them neutered doesn't always mean they won't mark anyway.
Lots of information to think about before the time comes, I guess.