Your opinion on this??

http://www.naiaonline.org/pdfs/LongTermHealthEffectsOfSpayNeuterInDogs.pdf

On the positive side, spaying female dogs
• if done before 2.5 years of age, greatly reduces the risk of mammary tumors, the most common
malignant tumors in female dogs
• nearly eliminates the risk of pyometra, which otherwise would affect about 23% of intact female
dogs; pyometra kills about 1% of intact female dogs
• reduces the risk of perianal fistulas
• removes the very small risk (
0.5%) from uterine, cervical, and ovarian tumors
On the negative side, spaying female dogs
• if done before 1 year of age, significantly increases the risk of osteosarcoma (bone cancer); this is a
common cancer in larger breeds with a poor prognosis
• increases the risk of splenic hemangiosarcoma by a factor of 2.2 and cardiac hemangiosarcoma by
a factor of >5; this is a common cancer and major cause of death in some breeds
• triples the risk of hypothyroidism
• increases the risk of obesity by a factor of 1.6-2, a common health problem in dogs with many
associated health problems
• causes urinary “spay incontinence” in 4-20% of female dogs
• increases the risk of persistent or recurring urinary tract infections by a factor of 3-4
• increases the risk of recessed vulva, vaginal dermatitis, and vaginitis, especially for female dogs
spayed before puberty
• doubles the small risk (<1%) of urinary tract tumors
• increases the risk of orthopedic disorders
• increases the risk of adverse reactions to vaccinations

I have my puppy buyers wait until they are at least one year old.

Recently ran into this situation and nothing I could do to stop it. Business is DOWN and the almighty dollar seems to take precedence over the animal's health. All these vets have read these studies and yet some will bully the owners until they go for the early spay at 5-6 months. Sad.

season. In most (certainly not all) pet situations, a bitch in season becomes a pregnant bitch. Believe me when I say that the "almighty dollar" is not the only factor figured when determining a date to spay. Actually, if that were the case, we'd push for every owner to leave their bitch to go through at least one season. Then we could give lots of puppy vaccines, or do lots of C-sections, or in those cases where owners don't want have a litter of pups, do lots of pregnant spays (and those aren't cheap!). I really do find it refreshing to talk to people such as those on this forum who are knowledgeable enough to handle an intact bitch. Come on! Give us vets a break! Not every one of us is out to thrust our hand as far into your pocket as possible. If that's your experience, perhaps you should start shopping for a new, REPUTABLE vet. Come to think of it, I guess we're kind of like breeders. Some of us are reputable (care about the animal and their owner) and their are others that you should RUN not walk away from.

I give my puppy buyers a year to spay a bitch and 18 months to neuter a dog. They are provided with an article on the pros/cons of spaying/neutering early. All but one spayed/neutered their puppy at 5-7 months. The holdout waited 11 months to neuter her boy, but he started marking in the house and she neutered him (no problems since). Sometimes it is not the vet - some people do not want to deal with heat cycles or intact males.

My girls don't come into heat until they're at least 12 months old - usually closer to 15 months - so I advise waiting until they're 10 months old. I don't want them coming into season in a pet home but I do not want them spayed at 4 months old!
Small breed reach sexual maturity earlier than large breeds so a "one size fits all" doesn't work when it comes to spaying/neutering dogs.

Our contract has the usual guarantees, and the puppy packet has all the articles and a summary of the pros and cons stated above. The contract then says it's their choice because it's their puppy - but if done under 14 months all other guarantees are null and void. Again, their choice.

I don't live in a state with a puppy lemon law, however. If you do, your mileage may vary.

Most = more than half, at a minimum. I seriously doubt that "most" is an accurate statement here, and especially when applied to puppies than come from the kind of breeders who are here - reputable, conscientious breeders who screen and educate our puppy buyers before the puppy is even committed to them, much less leaves our house. I would hope that vets have enough common sense to evaluate each situation on its merits instead of applying a standard recipe to every client who walks in the door.

I don't know where you are, but I can assure you that your experience is nothing like what I am seeing. I can't remember the last time I saw a dog loose in my neighborhood. I know with certainty that it was well over 5 years ago. The leash laws are strictly enforced and when a dog is picked up by the police it is impounded. It cost $$$$s to get the dog out.

I screen my puppy buyers very carefully. They are responsible and intelligent. When they have misgivings, perhaps because of children in the home, I tell them they know their situation best and should act accordingly.

Do you mean the pups you sell or the pups you keep? All vets prefer to spay by 6 mo. and I've gone thru the same thing with some vets.

I would call the vets and ask them why this is being done to pups you are breeding if you give the buyers different advice.

What time do you recommend your buyers spay their female pups that won't be bred? If you don't make a recommendation in writing, then it's hard to complain to a vet that's doing it at a time you consider to be early.

Double ditto.

Seriously, a triple ditto. Can you feel the love?

Veterinarians like to spay before 6 months simply because that would be before the first season. It is an easier surgery if the bitch has not had a season. And of course, it is politically correct.

I send a home a letter which new families are told to give to the vet. The letter states my time frame for neutering and for switching from puppy to adult food. I state that their client's guarantee is null and void if these perimeters are not followed.

I have found the vets respect the formal letter better than word of mouth.

What a great idea for new owners & takes any pressure off them with their vets too!

I find it's actually the pet owners who drive the spay dates. At the first puppy visit one of the initial questions from the owners is often 'how soon can I get my dog spayed, I don't want her to have *periods*'. It doesn't really matter too much what I say to them (including asking them what the breeder recommended)... they go ahead and schedule whenever they want and for most it's the sooner the better.
And I had also posted somewhat recently about recommending to a puppy owner that they let their girl have a heat cycle before spaying because she had an inverted vulva.... only to get bashed by the breeder who said that was ridiculous. So go figure- in general vets can't make breeders happy.