Interesting stuff

Spay & Neuter Medical Facts, AMVA Policy Against Mandatory Spay/Neuter by Barbara J. Andrews

Knew I was right in telling the vet that Arnie, if we decided to neuter him, would'nt be done till he reached 18mths

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Should I be waiting longer to have Poppy spayed?? She will be 1 and has had her 1st season...I keep reading different things...its so confusing??

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I'm afraid I'll take the rare chance of a risk everytime. Just managed to find a home for the last JRT puppy dumped on our rescue doorstep last week so while that continues to happen then I'll continue to support routine spaying and neutering. And that's all I'll say on this matter cos it's a path WELL trodden.

I spay and neuter all my dogs but our vet refuses to do it until they're 18 months for toy- medium dogs and 2 year for large and giant males and between the first and second seasons for the females. Before that it can cause a lot of problems.

Very interesting, but id like to know what evidence they have, that proves it was the neutering that caused the health problems.

I do agree that many dogs/cats are neutered too early, especially in the US. Although i do agree with neutering when the animal is of a suitable age.

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They're spaying and neutering 8 week old puppies in the US now . I know its not really comparable but I just remember them saying about the problems that the castrati, human boys who were great soprano singers who were castrated before their voices broke, had. They grew to crazy heights because the pituitary gland never developed properly and had bone and joint problems and everything.

I think the risks of unwanted pregnancies, pyometra and false pregnancies far outweigh any risks attached to spaying or castrating. Having said that though I dont think a bitch should be spayed till after her first season and a dog should preferably be 18 months old.

I'm against routine neutering.

Neutering isn't the only way to avoid unwanted pregnancy.

Each situation should be judged on it's own merits and appropriate action taken but neutering shouldn't even be considered until the dog is mature, in my opinion.

I believe Pyometra and false pregnancy are rare in young healthy dogs.