Was your dog spayed or neutered too early?

I'm not sure how I would know whether or not his behavior was affected?

Mine was at about 8 weeks by the shelter (not by me). He's fine, I guess...but I dont know what he would have been like if he wasnt neutered that early

My dog was is from a shelter so she was spayed very early....only 6 weeks old. Her personality hasn't been affected by her being fixed so early, and she is a great dog. However, before I adopted her she did have an issue with her sutures, where she chewed them out and then developed a mass of scar tissue internally in her abdominal area. This hasn't affected her since then, but was a health complication for a while. I just assumed because she was in a shelter and the shelter vets there are pretty much all volunteers that they kind of have to spay/neuter whenever they have the chance, for her it just happened to be really early. From what I have been told it should not affect their personality, however, in some breeds I have heard early sterilization can cause them to not grow to their full potential size. Waiting until the recommended time is always advised by my vet.

My rescue dog was spayed around 6 months, prior to first heat cycle. We got her at age 4 years. She had a recessed vulva and recurrent UTI's. At age 10, she lost her spleen. She also developed bladder cancer. This is the breed with the most frequent occurrence of bladder cancer, so I can't say the spay caused this. This dog was also overweight and more "leggy" than my unneutered male. She was an inch to inch and 1/2 taller than him.

My female was spayed at age 2 1/2 and I hope we won't see problems. We have a young male pup and I do plan on neutering him, but will probably wait until 9-10 months. My vet will not neuter or spay prior to 6 months. Some vet clinics in my area recommend it at 4 months. I've seen the studies and neutering/spaying seems to increase the risk of bladder cancer--my breed has a nearly 20% greater chance of this cancer already. I am putting lots of thought into this for my pup and will have lots of questions for my vet before we do surgery.

From the documentation provided: "No sweeping generalizations are implied in this review. Rather, the author asks us to consider all the health and disease information available as individual animals are evaluated. Then, the best decisions should be made accounting for gender, age, breed, and even the specific conditions under which the long-term care, housing and training of the animal will occur." The bone cancer study was for Rottweilers, dogs plagued with bone cancer issues. My Amstaff, which is not genetically prone to osteosarcoma, is NOT going to develop bone cancer just because I had him neutered. The only variable in this study was whether a dog in a certain group was altered or not and does not take into account any environmental factors. In the real world I don't take care of my dogs the way my neighbor/friend/relative takes care of his/her dogs or even the way the breeder I got my pup from or the shelter I got my female from. I also noticed that the study did NOT take into account the benefits of altering male dogs including decreased aggression and wandering. I am going to go out on a limb and say that these issues raised by the study have more to do with poor genetics and bad breeding than whether a dog is altered or not. Obesity CAN be controled with - I know this is crazy so brace yourself - Diet and Exercise!!! There are people that lives their lives eating right, wearing sunscreen and exercising that keel over from heart attacks or develop miscellaneous cancers. Testosterone and estrogen help some things and destroy others. Genetics and poor breeding practices without the benefit of health checks and clearances and follow ups by the breeder - for example my breeder asked that all her pups be checked by a cardiologist at the age of 2 to ensure no heart problems even though both parents and sets of grandparents were clear. My cat (still on the same page) developed hyperthyroidism when she was 14, her unspayed mother did not. What are the alternatives to spay/neuter? Dog condoms? Tubal ligation for females? Vasectomies for males? We are already doing wanton breeding with unwanted litters - some places still put the puppies in sacks with rocks and throw them into water to drown. Neutering my puppy was my choice to make. My vet recommended 4-6 months, my breeder said 6-12 for bone and muscle development. In the end I DID make the choice to neuter instead of attempting to show. The medical journal you described is incredibly biased, doesn't take all factors into account and is therefore worthless unless someone is looking for something to say what they want to hear.

Mine were spayed or neutered between the ages of 5 months and 2 years. I have had no problems with any growth or behavioral issues in any of my dogs.

Yes, I believe so. She was a shelter pup, and had to be spayed in order to be adopted. She was about 3mos when she was spayed. Now, at 7.5mos, her vulva has not matured and I am very concerned about it. I noticed today that when she urinated it got on the skin of her belly. I am concerned that she will have urination problems/infections. And, after reading this article and also a different one tonight I'm also worried about her bone development. I have always believed it to be best to spay after maturity. This puppy was so adorable, that I adopted her knowing she was probably being spayed too young. Now, what can I do to help her?

Mine was spayed at about 1 year (what we guessed to be her age) but was in the early stages of pregnancy when spayed by the shelter that had picked her up off the streets. I didn't know her personality before she was spayed so I can't say if it affected her in any way.

I went to a spay and neuter clinic and they told me that they routinely spay and neuter at young ages. Told me this was proving to be best. I refused until my dog was 5 months-

My dog was neutered at 16 weeks and seems to have suffered no ill effects. My previous dog was a shelter pup who I got at 8 weeks and was neutered at 7 weeks. He lived to be 14 when he died of a bowel perforation.

I have had dogs for over 40 years and around 45 dogs in that time. Back in the 80's and 90's I used to have them spayed/neutered around 6 months of age.

Forget the behavior issues- my dogs died of all the things that they say happens with dogs who are s/n early. I had two dogs die from Bone Cancer, two from hermangiosarcoma, and many of the other issues of early s/n. I know I caused my dogs early demise because I believed the so called "benefits" that had been touted (and continue to be incorrectly)

My current group of young dogs includes my Rough Collie who is 6 years old and not spayed (and has never had an on purpose or accidental litter) and my 10 month old Pomeranian who is not neutered. My other Pomeranian was spayed at about a year old, I am sorry I did that and did not wait now that I know so much more about the perils of spay and neuter.

