Spay

[emma_Dad]

Most vets suggest neuter and spay at 6 months to prevent unwanted puppies and unwanted pregnancies. It's your responsibility, as a pet owner, to research and figure out WITH your vet what is best for your dog.

THIS! I believe the average pet owner should not have an intact dog since there are way to many dumb people out there that end up having a litter and causing overpopulation problem we have now.

[WhoopsaDaisy]

I waited until after the first heat cycle also. For the reasons stated above and another health issue Daisy had. If you do wait you are going to have to be prepared to put your dog under "house arrest"...and blood everywhere like Doubledip said-- it's a little inconvenient but on the end I thought it was worth it to wait.

[MikeLynn]

I'm certainly no expert, but Mel is 1 year, 6 months and almost 3 weeks old, and is about to finish her second heat cycle. Then a break for 2 to 3 months, and it'll be the time. Already made some arrangements with my vet, and he thinks it's a good plan. Although I've been through this with Lynn, a very similar timing, and actually saw the surgery, I must admit that I'm a bit nervous.
I admit that it requires a lot of attention, and every now and then it's not very convenient, but I believe it's worth it.

[Snowshoe]

I'm not arguing with anyone BUT wouldn't the vet know these things and suggest people wait until later instead of encouraging neuter/spays to be done around 6 months?

Well mine sure did. I found the first two articles in the list after first discussing neuter with her, something she was pushing for six months and I was going along. I took the Sanborn article back in with me, we talked about it, she knew about it though she wasn't wholly convinced of some things, it was a lot newer then. Then she completely flip flopped and said we could wait till 18 months. She left to have two babies herself and didn't come back. Our current Vets fully support waiting.

[smartrock]

I'm not arguing with anyone BUT wouldn't the vet know these things and suggest people wait until later instead of encouraging neuter/spays to be done around 6 months?

Most vets I've dealt with seem to be firmly on one side or the other of the debate. I've had some insist it's better to do it early, at 4-6 months of age, because of cancer risk, bad behavior, etc., which current research does not really support. Others said it's better for the dog's health to wait, that early spy/neuter was encouraged mostly for population control. It has been some of the younger vets, who you'd think were more up to date on the research, who have been the most pro-do it early. I offered one vet the Sanborn article and she dismissed its validity because it wasn't written by a vet. That makes it hard for a pet owner to know what to do, especially if it's your first dog.

With neutering, it's not as if the dog is sick and you're debating whether to treat an illness and implying you know more than the vet about how to treat the dog. Spay/neuter is routine in the US, mandated by local laws in some areas, but it's not for health reasons for an individual animal but to prevent pet over-population. Many kennels and day care insist that pets be neutered or spayed to use their services, not because it's healthier for the animals, but they think it's easier to manage behavior in a crowd of animals. Annual vaccination for many illnesses, such as distemper and parvo has been shown to be unnecessary, immunity lasts much longer than one year, yet many vets still give annual vaccinations. Why haven't they changed that practice? It's good to find a vet with whom you can discuss the alternatives for the care of your pet and make the decision you're comfortable with.

[Snowshoe]

I offered one vet the Sanborn article and she dismissed its validity because it wasn't written by a vet.

That's what my little Vet gal (ok, I can be dismissive too, LOL) did. Oh, Sanborn is ONLY a PHd student. One who used research that WAS conducted by Vets to compile her paper. Sanborn did have a Master of Science when she wrote that paper. I can't find anywhere that she got the Phd and I wonder how my Vet knew she was a PHd student. Actually, Sanborn seems to have no presence on the internet besides this paper.

[barry581]

I waited until Sophie was almost 2 years old, 2 months after her second season. Honestly, after reading several studies regarding increased risk of certain cancers and joint issues, I'm not sure I would have had her spayed at all. Sophie and Bruce are Labs number nine and ten for me. Over the years every Lab I've had spayed or neutered (four) died from cancer. Only one of the intact dogs had cancer, and she had a brain tumor and had to be put to sleep at 2 years of age.

I'm not by any means telling anyone what to do. It's a personal choice/decision.

Here's a bit of reading:

Golden retriever study suggests neutering affects dog health :: UC Davis News & Information

https://www.caninesports.com/uploads/...tions_2013.pdf


Will Spaying/Neutering Increase Your Dog's Risk of Cancer?

Health Implications in Early Spay and Neuter in Dogs | AKC Canine Health Foundation

[beth101509]

My dog has to be neutered because one of his testicles hasn't dropped, it is just a matter if when to do it. Just found out my neighbor's 3 year old lab hasn't been spayed and only a fence separates them so I will probably do it sooner rather than later.

[Maxx&Emma]

I'm not arguing with anyone BUT wouldn't the vet know these things and suggest people wait until later instead of encouraging neuter/spays to be done around 6 months?

It would be much better if vets educated owners but many don't. I actually have a vet that strongly suggests you wait to spay/neuter until growth plates have closed, IF you can commit to being a responsible owner. Most reputable breeders also put this in their contract so you may want to check yours. If you can keep your girl safe from an unwanted pregnancy the benefits far outweigh any inconvenience of one or two heat cycles.

[Tanya]

I hate to say it but I wouldn't trust the average pet owner to manage their dog during a heat (or an intact male too long). People don't really understand how to properly care for intact dogs and "oops" happens. Or people never go back to the vet after puppy shots so never "get around" to gettin their dog fixed. I think the average person that finds themselves on these lab boards is, generally, above average in wanting to do things right/researching things.

So maybe that's were vets come from.

I also don't think neutering/spayign at 6 months is THAT big a deal. Is it better to wait? sure. But tons of dogs are fixed at 6 months and live nice long happy lives.

lastly, not all vets are very good to begin with.

I had a chat wtih my last vet about neutering. She said for males she would recommend with responsible owners to wait utnil they are fully mature. From her point of view the research wasn't as concrete for females. (we didn't have time to get too too into details on the conversation and this was a few years ago).

Personally I plan to wait when I get my lab (from a breeder). Otherwise I rescue so the dogs are fixed when I get them. I refuse to live in fear because the dog I adopted was fixed before they matured (though in retrospect, Penny hasn't grown since she came into foster care so she may have been closer to done growing than we though).