Can anyone post links to information on the advantages of delaying spay/neuter until the dog has matured? Little River seemed popular, but the links no longer work for me
I was recently talking to my vet about this subject. He recently attended a seminar given by ortho specialist regarding ACL surgery. He said they recommended spay/neuter 15-18 months because they are seeing so many orthopedic injuries in dogs that have been spay/neutered early. I asked him if her could get me some literature to give to puppy buyers. He's working on it.
The Rehab center I took one of my dogs to for FCE therapy told me that most of the dogs that they see for Cruciate Ligament rehab were spayed early, ie. before 1 1/2 years, most done around 6-8 months.
I would point out that *MOST* dogs (in the US and that are owned and taken to the vet) are spayed/neutered and therefore MOST of the dogs that present for ACL repairs are spayed/neutered. That does not show much in the way of cause and effect.
(I'm not arguing against waiting on spay neuter but pointing out the acl argument isn't supported by stats).
Unfortunately the topic really doesn't have good published research to support either side of the spay/neuter debate. Would be nice to see actual published data.