So although there is a study by the University of Pennysylvania that does point out that behavior/aggression is often made worse by spay and neuter, the long term health effects are what is worse.

I expect your dog might suffer from one of those due to the early surgery it was subjected to.

People really need to refuse to take dogs from these situations that have been altered too young.

Here is an easy to read article about the perils of early spay and neuter with links to the MEDICAL RESEARCH that goes with it, and a link to the behavior study by the University of Pennysylvania.

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We all know that spaying and neutering is such an important part of keeping dogs and cats out of shelters, and away from the euthanasia needle. In the same breath, we also are seeing the incredible increase in juvenile spay and neuter at as early as 4 to 8 weeks of age.

This has always concerned me a great deal due to the inability of the pet’s body to complete its growth cycle physically without the appropriate hormones provided by the reproductive organs. I don’t care who you are, you cannot deny that if we did the same to our own human children the noticeable effects would be unacceptable.

Think of a dog who lives for 10 years. A dog who is spayed or neutered at 8 weeks (two months of age), would be the equivalent (for this approximation) to a child that is approximately 15 months old.

Now, I’m not saying we are the same as our dogs and cats. What I am saying is that there is no way anyone can convince me, as a free-thinking, relatively intelligent person, that spaying and neutering at 8 weeks old is not harmful to the development of the puppy or kitten subjected to it.

It is interesting to note that all the major shelters and organizations that see the influx of unwanted pets on a daily basis, as well as the veterinarians who perform the operations, are the first to hop on the proverbial band-wagon for early spay and neuter. Almost universally their websites and literature quote identical information regarding lower pet populations, no additional risks due to age, and no ill effects physically as the animals mature. They quote information regarding cancers and tumors that are seen in un-spayed and un-neutered pets. They also tend to note that animals are less likely to mark, roam or be aggressive when they are spayed or neutered.

While some of this, namely the behavior aspects, are true in SOME dogs and cats, they are not usually problems until the animals become mature by the age of one or two years. It is true, some dogs may have more “dominant” personalities, but early training is a safe solution prior to physical maturity. In some instances, dogs have been noted as more aggressive, fearful, or sexually acting out if they are spayed or neutered prior to maturity.

The physical information that is often quoted, such as the likelihood of cancer and tumors, or no physical risks at all, are simply not true for the majority of animals who are spayed or neutered after they reach maturity. Personally, I believe it is irresponsible to only focus on the aspect of animal care that is perpetuated by irresponsible pet owners, rather than looking at the whole animal that we ARE responsible for keeping alive and well. We cannot base animal health care on the lowest common denominators. I believe that is why it is in such a poor state today.

Organizations and individuals who support early juvenile spay and neuter are not quoting the percentages of say- testicular cancer in un-neutered dogs. They don’t tell you that the rate is only about 7%, and that’s in dogs that are never neutered. They also don’t tell you that it is easy to manage and/or prevent after maturity.

They don’t tell you that the risk of prostate cancer is quadrupled (that’s 4x’s greater) in a neutered male dog, than an un-neutered one. That sounds bad doesn’t it? Well, what I can tell you is that “studies have shown” that the risk of prostate cancer in intact male dogs is < 1%. That doesn’t sound so bad now, right? So if we quadruple that it’s only < 4%. Sounds pretty passable, eh? It’s less than the 7% risk of testicular cancer.

But that’s only a small portion of the picture!

Why don’t they tell you about the increase in bone cancer, heart tumors, hypothyroidism, urinary tract cancers, orthopedic disorders and adverse vaccine reactions in male dogs that are neutered prior to maturity?

What about the bone cancer, spleen tumors, heart tumors, hypothyroidism, urinary incontinence, urinary tract infections, vaginal dermatitis, orthopedic disorders and adverse vaccine reactions in females spayed prior to maturity?

Why not let you know the whole picture? Because they think you won’t ever spay or neuter your dog or cat.

Think about it.

If you knew that you could even POSSIBLY avoid bone or heart cancer, cruciate ligament surgery, hip dysplasia, constant urinary tract infections, immune system (allergy) reactions, incontinence, and geriatric problems in your dog’s lifetime, wouldn’t you be willing to manage your dog, for the year or two (depending on its breed) until it was mature enough to safely neuter or spay?

Wouldn’t you also be ready to go ahead and spay or neuter after that year or two of maintenance?

What is the cost of spay and neuter? A good one maybe $300- $400? Maybe less for males.

What is the cost of treating the above illnesses? $10,000? $20,000? $30,000?

Hmmmmm? Wait a year or two, deal with maintaining training and good manners, maybe two heat cycles from a female, and save about $29,700? Sounds like a good deal to me.

I know I tend to be one to get on my soapbox a bit, but I believe that juvenile spay and neuter is a high ranking factor in the exploding incidences of lingering illnesses, frequent injuries, and early deaths in our dogs and cats. We need to be responsible, and encourage others to do the same. Spay and Neuter your dogs and cats! Just give them a chance to mature and stabilize their bodies first. That’s all.

If you’d like to read a few good articles on collected information regarding early spay and neuter findings, take a look at these for a start.

http://www.caninesports.com/SpayNeuter.html

http://www.naiaonline.org/pdfs/LongTermHealthEffec...

Take some time to look up more information on your own. Your new puppy or kitten will appreciate it.

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