Early neutering ??

[Dal & Mad's Mom]

dal lifts his leg to pee when he feels like it but, he's very keen t mark over jewel's pee so at times leg lifting isn't possible.

 

mom's males do either so did kirb.

[bobh]

Susan , Please check out Early Spay-Neuter Considerations for canine athletes by Chris Zink DVM PHD. Just googel it .

Not to say bad things about VETS But remember they do somethings to dogs one may feel is not in a dogs intrest, For example : Vets de bark dogs crop ears dock tails , may recomend over vacination of dogs, de claw cts and so on . I had one vet recomend my 20 year old cat that was in renal failure go on a low protin diet . No way my 20 yo cat ate anything he wanted>

 

I am not saying all vets do these things and in certain circumstances they may be needed. Please read Dr Zink before having your dog N Early My boy was N at 18 months and it did not slow him down , I can not imagin having a 8 week old pup S/N

bobh

[Lunar]

I wish he would lift his leg. That way, at least he'd stop peeing all over his front feet. [/QB]

That wouldn't necssarily help... Zeeke routinely pees on his front legs and he lifts his leg.

[toney]

I believe the veterinarian in question was concerned about Freeway's penis being exposed for a considerable length of time. The best way to explain what happens to a male dog who has his penis stuck is to imagine if you put a tourniquet on your arm tightly for the same length of time- it can cause cell damage and cell death,as well as swelling that ascerbates the initial problem, considerable pain for the dog in question and usually, a trip to a veterinarian to resolve the problem. Neutering will typically curtail this.

[Deneen]

After reading your comments, I did some more research. Obviously pediatric spay/neuters are done regularly in shelters to ensure those animals do not contribute to unwanted litters. However, I was curious about some of the comments I read here (impeding growth, waiting on females until after first heat, etc.). From what I found, what you're writing is purely anecdotal. There is no evidence to support that s/n of animals after 6 months, 9 months, etc. is better for the animals than a pediatric s/n.

 

In general, a couple of decades ago younger and smaller animals were not s/n at an early age because of the anesthesia that was used. Since then, new anesthesia is available, and it is very safe. From what I've read, the only thing that stops "growing" if a pediatric neuter is done is the male genitalia. It seems that the dog probably doesn't mind one way or another; it's really about a people preference.

 

From what I've read, it seems more beneficial to the animal to s/n at a young age (prior to 6 months) for many reasons: faster recovery time from surgery, less behavior issues in the future, less cancer, etc.

 

Here is a link to Veterinary Journal Summaries of the studies done on early s/n.

 

http://www.columbusdogconnection.com/Docum...nals%5B1%5D.pdf

 

And here is a study done at Texas A & M in 2000. They address several myths about pediatric s/n, including complications, growth, urinary tract health, etc. As you will notice, regarding growth in dogs related to pediatric s/n, they say this: "Thus, animals were not stunted in growth but were actually slightly (as determined by radiographs) taller."

 

http://www.ivis.org/advances/Concannon/olson/IVIS.pdf

 

Obviously, everyone will do what they feel is right, but I just think it is interesting that so many people feel that pediatric s/n is not good. There are a lot of myths and anecdotal knowledge, but there is no study that supports that s/n after 6 months of age is any better than s/n done prior to 6 months of age. From what I'm reading (and from what I experienced with Sydney vs. Sarah), I think pediatric s/n is the best choice.

 

~Kelly Deneen

[Dal & Mad's Mom]

I looked at the other study recommended by bobh and it says though if your using your dogs to do say agility waiting till later reduces the chance of injury since the bones won't over grow.

 

I guess I will have to see with the new pup I haven't decided on a sex yet (esp since they arent born) but, it requires further looking into.